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Show 3)e jlalt fake ibutu .ley EdMoe Vol. 232, No. 107 Wednesday Morning January 15, 1986 IWu Draper Mayor FimF Eer thing Fine Bountiful Readies Plans For Three Eleetrie Plants Cities Seek Alternatives in Buying Insurance Everyone Pays, But How Much? Sthieiner Katherine Kapos Tribune Staff Writers Bv K ri And North Salt Lake will do without street this year Riverton s city planner seat will gather dust for a w hi 1c Alta has a hiring freeze on for the remainder of the fiscal year and the planned equipment purchases have been axed But if a lawsuit is filed against any of the cities at least they 11 be covered Despite incredible hikes in municipal insurance rates stemming from a sharp rise in lawsuits nationwide, local officials agiee that it's insane" to go without insurance, so they pay the price, however high "It's a Catch-2- 2 youve got to have the coverage because small cities couldn't survive if we lost a $1 million or $2 million lawsuit." said Centerville City Manager Mark . . Pa-les- h The insurance generally covers anv legal claim which may be granted or won in court against a city Such claims range from the trivial to the tragic for example, a wrongful death claim presented if a city's police officer kills an innocent person City's screw up right and left Everyone has to pay for that. said Alan Low. Woods Cross City recorder How much everyone" pays is now the issue, as cities in Salt Lake and Davis counties search for alternatives to paying rates that in some cases have increased more than 400 percent Some governments have reduced their coverage (still paying higher rates in many eases), others have been forced to adjust their budgets, and a few have joined together in liability pools Alta, which last year paid a premium of about $8,300, is in the process of meeting a an increase of 450 percent $37,500 premium S. Higher liability insurance rates cities in the pocketbook. Cities Layton covered an increase of $109 000 so far this year, making their total insurance co.--t $139,000 That isn t all of it some coverage isn t even paid for yet " said Nancy Snow as sistant city manager of Layton For these cities and others, sticking with private insurance companies was the best al ternative at least for the present Terry Buck Utah their coverage, adjusted budgets or joined pool liability groups with other cities in hope of easing the strain ner. the insurance adviser for Fruit Height' said private inurarce covers more and is of ten better m the lorg run for smaller cities I don t b iive that pools are covering as broad an area as irourance carriers their underwriting is very arbitrary. he said If a city has a good loss ratio, they still have to pav two times their last year s premium But manv cities have turned to po a nee either because of the high os! of p-- i vate insurance or because their insutanct compary stepped covering cities altogether In a liability pool a group of cities joins together and pay into the pent!' money thai would normally go to a commericial coir,p.i See WV-2- . Column 1 Jordan City Council OKs Second Density Increase Ken Schreiner Tribune Staff Writer SOUTH JORDAN More affordable housing is expected and greater development hoped for after the City Council s approval of a second density' increase, part of a possible change in the city's master plan The second density increase, from 1 8 to 2 5 units per acre, was approved at a council meeting last week for the area between 2700 and 3600 West, and from 9400 to 11800 South The first increase, from 2200 to 3200 West and from 9400 to 10400 South, was given final approval last fall Following a motion to table the issue and admissions of confusion on the part of both the public and a few councilmen. the amendment to the master plan was given the in a vote The amendment cited a lack of reasonably affordable housing and lessening the tax burden as two of the reasons for raising the density. Insufficient irrigation w ater and providing more efficiency in municipal services were also mentioned The council meeting was marked initially by mixed comments from the city leaders, and at one point the proposal was 2 hae hit most hae reduced defeated But after another hour of discussion, the council reversed itself with three votes for the amendment ar.d two abstentions Much of the council s concern over the density issue stems from a lawsuit filed by citizens against the city council and planning commission last year, following the passage of an amendment to raise density to 2 5 city wide Fears that if it passed again the council would find themselves in the same position we were last spring were expressed bv several of the council members I m in favor of 2 5 But I don't want density." said Councilman Robert Mascaro to do it if we're going to get sued) " City residents, many of whom reside in the area under consideration. attended the meeting to express their thoughts on the density increase hile many Conceded that it was tnev there were concerns surrounding the nature of growth in South Jordan Most expressed fears that an increase in units per acre would lead to a disruption of the rural life style that first attracted them to the city Others said they foresee problems w hen subdivisions are constructed near livestock grazing land ita-bl- ' I paid a lot specifically to I" in that area said a man who recently moved into the area under consideration I bypassed areas and paid a substantial price for acreage here ' o'' Another resident said that larger lot size is the reason many people move to South Jordan I think it is a mistake to change this, it's the thing that has been the draw ing card." he said At one point in the meeting Councilman Mastaro said he thought they had thrown out the baby with the bath" by abandoning the zoning ordinance protection w ith last year s density increase I would like to see some of the things we threw out last year back in. he said A lot of the protections went out with the " master plan that was repealed But planning commission members attending the meeting said the zoning protection remained and that rezoning hearings would give the public a voice m future changes Councilman Mascaro then motioned that the proposal include a newsletter informing citizens of the effect of a 2 5 density, in hopes of clarifying existing protections The motion passed |
