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Show Page The Ogden Valley news Volume XVII Issue XXIV June 1, 010 The Ogden Valley news Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 801-745- 688 Fax: 801-745-006 Cell: 801-791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@digis.net Unlink Eden Heights development from Powder Mountain MOU Jeannie Wendell Tel: 801-745- 879 Fax: 801-745- 879 E-Mail: crwendell@digis.net crwendell@msn.com Don’t Sell the Utah Supreme Court Short! Opinions expressed by advertisers, columnists or letters to the editor are not necessarily the opinions of the owners and staff of The Ogden Valley news. guidelines for Letters to the Editor Letters should be 300 words or less. Letters must be signed and the address of the writer submitted. The Ogden Valley news reserves the right to edit or decline printing of any submissions. Announcements Sought As a community service, The Ogden V alley n ews will print local birth, wedding, obituary, anniversary and missionary farewell & homecoming and Eagle Scout announcements free of charge. 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Note: The contents of The Ogden Valley News are copyrighted. To protect this publication and its contributors from unlawful copying, written permission is required before any individual or company engages in the reproduction or distribution of its contents, by any means, without first obtaining written permission from the owners of this publication. The deadline for the OVN June 15 issue is June 1. Letters to the Editor Eden Heights consists of about 1,500 acres that wrap around the foothills of the Valley below Powder Mountain’s boundary and above current homes. Current zoning would permit about 240 density units. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will be considered by our County Commissioners on June 1 permits the Powder Mountain developers to withdraw if they don’t like the decision the County Weber County Commissioners and Powder Mountain town homeowners! The following questions beg to be asked: • Why for the last three years did the Utah Senate refuse to allow any bill to reach the Senate floor that, if passed, would restore the homeowners’ civil rights, but, instead, insisted that the problem be resolved at the County level? Could it have been because the legislature did not wish to acknowledge and correct its own mistake in HB466, and was afraid the courts would rule in favor of the homeowners, thus embarrassing a legislature that failed its Utah constituents? • Why did Powder Mountain try to get the Utah makes when the rezone application for this property comes to a decision. However, that public process has yet to begin. The MOU permits the County to withdraw if the developers don’t leave most of the acreage, except that located close to Wolf Creek, as open space. It reduces the debate about the MOU to a farce when the developer keeps secret the intended rezone for Eden Heights, yet links the outcome. Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal, and why does it want a stay now? Could it be that they are afraid that the Court would rule in the favor of the homeowners, thus foiling the developer’s plans for unrestricted growth? • Why does the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) prepared by Powder Mountain and presented to the Weber County Commissioners contain sections stating Powder Mountain can withdraw from the MOU if the Development Agreement is not completed (Agreement, Section 5) or, in Section 8 “. . . at any time prior to fifteen (15) days after the Eden Heights’ rezoning application is either approved or denied by the Weber County Commission”? Could it be that Powder What happens if the Eden Heights rezone requests more than the 240 units? Then if this MOU were accepted, all of us will feel blackmailed, as the hostages are being blackmailed now. These two projects need to run on their own merit . . . or wait until they can be openly linked! Steve Clarke, Eden Mountain developers are attempting to intimidate the County Commissioners by using the homeowners/hostages as a bargaining chip to gain the density they want both at Powder Mountain and now at Eden Heights? Remember, the Utah Supreme Court would NOT dismiss the appeal. Certainly, if the Court thought the suit was frivolous or had no merit, it would have dismissed the appeal. Don’t sell the Utah Supreme Court short! Sharon Zini, Huntsville 801-745-9673 Please Attend County Commission Hearing to Indicate Support Against Powder Mountain Proposal I am writing to express my frustration at the apparent lack of resolve with regard to the issue of regulation in the Powder Mountain real estate development debacle. Without going into minute detail, the developer purchases a property that rests under a present zoning condition; presents a request to Weber County for a rezoning; goes before the County Planning Commission and following a number of hearings receives certain stipulations in order to be granted the rezone request; and, finally, is not satisfied with the results of the stipulations so looks for a way to circumvent the very standards that have been carefully thought out by the Planning Commission. A state law passed by the legislature gave the developer a way out of adhering to local planning laws by incorporating an area that included a number of landowners without their vote to meet the requirements of incorporation. Later, that same law was recognized, by that same body of legislators, as being without merit and, most likely, being unconstitutional so rescinded it. However, the law allowed Powder Mountain developers to move ahead with the incorporation effort since their efforts to circum- vent the law preceded the rescinding of the law. This temporary victory by the developer was still not satisfying because they had failed to gain a surety for a government that would favor the desires of the developer. So now the Weber County Commissioners have been given a Memorandum of Understanding that goes against the total grain of the previous rezoning stipulations; that asks for more than a doubling of residential units among a number of other developer benefits. And what will the developer give in return? They will release the 57 residential families who have been held hostage through the “incorporation” law that they were able to hold on to though is now void. It now appears that the Weber County Commissioners are poised to give in to the developer’s stipulations within their Memorandum of Understanding instead of standing firm for their own prior stipulations. If this happens, a precedent will be set that gives every other developer the right to be treated without regard for the zoning set down in the Ogden Valley General Plan. And if refused, will result in a never-ending litany of lawsuits. The public hearing to be held on the June 1 in the Weber County Commission Chambers in Ogden will be the only time that we, as citizens of Ogden Valley, as well as all those folks who visit the Valley because of its rural setting, recreational amenities, and beauty will be able to oppose this developer’s onerous set of stipulations. We must remember that this issue is not over a few acres of ground, but a cause that we are defending that goes well beyond us, including our posterity and our prosperity, and whether we defeat the enemy in one battle or by degrees—which ever, the consequences will be the same. Let us give expression in a united voice at the June 1 public hearing at the Commission Chambers at 6:00 p.m. in the Weber Center, 2380 Washington Blvd., Ogden. Please attend to demonstrate to the Commissioners the number of Valley residents who are against this potential travesty. Edward A. Adair, Eden LETTERS TO THE EDITOR continued on pages 1 and 13 |
