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Show Changes kayed ffer Estes C j County planners take first step towards Traverse Ridge ' "'-' I I V L. s s I a I . li'M ' J V ? immmf' J' 'T ' ' "1 fl: v . -mi im mum mjmmw&hmi -r-""''' ' v ,1 x mmrtimmummmmtmur. ? CTnii w.u s j 3 C JwsAwwwww .r ' I I ? f 'mtsamn$K- - ,,-' ... .' ' ti'i w ; . . V-V -'7, -,'f t ; JJ By GARY LEONARD In a five-hour public hearing March 18 in Provo, the Utah County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Utah County Commission change I the county master plan and zoning - for the Traverse Ridge area. The approval is the first step in the process towards getting the actual I approval . to build the proposed development. jj Estes Company, an Arizona based J developer, wants to build a planned community of about 4500 homes on i) the Traverse Ridge area of north Utah County. They had asked the commission to change the master plan to allow creation of a special J service district and to change the i zoning from critical environment to rural residential. During the hearing the com-mission com-mission heard presentations from ,i Estes Company officials on the I proposed development of the area, ; and subsequent arguments from : citizens opposed to the idea. Dennis Wall, of Estes community development division, showed a j slide presentation of other projects the company has done. He stressed the fact that Estes is experienced in i' working in the type of terrain found ' on Traverse Ridge and they are I committed to the idea of working ; within the existing environment '( instead of changing it. , "We go out of our way to preserve the natural beauty and pristine nature of the areas we develop," he said. Jj Bruce Erickson, of J.J. Johnson and Associates, an engineering firm ! that has done preliminary surveys for Estes, displayed maps of the area showing proposed access j roads, drainage and flood control 1 plans and possible school sites. He said land in the area with over 30 percent slopes cannot be developed and about one-third of the land falls in that category. Officials of Highland and Alpine, as well as numerous citizens, voiced opposition to the zone change. Most felt the commission was moving too fast and that not enough information in-formation has been presented on the possible impact to neighboring areas. Alpine mayor Ron Rasmussen said the change should be made contingent upon Estes final go-ahead go-ahead with the project. "If the zone is changed and Estes decides to back out of the project, then the area would be left wide open to uncontrolled development by smaller contractors. The county would have a hard time changing the zone back to critical environment," en-vironment," he said. Highland city officials expressed concerns about traffic flow and population density. Mayor Larry Miller said there are still a lot of unanswered questions. "We are concerned about traffic flow and population density. Property in existing areas could lose value with a high density development like this," he said. Some citizens were worried that the commissioners vote would give Estes a free hand to pursue the development, but Dennis Wall said this is not the case. "We are still in the planning stages. There are more studies to be done before we begin any work, and we will continue to work with the neighboring communities to provide them with additional information," he said. In approving the change, commission com-mission members agreed that it was time to give Estes a positive Highland Mayor Larry Miller points out an area of concern during County Planning Commission hearing on the proposed Traverse Ridge development. sign that Utah County is serious about the development. Commissioner James Young said, "We are on the right road with this change." He assured citizens and city officials that their input "will not stop at this point." County commissioner Gary Anderson said he doesn't think a zone change will hurt anyone at this time. He said, "Estes Company will be coming to us throughout the project for plan approvals. There will be many more stopping points before development takes place." Anderson said there are two messages for Estes in the public hearing and county's vote. "We like your style and want you to build here, but we are very conservative in our decision making process," he said. Highland city officials said they would probably discuss the commission's com-mission's vote at their next council meeting and decide what, if any, further action they will take. |