By Mryna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
It wasn't on the agenda, which means, under terms of
the Sunshine Law, that no decision could be made but that
did not keep Nephi City Council and Mayor Chad Brough from
issuing an ultimatum.
Brough told Blaine Malquist, his daughter, Catherine
Malquist, Jim Greenhalgh and his wife, Sonne Greenhalgh,
that a decision had to be made within the week.
Failing to make a decision in favor of the city's
desired street and the property owned by Steve Ludlow, of
Ludlow Engineering, and his brother-in law, Vard White,
would have consequences.
"The street will be closed down," said Brough.
"Services will still be available but they will be available
on 400 East."
He said those living along 300 South could no longer
expect their garbage to be picked up in front of their
homes, could not expect the city to maintain the street, and
could not expect snow removal.
Mail delivery could be affected and, perhaps, would be
delivered at a common box on 400 East.
He set the time limit for Norma Malquist to make her
decision as to whether or not her street would be donated to
the project as Friday before noon.
Brough said he would call and report that decision to
the press before leaving on vacation but failed to do so.
Nevertheless, Norma Malquist, owner of the private roadway
on 300 South off of 400 East, said that a decision had been
made to allow the street to become public with certain
restrictions, one of those being that the roadway be
straight.
Walnut Grove subdivision, which received preliminary
council approval at the second council meeting in April, is
located south of 300 South and east of 400 East and is being
built on what is, currently, a land-locked field within city
limits.
The point of controversy is how much property should
be donated to the development of a street by the developer,
who was not named, and how much should come from the
properties along 300 South.
"We are giving over 50 percent," said B. Malquist.
The first stakes placed by Ludlow, at the request of
city staff, ended up taking property from the already
shallow lots of the present home owners along 300 South.
Malquist said that was unfair and that the property
owners, Ludlow and White, should give at least 50 percent of
the 25-lot subdivision property to the roadway even if that
meant they would need to sacrifice two lots.
In addition, the proposed street was narrower than
most streets in the city, a problem which the Greenhalgh
family considered unfair.
At the council meeting two weeks ago, land owners were
directed to meet and find an alternative that would suit
both the developer and the homeowners along 300 East.
It is proposed, after negotiations, that the street
would be 55-feet wide. That makes it 5-feet more than the
streets in Nebo Heights subdivision and 5-feet less than the
streets in South Towne Estates.
Sonne Greenhalgh, a day-care provider, wanted to make
certain the street would be wide enough to provide for the
safety of her own and her day-care children.
"I want my kids to be as safe as your kids," she
said.
Jim Greenhalgh, in an attempt to be recognized by the
chair, was told by Brough that he did not want to hear from
J. Greenhalgh.
Brough said that Greenhalgh was just shooting the
bullets of B. Malquist and that, in the mayor's opinion,
Malquist could shoot his own bullets.
"We know you are against the subdivision," said
Brough.
Jim Greenhalgh produced a copy of the city's
ordinances governing streets and showed the council that the
city required a 60-foot road.
"Let it go!" said Greg Rowley, council member who sits
on the city planning commission.
He said the ordinance did allow the narrower roadway.
Nevertheless, the copy J. Greenhalgh had obtained a week
earlier did not have another size listed, Greenhalgh said,
and council members kept the ordinance copy Greenhalgh had
obtained to review it.
Rowley said the city did have a right to use the
street along 300 East even though ownership had never been
deeded. He said, by rights of use, it had become a
prescriptive easement.
There was another view, said Catherine Malquist.
"They (Ludlow and White) are getting money from this
project, and we are not," she said. "They are getting our
road for free. Forcing somebody to make a decision based on
blackmail is not right."
"The whole street is one big long driveway," said
Brough. However, he did not think the garbage truck should
continue to try to turn on the dead end street. "If it is
not a public street, it is not a public access."
Another problem with the proposed roadway was that it
was not straight, said Malquist.
"We have curved it slightly (near 500 East) to get
further away from the old Bale home (Norma Malquist's
parents)," said Ludlow.
The Bale home should have been built with a bigger
set-back in the first place, said Brough.
"That home is over 100 years old and was the first one
there. It was in the county, at the time, and was annexed by
the city later," said B. Malquist.
Ludlow said he thought there was an agreement between
the property owners and himself but had received a
three-page letter from the Malquists. "They want us to use
the fence-line as the mid-point."
He said he was required, in doing survey work, to use
the coordinates he obtained from the property description on
deeds in the recorder's office.
B. Malquist said the fence was fairly straight and he
had used his GPS system and found the fence line to be
mostly accurate.
"We measured it with Verl Wilkey (another property
owner)," said B. Malquist.
Ludlow said that his equipment, a several thousand
dollar GPS unit, was superior to a unit owned by B. Malquist
and was, therefore, more accurate.
Brough protested that an old fence line was not
considered a fair boundary.
Denton Hatch, city attorney, said there was a case
heard at the Utah State Supreme Court which determined that
a fence was a boundary by acquiescence after it was in place
for 20 years.
Brough said that another street planned for property
owned by N. Malquist would no longer be planned which would
give Malquist another building lot. The roadway would also
give Verl Wilkey another building lot.
Another point was that neither the subdivision
property owners nor the homeowners were on the agenda.
Ludlow and White said they attended the meeting because they
expected the city to make a decision as to whether the
street would be allowed or whether they would go back to
their first plan for the subdivision which did not require
development of 300 South street.
B. Malquist said he could not make the decision for
his wife because he was not on the deed. He, his daughter,
and the Greenhalghs were in attendance because they had
heard, at the last minute, that it might be advisable.
"You take this information back to Norma (Malquist),"
said Brough. "But you make sure that the other property
owners agree with her decision and that (not having a street
developed) is what they all want."
Council member Jim Wilkey suggested the council just
drop the whole idea and allow the Ludlow/White property to
be developed as they had first proposed it with a fence
erected along the back of the subdivision which would then
face 300 South.
That proposal would not increase traffic along 300
South and there would be no need for development of that
street.
Ludlow said that he had told the city in the beginning
that the subdivision had no right to the road and that it
was at the city council's request that some of the lots were
turned so that they would face 300 South.
Taking more property from the subdivision to devote to
the roadway was a problem and the subdivision was already
going to need to request a zone change to allow to small
lots to be used.
"It will really crunch the lots if we move further
south," said Ludlow.
In addition, said Ludlow, if a decision was not made
quickly, Ludlow and White would lose the sale of the
property.
Ludlow said he and White had been working with the
city for six months and needed a decision.
They needed that decision by Friday said Ludlow.
B. Malquist said the decision was being made by the
property owners along 300 East on short notice. They did not
know they were being expected to donate property to the
subdivision's road until stakes were placed in their front
yards two weeks ago.
|
