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South Valley Riverton Journal

Dansie Property Rezoned

Aug 04, 2016 11:52AM ● By Briana Kelley

The map above was presented at the council meeting on June 28 and shows the re-zoned property. -©Riverton City Communications

By Briana Kelley | [email protected] 

Riverton, Utah - The Dansie property has been rezoned following a 4-1 approval by Riverton’s city council on June 28.

The 14-acre property, located at 3150 West 13400 South, was rezoned to R-3 or residential one-third-acre lots with special designations (SD). The rezone, which has been debated publicly since the May 17 council meeting, is seen predominantly as a compromise for existing residents, the property owner, and the developer. 

“I’m fine with the council’s decision. I like what the council did,” resident Ken Wunner said. “I think having the SD we have more control, and I think the council came to a reasonable balance between the folks who wanted to keep it a half and what the Dansies and the developer wanted to do with the property.” Wunner’s property is adjacent to the developing property. 

More than 50 residents turned out for the initial hearing on May 17 to voice their concerns. Most were against the re-zone for  myriad reasons, including density, traffic, water pressure, power and property values. The council voted unanimously to deny the rezone at the time. 

The council reconsidered rezoning the property at the June 28 council meeting. Councilmember Paul Wayman, who represents the area in question, urged reconsidering the rezone with special designations or SD. An SD is a stipulation that the council can attach to an approval to meet specific requirements and concerns.

“I wanted to represent you, and I wanted to be neutral, and I wanted to know what everybody thought,” Wayman said. “I like the idea of compromise. Looking at a compromise of lot sizes and how many lots there will be. A compromise to 30 lots sounds like a good compromise.”

Wayman also spoke with Rocky Mountain Power and the city’s public works department to alleviate existing residents’ concerns.

The motion to adopt ordinance 16-14 rezoning the property from RR-22, rural residential half-acre lots, to R-3 with special designations passed 4-1 with Councilmember Tricia Tingey voting no. 

The SD stated that the following: First, before construction starts 3200 West and 13400 South will be connected; second, there will be minimum 2,000-square-foot property above ground along the east of border of the property with an 8-foot fence installed between the new and existing properties; third, there will be minimum 1,800-square-foot property above ground on all other lots; fourth, there will be a minimum three-car garage on all lots; fifth, there will be no more than 30 lots with a minimum size of one-third-acre; sixth, the developer will install a vinyl fence on the north side of the property between new and existing homes; seventh, no construction access will be allowed through existing neighborhoods.

At both meetings, residents voiced their concerns about construction and added traffic caused by development. The city assured residents that 3200 West will be connected to 13400 South and that connection would be required before construction occurred. 

“The road will be built before development will occur,” Mayor Bill Applegarth said at the May 17 meeting. “The city can and will control the construction traffic. We will restrict any construction traffic from any of the surrounding roads for a safety, durability and cleanliness point of view. The road will go through and be completed; construction traffic will only go down 3200 West.” 

City leaders later clarified that all of the construction, including 3200 West, will be by the developer. City officials will approve the design, and the developer does the construction work. When asked about the timeline of the completion of 3200 West, city stated: 

“We really don’t have any further details on the timing of the project or the road work. That will depend on the applicant moving forward with subdivision design and approval, so there is no timetable available for beginning of the work or completion of the road. The same is true of some of the design details, like whether the road would initially be accessible only to construction traffic. Those are the kinds of the issues we will address through the subdivision review process.”

Residents, the developer and the city are all hopeful that development will go smoothly now that a compromise has been reached. 

“We will miss the alfalfa fields; that was a nice thing living there,” Wunner said. “But on the other hand, it’s progress, and looking at Riverton, it was only a matter of time before the field was developed. I’m glad it was half-acre and third-acre lots instead of high-density or commercial.”