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SPANISH FORK -- In the midst of another wet weekend along the Wasatch Front, one homeowner in Spanish Fork is squaring off with city managers over flood preparations.
River levels in the Utah County city are expected to reach six times higher than normal. With each storm, rivers come that much closer to overflowing their banks -- bringing the potential for serious damage to homes and property.
It doesn't seem like I should buy a piece of property and someone else should decorate it for me.
–Ron Mendell
But Spanish Fork resident Ron Mendell says if you live by a river, you need to pay special attention to your property rights. Mendell got a call at work Tuesday from the city informing him that crews were doing flood control in his yard.
Mendell says he has done $12,000 of landscaping since he moved into his home last October. He's installed a fire pit, a path to the river, and has plans to continue work this summer.
"My daughters and I were going to put a slip and slide down into the river," he said.
Mendel asked the city workers to wait a few days to come into his yard.
"I said I would take my chances with the flooding," he said.
There's a 20-foot easement that runs along the bank, so the city had the legal right to enter. Mendell says he wasn't aware of this easement, though it was in his homeowner association paperwork.
When he got home, he says the easement was torn up and big boulders lined the shore.
We sure hope the river can contain everything, but if it can't, or debris comes down, this work will be the best we can do to make sure the bank is armored and protected.
–Seth Parrins
"It doesn't seem like I should buy a piece of property and someone else should decorate it for me," Mendell said.
He continued, "I live here. I pay my taxes. I do what's right. All I asked for was a couple of days to see what I can do about this and they said 'Sorry, we no longer need the easement through your yard -- we gained it through your yard.'"
City officials say they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They like to give homeowners more notice, but say their consultants gave them a narrow window of time in which they would be able to armor the banks before the water got too high.
"The water is already flowing into the work we've done," said assistant city manager Seth Parrins.
They not only are trying to protect homes, but also a bridge that parallels Mendell's yard and carries utility lines.
"We sure hope the river can contain everything, but if it can't, or debris comes down, this work will be the best we can do to make sure the bank is armored and protected," said Parrins.
Parrins says the city will help Mendell and other neighbors fix their landscaping to the best of its ability. Mendell, however, says his yard won't be the same.
Both sides advise people thinking of buying a river property to study contracts and paperwork carefully, as well as to determine if there are any easements on the property.
Email: sdallof@ksl.com
