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MORGAN — The developers behind the sprawling Wasatch Peaks Ranch development, critics of the plans and Morgan County officials have duked it out in court for more than four years.
The legal fight isn't over, but a judge earlier this month ordered a halt to work on the development — which had been proceeding despite the legal wrangling — and the Utah Supreme Court is to weigh in on that decision and another lower court ruling. A third lawsuit, filed last October, winds its way through U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.
Meantime, Morgan County Attorney Garrett Smith, also embroiled in the matter, alludes to the "extreme feelings" the controversy has caused. "I don't like to see the community torn apart," he said.
Call it a development spat writ large. At stake is a massive housing and recreation proposal geared to high-end clients that could dramatically boost tax collections in Morgan County, on the one hand, and the right of locals to petition against such massive growth and change, on the other. The 11,000- to 12,000-acre site, where homes, ski runs and a golf course have already started taking shape, is on otherwise undeveloped mountainous property east of Layton on the Wasatch Back.
Cindy Carter, allied with the five residents behind the legal efforts against the plans, says the aim isn't necessarily to halt the project, but rather to let the public have more of a say in things. "It's more to let the people vote," she said, calling the controversial 2019 zoning change that had allowed the plans to proceed the largest in county history.
Wasatch Peaks Ranch managing director Ed Schultz focuses on the benefits he says the project will bring Morgan County. The tax revenue generated by the new development, Wasatch Peaks Ranch officials maintain, could, in effect, double the Morgan County government budget and cut county homeowners' property tax bills in half. The project would also create hundreds of jobs.
Wasatch Peaks Ranch "would be one of the county's largest taxpayers but would require almost no county services as its roads and infrastructure would be all privately owned and maintained," Schultz said in a message to KSL.com. "That means WPR would contribute millions annually to the county in taxes without being a burden on county resources."
Whichever way things go, though, resolution may not come in the near term. The back-and-forth between the sides continues.
Carter hopes one of the key questions — whether the 2019 zoning change approved by Morgan County officials should remain in effect — goes to voters on the November 2024 ballot. That zoning change and a group of five residents' subsequent efforts to petition to get the decision on the ballot led to the original 2019 lawsuit, now to be reviewed by the Utah Supreme Court.
Schultz doesn't even offer a timeline. "We hope this is resolved as soon as possible but do not know when the case will be heard by the Supreme Court," he said.
In the interim, Wasatch Peaks Ranch officials are bolstering public outreach efforts with open houses and property tours given the controversy over their plans.
"We know we need to do a better job providing the facts. With that in mind, we are expanding our community outreach efforts so residents can learn more about the project firsthand and come to their own conclusions," Schultz said. Four years have passed since the 2019 zoning change at the center of the dispute, he said, and "we realize there has been a lot of misinformation shared about WPR during that time."
If the question on the 2019 zoning change made its way to the ballot and voters reversed the county decision, the Wasatch Peaks Plans would potentially be thrown into disarray. Schultz, though, stays upbeat.
"The golf course is already complete, as are five ski lifts and dozens of ski trails. Construction of a mountain village and over a dozen private (residences) was also underway prior to the injunction," he said. He won't speculate on the outcome of the matter but Wasatch Peaks officials "are confident" in the project's future prospects.
The three lawsuits
As for the lawsuits, 2nd District Court Judge Noel Hyde ruled last September in favor of the five residents who want to let voters determine whether the 2019 zoning change allowing the Wasatch Peaks Ranch plans to proceed should stand. They filed paperwork to petition to get the question on the ballot soon after the 2019 action, as allowed under state law, but Morgan County officials rejected the effort. County officials said at the time that the filing didn't comply with state guidelines.
Hyde ruled the paperwork, in fact, had been properly filed, allowing the five residents to petition to get their question on the ballot. Wasatch Peaks Ranch and Morgan County, the main target in the initial lawsuit, have appealed to the Utah Supreme Court.
Movement in the Supreme Court is stalled, in part, on the filing by the five residents' attorneys seeking payment of their fees, totaling more than $170,000, by Wasatch Peaks Ranch and Morgan County.
The second lawsuit filed by the residents in November calls for a halt to work on the project by Wasatch Peaks Ranch given the continuing questions over the zoning change. Hyde earlier this month sided with the residents, ordering a stop to work, and that has also been appealed to the Utah Supreme Court.
In the third case, filed in October in U.S. District Court against Morgan County and Wasatch Peaks Ranch, the five residents charge that allowing work on the Morgan County project to proceed despite their efforts against the zoning decision represented a violation of their civil rights. Both the county and Wasatch Peaks Ranch have filed motions calling for dismissal of the case.
Now, suspicions seem to linger among the five residents. One of their attorneys, Dana Farmer, said he's not so sure Wasatch Peaks Ranch has stopped work, Hyde's recent ruling notwithstanding.
"The property is hidden behind some hills and they have private security guards that won't let anyone on the property without permission. There are concrete trucks and dump trucks driving up their road most days," Farmer said. "We asked their lawyer and the county attorney why but have not received a response."
Schultz strikes a conciliatory tone, also maintaining that the Wasatch Peaks Plans have plenty of support despite the spread of what he says is misinformation. Some work continues, as allowed in Hyde's ruling, but only to maintain development that has already occurred, he said.
"We understand that we represent change and are focused on being a positive addition to Morgan County," Schultz said. Since the order earlier this month halting work "we have received an outpouring of support" from locals.
Smith, the Morgan County attorney, says he's hearing a mix of sentiments from the public, both for and against the development proposal. Given the division, he just hopes for civil discourse. "Just let the merits of the case speak for themselves rather than get into caustic-type of engagement," he said.
