Utah Lawmaker Puts the ‘Pro’ in Pro-Development Bill’

By Headwaters News, 1-25-06

Utah state Sen. Al Mansell, a Sandy Republican and a real estate broker, has proposed land-use legislation that would shift the land-use decision authority from city councils to the administrative staff of those cities.

The Salt Lake Tribunereports that Senate Bill 170 would limit cities to creating a general growth plan and drawing a general zoning map. It would also limit cities' rezoning efforts to lands that cover more than 25 percent of the city.

All other land-use matters would fall under the administrative duties of the mayor, city staffers or planning commissions.

The bill would specifically prevents cities from decisions that would deprive landowners of "all economically viable uses," and would not allow cities make zoning decisions based on ''public clamor'' or the ''whims of members of the legislative body.''

The measure would also prevent citizen referendums on zoning matters, an important aspect given the localized fights in Utah over Wal-Marts and other big-box stores.

Grass-root activists said the bill is a mandate to cities to go along with development plans, since it makes any input from residents meaningless.

Utah's property rights ombudsman Craig Call said he sees both good and bad in the bill. Call said the legislation would give property owners some black-and-white picture of otherwise muddy zoning issues, but agreed that it does squelch comments from residents.

Another Utah development story shows the trend toward downtown development is continuing along the Wasatch Front.

The Deseret News today reports that Wasatch Property Management has purchased two additional buildings in downtown Salt Lake City and created two new companies to ramp up development activity there. Company officials were sketchy about plans for the buildings, but said new office space and mixed-use developments are in the mix.

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