Email and reply to the City and a reply from Ryan Woods, attorney for the City of Lehi regarding the legality of the Family Search Plat

Here is my original email to Robert Ranc

To:

Robert Ranc <rranc@lehi-ut.gov>;

Cc:

Bert Wilson <bwilson@lehi-ut.gov>;

Chris Condie <ccondie@lehi-ut.gov>;

phancock@lehi-ut.gov;

Mark Johnson <mjohnson@lehi-ut.gov>;

Johnny Revill <jrevill1023@gmail.com>;

Mike Southwick <msouthwick@lehi-ut.gov>;

 ... 

Wed 7/22/2015 3:24 PM

Gentlemen

The language outlined below is to my knowledge correct.  Let me bring your attention to some other wording in the same section.

A1. Minor subdivisions.  Subdivision review and approval MAY be granted by the Chief Building Officer and Public Works Director.  Key word here is MAY, it does not say shall or should but MAY.  I think many in the community are going to want to know your reasoning for not looking at this highly sensitive and potentially dangerous subdivision approval.  Just because the code uses the word MAY, does not mean, should or shall.  I think you have seen the backlash this project has caused all over the State and before it is done, nationwide.  Maybe in the future a more careful review of projects MAY be in order.
Section 1B states, The subdivision does not require the construction of any public improvements or the dedication of any public right away.  At this point, the issue of public improvements has been mentioned a number of times, even by Kim.  This is not a hard fact at this point.  There MAY be public improvements that need to be made so therefore, since it is not an actual fact, this should have been reviewed by other parties.

B2. Site plans with a total valuation, including building and all associated improvements greater than $10,000,000 SHALL follow the City's standard procedures for review and approval of the site plan including approval by the Planning Commission, following a review of the DRC.  To my knowledge the Planning Commission knew nothing of this project until July 9th.

C. When was the submittal given to the city, on what date?  I would like to see a copy of the submittal and the associated date it was submitted.

There are so many additional questions and concerns I have.  I will address these in time.

Bill Conley



Reply from Ryan Woods, attorney for the City of Lehi

Robert Ranc

Reply|

To:

billhytek@hotmail.com;

Cc:

Bert Wilson <BWilson@lehi-ut.gov>;

Chris Condie <ccondie@lehi-ut.gov>;

Paul Hancock <phancock@lehi-ut.gov>;

Mark Johnson <mjohnson@lehi-ut.gov>;

Johnny Revill <jrevill1023@gmail.com>;

Mike Southwick <msouthwick@lehi-ut.gov>;

 ... 

Wed 7/22/2015 2:59 PM

Bill,

The mayor asked Ryan Wood, our city attorney, to look into your question regarding the legislative body approval requirement as it pertains to the LDS Church’s Family Search development.  I’ve included Ryan’s response to the mayor below for your information.

Mayor Wilson:

I have researched the questions raised by Bill Conley re: the Family Search Commercial Subdivision. The answer is fairly straightforward and is found in Chapter 28 of the Development Code. Section 28.080 has provisions that provide for an expedited subdivision review process. Here is the exact language from 28.080(A):

Minor subdivisions. Subdivision review and approval may be granted by the Chief Building Official and Public Works Director if all of the following provisions apply: (a) The subdivision includes less than ten (10) lots. (b) The subdivision does not require the construction of any public improvements or the dedication of any public right of way. The Preliminary and Final Plans shall be submitted and reviewed simultaneously, and the Chief Building Official and Public Works Director are designated by the City Council as the officers having authority, on behalf of the City Council, to approve and sign the final Document(s)

I verified with Kim Struthers that this project meets the qualifications for an expedited review and that the review process complied with this section. You’ll notice that this section specifically designates authority from the city council to the Chief Building Official and the Public Works Director to approve and sign the subdivision document. Section 28.080(B) contains similar provisions for an expedited review of a Site Plan for projects that have a valuation of less than $10,000,000. However, this project does not qualify for expedited Site Plan review and will be required to go through the City’s standard review process (DRC and Planning Commission).

Please let me know if I can provide any further information on this issue.

Ryan

A couple of comments.  Todd Munger indicated in a subsequent DRC meeting that public improvements were warranted, thus, he and Gary Smith did not have the authority to sign on behalf of the city council on the Family Search Plat.

Secondly, the Family Search Plat is recorded as a plat and not by metes and bounds as required by chapter 28, thus the recording at Utah County is inaccurate.

Words have meaning.