On March 24, 2016 the Lehi City
Planning Commission approved, The Thanksgiving Point Office Site Plan, I am
appealing that decision and requesting that you reverse the decision or at
minimum, put that decision on hold until the following questions and concerns
have been addressed.
(This is a long document)
Executive Summary
This appeal will cover the following
subjects (not in order as listed)
The creation of the Family Search
Plat is suspect and recorded improperly at Utah County.
Thanksgiving Village is adjacent
and borders the Family Search Plat, thus any building cannot exceed 35 feet or
2 stories.
There is insufficient parking to
support both a 135,000 square feet office building and a 22,400 square feet
church. This is a violation of code.
The church has violated the
special warranty deed they signed with Beesmark and the city has a moral and
ethical
Responsibility to make sure the
developers we allow in the city do not violate any warranty deeds they have
signed.
In addition, why would the city
not hold the church accountable to adhere to the warranty deed exactly as it is
written?
The
church has violated numerous Lehi City codes are outlined in Chapter 28.
The health, safety and welfare of
the residents of the city of Lehi are put in danger with increased traffic and
congestion and it is only a matter of time before someone is injured or dies
from streams of cars traveling in residential neighborhoods where children play
in their front yards.
The Thanksgiving Point
Architectural Review board has not signed off on the project.
The traffic study that needs to
be done has not been done and the traffic study that was done shows traffic at
an F grade.
There is not power to the site.
Engineering has not started off on the design, cost associated with the
construction and implementation have not been calculated. We as a city cannot begin to approve projects
where we don’t know what the cost of the infrastructure improvements will be.
DRC still has a number of large
concerns about this project that have not yet been addressed.
The residents in the area have
been harmed not only financial but their way of living will forever be changed
by swapping a driving range for a massive 135,000 square foot office building,
a 22,400 square foot church and enough parking for close to 500 cars.
10 -15 thousand additional
vehicle trips will come and go from this complex each and every day crowding an
already congested area of town.
Those working for the City are
NOT adhering to and enforcing City code EXACTLY as it is written.
David Harkness who serves as the
President and CEO of Beesmark to my understanding also serves on the
Thanksgiving Point Architectural Review board.
This conflict of interest does not allow him to be objective when
viewing the proposed plans presented to Thanksgiving Point by the church. David Harkness is also the person responsible
for informing the church that they are in violation of the special warranty
deed they signed and agreed to.
The residents of Thanksgiving
Village and me personally will be harmed by the creation of this project and
especially for the increase in traffic, noise, light and pollution.
Comment: My wife who has cancer, her life will be put
in jeopardy if this project is allowed to be built. If my wife spikes a fever
of 100.5, she needs to be rushed to the emergency room, every minute
counts. Currently at rush hour, it can
take upwards of 25 – 30 minutes to travel 1 mile from our home to the
freeway. If you add an additional 500 +
cars leaving at rush out on Garden Drive going towards the freeway on Club
House Drive or heading South on Garden Way, we can expect those travel times to
get worse. My wife’s life is at stake and the increase in traffic may cost her
the opportunity to get to an emergency room in time. What is the cost of a
life? There are several elderly people
in this neighborhood who share the same concern about the increase in traffic
this project will create.
Request: I request the Board of Adjustments reverses
the approval decision made by the planning commission. That does not mean that
the applicant can’t bring forward a new revised amended corrected application
where they are in compliance with the special warranty deed, the development
meets Lehi City code exactly as it is written and city employees and officials
have had time assess the project and traffic situation in more detail.
This project is unique.
Question? What was the rush in approving the
project? I believe the planning
commission prematurely approved a project that still has way too many questions
and concerns that needed to be addressed before they approved the project. It is my understanding that ONE of the
reasons the planning commission approved the application was due to timing of
when the church would like to begin construction. The city most certainly MUST NOT approve
project on a developer’s schedule. I
have been informed the church wants to start construction the early part of
May.
At the end of this appeal is a
letter I sent to the planning commissioner’s prior to the planning commission
meeting on March 24, 2016. The
commissioner’s felt no need to review my letter or give me an opportunity to
speak. I believe careful review of the letter I sent them would be helpful.
The
bases of my appeal are numerous and as follows:
The
proposed office development DOES NOT meet Lehi City Code, chapter 28, section
28.070 – Development Standards (See attached explanation)
The
proposed office development if allowed to be built IS adjacent to the
Thanksgiving Point neighborhood and any development should not exceed 35 feet
in height or 2 stories. (See attached
explanation)
Development
Review Comments ignored by the Planning Commission decision.
DRC
meeting December 2, 2015 Kim
stated; “with the office and stake center building, the site NEEDS to be
designed such that the overall development is cohesive. EXTERIOR MATERIALS AND COLORS NEED TO
COORDINATE.
The external materials and colors of
the proposed commercial office building and LDS Stake Center DO NOT match or
coordinate. The commercial office building, the colors, design and final look
has not been presented as yet.
Architectural drawings and renderings of the commercial office building
have not been produced. Architectural
drawings and renderings of the LDS Stake Center have not been provided. There is NO WAY to tell if the exterior
materials and colors coordinate.
Same
meeting, December 2, 2015
Todd Munger– Public Works: Two traffic signals are warranted for this
project as per the traffic study.
According to Ross Dinsdale, these
traffic signals are only in the discussion phase and may never get built and if
they do get built, there construction will be years away.
Kelly Ash who sits on the Planning
Commission is a traffic engineer. He
indicated this project would create 10 – 15 thousand new cars traveling on Lehi
Residential streets. He voted NO to
approving the new Thanksgiving Point Office Site.
In
a DRC meeting on January 27th,
2016, the critical issue that was cited that before this project can proceed,
final traffic report will be REQUIRED to determine which improvements will be
completed. To date this traffic study
has NOT been completed.
The current traffic study done by
the church reported the current traffic is at an F grade. The city has NO plans to improve traffic
conditions which would be completed any time soon. This project would increase
traffic conditions to an extreme level creating enormous backups and
jeopardizing the health, safety and welfare of those who live on the
residential streets impacted by the new office building.
I
believe the Planning Commission jumped the gun in approving this project. Not
to say this project couldn’t be approved in the future. For right now, it needs
to be put on hold and the approval overturned.
In
that same meeting Glade from Power said the following
(this has been reported in nearly every DRC meeting since this project began) –
Under current conditions the circuits feeding the proposed area have NO
AVAILABLE CAPACITY. Until further review and system improvements are designed
and or in place WE ARE UNABLE TO SERVE THIS PROJECT.
To date, the design of a new power
structure has not even begun. The cost associated incurred by the city has not
been determined. The implementation of
when the new power substation would be built has not be determined or even
discussed. Currently, if the project were to be built, there would be no power
to the proposed office building.
This
project needs to be put on hold until a design has been created, cost of
implementation and to the city has been determined and the installation of the
new power substation has occurred.
Ross indicated in that same
meeting: Provide a traffic study which
should address: site access (recommend one way in, one way out on the central
two accesses) access spacing from Desert Forest Lane, traffic impacts to the
bridge at Club House Drive, traffic impacts on Garden Drive, 2150 North and the
intersection at 2300 W.
To date, this has not been done and
I don’t know if it is even in the works to getting done.
Ross did indicate in the planning
commission meeting that UDOT and the City began talks on Monday March 21st, three days before the meeting. If anything ever gets done, it will be years
away which will mean the traffic at the intersection of 2300 and 2150 will be a
disaster for years to come.
This
project needs to be put on hold until a traffic study has been done by the City
to show the impact of this project on that intersection and the residential
roads where traffic is at 25 mph.
Same meeting: Provide an engineer’s cost estimate for the
final cost of all improvements.
This has not been done. The city should never enter into a project
without first fully knowing what it is going to cost call the city to
implement.
Same meeting and most of the other
meetings: Approval from Thanksgiving
Point Architectural Review Committee on the design of the building, parking,
lighting and landscaping.
To date, the TPARC has not given
their approval and there are several sticking points that first need to be
addressed before final approval is given.
It is premature to approve the
Thanksgiving Point Office complex before ALL issues, cost and approvals are
complete.
February
10th meeting and in subsequent meetings
as well, Kim stated the following: The
TP control guidelines call for 3.5 trees per 1000 square feet of building. The
current landscape plan shows 535 trees. Based upon the building square footage
of 156,880 (office and church), 546 trees would be needed.
VCBO has failed to show new
landscaping designs for the project.
Same meeting: The TP Architectural control guidelines for
9’ x 20’ size parking stalls with 25’ aisles. The site plan either needs to be
adjusted to meet these standards or otherwise approved by the TPARC.
This has not been done.
July
22, 2015 Kim from DRC stated: The Resort Community Development Standards
(section 28.070) state that flat roofs shall be avoided. Recommend considering
additional architectural features to break up the roofline.
This has not been done
PARKING
January
27, 2016 DRC meeting
On the parking requirement, the TP
control guidelines call for 4.5 stalls per 1000 square feet of leasable
building space. For 135,000 square feet, this would be 607 stalls unless
otherwise approved by the TPARC. Lehi’s standard is 3.3 stalls per 1000 square
feet of gross floor area. In addition, the church would require 1 stall for
every 4 seats in the assembly hall area. Provide information on how many seats
are in the assembly area. The current plan shows a total of 510 parking stalls.
Either additional parking would be required or the TPARC needs to allow
approval based upon Lehi City’s standard vs the ARC guidelines.
In the application put forward by
VCBO, they indicate that they now have only 497 parking stalls in total between
the office and church.
Parking is a major concerned and
written approval by the TPARC and or the city of Lehi has not been done.
It would be premature to approve a
project where a critical issue such as parking has not been finalized. Parking could potential determine the
footprint of the Thanksgiving Point office building.
It is my contention that the project
has insufficient parking to meet the needs of both a 135,000 square foot office
building and 22,400 square foot church building.
Special Warrant Deed Ignored
The
Planning Commission punted when the subject of the Special Warranty Deed was
mentioned and for good reason.
By honoring the language in the Special Warranty Deed, this project as designed
could NEVER be approved. The Special
Warranty Deed signed by the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Beesmark LLC has very specific
language. I have included with this
application for appeal a copy of the language in the signed contract along with
my analysis. In short, the language and
contractual agreement between the church and Beesmark reads in part,
“Grantee (the LDS Church) will
maintain a family search and discovery center in the building located closest
to the southern border of the property consisting of at least 6,000 square feet and that is open to the
general public. The purpose and intent of the foregoing covenant is to
ENSURE that grantee (the LDS Church) will operate the property in a manner
mutually beneficial to grantor (Thanksgiving Point) and grantee. “
As
the project sits today, the church has proposed building a Stake Center on the
southern border of the property and a 135,000 square foot office building on
the northern border of the property, both of which are in VIOLATION of the
Special Warranty Deed signed by the church and Beesmark, LLC.
It
is my assertion that the City has a duty, obligation and right to require a
developer to honor a contractual commitment they made to secure the property.
Morally and ethically they are required to protect the health, safety and
welfare of the citizens of the city of Lehi.
By allowing a developer to renege on their contractual commitment, they
put every citizen at risk. If a
developer says they are going to build a charter school and commits to building
a charter school in a Special Warranty Deed and then submits an application
with the city to build a strip mall. The city has a responsibility to its
citizens to make sure the developer honors their contractual commitment to
build a charter school. In this case, a
6000 square foot Family Search and Discovery Center is a far cry from a massive
4 story, 135,000 square foot office complex and a 22,400 square foot Stake
Center.
The
city has a responsibility to its citizens to not approve this development until
the developer is honors their contractual commitment to build a Family Search
and Discovery Center on the southern border of the property.
Interim Summary
So far, I believe this plan is contrary
to the public interest. This plan puts the health, safety and welfare of the
citizens at risk. The developer has blatantly disregarding the Lehi City
building standards as outline in chapter 28,
section 28.070, has insufficient parking for the project, all design,
cost and implementation needed to be done by the city has not been done. In
addition, the TPRAC has not approved the project, city engineers have not
completed their traffic study and there is NO power to the project and the
design, cost and implementation of the power requirements to the project have
not been done.
This
property is UNIQUE in that it is still currently a driving range used by the
Thanksgiving Point golf course. The
driving range was carved out by the sale of the property from Beesmark to the
Church. There is no other property similar to this in the city of Lehi. This is
a one of a kind property. This would be
the one and only commercial building west of the railroad tracks. This building
would be one of the largest building in the Thanksgiving Point area if not the
largest, sitting within a few hundred feet of a residential community. Most residents who bought and paid a premium
price for their homes because of their location to the golf course are not
detrimentally impacted by having a massive office building next to their
homes. No one could have ever
anticipated that the Thanksgiving Point Driving Range would one day be
converted into a massive office complex and a church building. Form the research
I have done, this would be a first in the nation for this type of transition.
Already
one of the homes in our neighborhood sold and the homeowner took less money for
their home because of the proposed office building.
This
area of town and those who live in this area are severely harmed by the
increase in traffic on our residential streets.
The safety of the children who play in our neighborhoods is in jeopardy
by cars whizzing by our homes. City
engineers admit that traffic in and around the Thanksgiving Point area and
which will be created by this project will harm cause additional congestion,
frustration and anger, they just don’t have a plan to solve the current traffic
nightmare that exist.
Unlike
other properties in the zoning district, this project is literally right on top
of the Thanksgiving Village residents.
Noise, light, air pollution, traffic are all detrimental to those who
live near this proposed commercial office development. Where once a driving range sat, a commercial
office complex will now sit. Where once we had the pristine grass and
tranquility of the driving range, we will now have a massive office building
with 10’s thousands of cars crowding our streets. The hustle and bustle of cars and people is
not what anyone in the Thanksgiving Village HOA expected.
This
project should be built east of the railroad tracks, like every other
commercial office building.
Family Search
Plat improperly recorded
In
addition to all the concerns listed above.
The Family Search Plat is improperly recorded at Utah County. The Family
Search Plat cannot be recorded as a plat, but must be recorded using metes and
bounds. (I have attached an explanation
with is appeal). In short, the language in Chapter 28 clearly state that a
subdivision within the resort community MUST be recorded using metes and bounds
and NOT a plat. This subdivision must be
re-recorded using the proper designation. Words have meeting and the code is
clear. The Family Search Plan CANNOT be
recorded as a plat.
This alone should disqualify it from
approval.
Heath, Safety
and Welfare
Lastly,
this project will greatly impact the health, safety and welfare of the citizens
of the city of Lehi. (See attached).
Literal enforcement of the zoning
district provisions of this Code would cause an unreasonable hardship for the
applicant not necessary to carry out the general purpose of the zoning district
or this Code.
Absolutely YES
There are special circumstances attached
to the property that do not generally apply to other properties in the same
zoning district. No finding of special circumstances shall be made unless they
relate to the hardship complained of and deprive the property of privileges
available to other properties in the same zoning district.
Absolutely YES
The variance is essential to the
enjoyment of a substantial property right possessed by other property in the
district.
Absolutely YES
The granting of the variance will
not substantially affect the goals, objectives, policies or standards of the
General Plan and will not be contrary to the public interest.
The spirit of the requirements and
provisions of this Code will be observed and substantial justice done.
This project breaks all sorts of Lehi
City Code, breaks a contractual commitment the developer made with the seller,
violates the morals, ethics and standards of all those concerned, is
detrimental to the safety, health and welfare of the citizens of Lehi and
justice would be done if the project was put on hold at this time.
In the Utah League of Cities and
Towns Powers and Duties, a Handbook for Utah Municipal Officials (used at the
city of Lehi), it states on page 121, paragraph 2 (Basic Legal Issues for Land
Use Control);
The purposes of this chapter are to
provide for the HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELARE AND PROMOTE THE PROSPERITY, IMPROVE
THE MORALS, PEACE AND GOOD ORDER, COMFORT, CONVENIENCE AND AESTHETICS OF EACH
MUNICIPALITY AND ITS PRESENT AND FUTURE INHABITANTS.
This project requires that those who
work for the city loosen the grip of their morals to approve a project where
the developer has violated the terms of the sale of the property. For each of
those involved in this decision, they must make a moral decision to honor the
language in the special warranty deed or to look the other way, still knowing
that the developer is in violation of the Special Warranty Deed they signed. The Board of Adjustments must also make a
moral and legal decision to allow a development that clearly breaks and
violates city code, violates the special warranty deed signed by the developer,
puts the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Lehi at risk and impacts
and harms those who live, work and visit the Thanksgiving Point area.
This project is contrary to the
public interest!
The last point I would like to bring
up is the creation of the Family Search Plat (should be recorded by metes and
bounds). The Family Search Plat creation circumvented normal subdivision
procedures.
Creation of a Subdivision
In the Utah League of Cities and
Towns handbook page 143 – Subdivision Ordinances, paragraph 4, it lays out the
process by which a subdivision is created.
“The process to enact a subdivision
ordinance is a two-step process. The planning commission is REQUIRED to prepare
and recommend a proposed ordinance to the city council. The planning commission must hold a public
hearing on the proposed ordinance before making its final recommendation to the
city council. The city council does not
have to hold a public hearing but it may if it wishes. Notice of the public hearing must be mailed
to each affected entity and posted in at least three public locations within
the city or town or posted on the city or town’s official website at least ten
calendar days before the public hearing.
Notice of the public hearing must also be published in a newspaper or
general circulation and on the Utah Public Notice Website at least ten calendar
days before the public hearing; or it can be mailed to each property owner
whose land is directly affected and to each adjacent property owner if the city
or town has adopted an ordinance to that effect.
The city or town council may adopt
or reject the ordinance as proposed by the planning commission or it may revise
the recommended ordinance and then adopt it as amended.”
Step one: Planning Commission review.
Step two: City council review.
In the case of the Family Search
Plat, either the planning commission or city council review the plat before the
plat was approved. The creation of the
Family Search Plat was signed off and created by the signature of someone from
the public works department and a building inspector.
There was no notice given to the
public, no review by the planning commission or city council, no public
hearings, no involvement or notice to those impacted by the creation of the new
subdivision. The only two people
involved in signing off and creating the new subdivision were city employees.
This is highly unusual and it is my
understanding this is the ONLY subdivision signed off by these two
individuals. Every other subdivision
created in the city of Lehi goes through the DRC, planning commission, city
council and most importantly the public.
This was not the case here.
Now to be fair, chapter 28 of the
Lehi City Code does allow a representative of the public works department and a
building inspector to sign off on the creation of the subdivision (remember,
this is the only subdivision created this way) if the following conditions
apply:
Section 28.080.
Development Approvals and Permits.
Following the establishment of a
Resort Community
Zone, and approval and adoption
of an Area Plan by the
City Council, the applicant may
prepare and submit
application(s) for development
approval including subdivision
and site plan approval pursuant
to Chapter 11,
Application Requirements, of this
Code with the exceptions
to the review and approval
procedures as noted
below. The Applicant must make a
complete submittal
according to the requirements
specified in Chapter 11
and the City’s current
application form(s) prior to the
review of any development request
by the City.
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. (Which it is, it is only 1 lot)
(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). The lots in a minor
Subdivision
will be divided by a metes and
Bounds
document rather than a plat. The Chief
Building Official or the Public
Works Director
may request input from the DRC,
Planning Commission,
City Council or other City staff
as deemed
necessary. The requirement for a
public hearing
and noticing shall be waived for
all minor subdivisions.
Let’s take a look at this
briefly.
The Public Works Director and
Chief Building Official DID NOT request input from DRC, Planning Commission or
City Council. This is highly unusual. No
recorded meetings of any of these people or groups of people meeting to discuss
the issue.
The lot IS NOT divided by metes
and bounds and IS recorded as a Plat, contrary to the language in the code.
The subdivision DOES require the
construction of a public improvement.
Numerous city and church officials and employees have said that in order
for this project to advance, two stoplights will need to be erected.
Here is Todd Munger (Public Works
Director who signed off on the project) in a DRC meeting, December 2, 2015.
“Two traffic signals are
warranted for this project as per the traffic study, note locations as Club
House Drive and Executive and 2150 N and 2300 W.”
Todd Munger who signed off on the
creation of the Family Search Plat stated and in a public meeting was recorded
as saying that two traffic signals are warranted.
Numerous other city employees and
church officials have repeated the same claim that two traffic signals are not
only warranted but are necessary for this project to be built.
If two traffic signals are
warranted and necessary, they are considered a public improvement and the Chief
Building Inspector and Public Works Director should not have signed off on the
creation of the Family Search Plat.
The Family Search Plat should
have gone through normal procedure,
DRC
Planning Commission
Final approval by City Council
Public input and public notices
would have been involved and the creation of the Family Search Plat would not
have been created in secret.
It should be noted that Todd
Munger did not involve anyone in making his decision to sign off on the
document that created the Family Search plat.
The travesty here is that there
was no notification to the public and any public comment or input.
A second travesty occurred when
the planning commission voted on approving the Thanksgiving Point Office
Park. Steve Ross would NOT allow comment
on the project by anyone from the community prior to the vote. I requested an opportunity to speak and was
denied that opportunity.
The
creation of the Family Search Plat had no public notice or involvement.
The
concept plan approved by the planning commission had no public notice or
involvement.
The
approval of the Thanksgiving Point Office Development had no public notice or
involvement.
This
project has had no public notice or involvement, unlike any other approval of a
subdivision or approval of any office building.
This is highly unique and
offensive to those who are harmed by this project. We have had no voice, no notice, and no
involvement in what the final outcome of this project would be in the Lehi City
Chambers. We have been able to speak
with church representatives independent of the city.
The mere fact that Todd Munger
who signed off on the creation of the Family Search Plat knowing full well that
there would need to be public improvements should disqualify the approval the
planning commission granted on March 24, 2015.
City code is city code. Every
word in the city code must be adhered to and followed EXACTLY as it is written.
We as members of the community don’t get
to pick and choose which laws we will obey and if we do and we break the law and
get caught, we suffer the consequences.
David
Harkness President/CEO Beesmark, LLC
Interesting
note:
Mr. David Harkness is the President and
CEO of Beesmark, LLC. Mr. Harkness would be responsible for notifying The
Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints that they are in violation of the Special Warranty Deed they signed. Mr.
David Harkness is also on the Thanksgiving Point Architectural Review
Committee. The TPARC signs off on the
design of the building, parking, lighting and landscaping. The fact that Mr.
Harkness serves in these two capacities is a conflict of interest. If he is not going to suggest to the church
that they comply with the special warranty deed, he most certainly is going to
do everything he can to make sure the church gets the building they want, even
if it violates Lehi City code. There is no way he could be impartial when he
serves in both capacities.
One last note that briefly shows you
what is going on at city hall.
I have enclosed with this packet
of a copy of Chapter 28 governing
resort communities.
I
would like to point out several areas of Chapter 28 that are not being enforced
or adhered to by the City or Thanksgiving Point.
This
is a major problem. The City MUST start enforcing city code EXACTLY as it is
written. They cannot pick and choose what code they will enforce and what code
they will ignore. ALL CODE must be adhered to and enforced!
For years those working for,
appointed and elected officials at the City of Lehi have ignored provisions in
the Lehi City code. They have chosen to ignore provisions of the code that are
harmful to the residents of the city of Lehi. This practice MUST stop and the
city MUST enforce the code as written.
Here are just a couple examples of where the City has not enforced the
code exactly as it is written.
Chapter
28 (attached)
Section
28.010 Purpose and Intent
Subsection
C.
Capture previously unreachable tax revenues by providing an incentive and
attraction for business owners outside
the State to locate in the new destination community of Lehi City. (Many of
the companies located in Thanksgiving Point are from within the State.
Subsection
F. Support public service entities such as
Police and Fire Departments by dedicating land or utilizing space within the
Resort community Zone at no cost to the City. (Thanksgiving Point has not done
this and the City has not requested they do this)
Subsection
D.
Enhance local property values by creating a property use zone that is
completely unique to the State and surrounding States, and that attracts
world-class business operators.
Commercial office buildings are
not unique to the state or surrounding states.
Church buildings are not unique to the state or to the surrounding
states. There is no evidence one way or another that local property values have
been enhanced. Evidence has shown that in one local property sale, the price
was reduced as a result of this project being announced. The purchaser was able
to use the new development as leverage to get a lower price for the home they
were buying. So in that case the property value was reduced, not enhanced.
Here
is an email I sent to an attorney for the City of Lehi.
From: billhytek@hotmail.com
To: rranc@lehi-ut.gov
Subject: RE: Legislative Body Question
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2015 13:05:23 -0600
RobertTo: rranc@lehi-ut.gov
Subject: RE: Legislative Body Question
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2015 13:05:23 -0600
Here are a couple of other questions I have for the City Manager, Attorney, City Council and Mayor.
Chapter 28. Section 07.050 Public support REQUIREMENTS
Read this section very carefully, note the word SHALL THEREFORE. This has not happened and is required, what is the CITY doing about this, why aren't they or why haven't they demanded this from the resort community land owners? I suggest no further development take place until section 07.050 is in compliance. In my opinion, the CITY has overlooked this issue of the code. If you are going to overlook this issue of the code, is it possible you can overlook other issues of the code or not enforce other issues in the code or ignore them or look at them in a matter that is consistent with the outcome you desire?
Section 28.010
C. Capture previously unreachable tax revenue by providing and incentive and attraction for business owners and retail operators FROM OUTSIDE THE STATE to locate in the new destination community of Lehi City. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't FamilySearch a Utah based company. Please know that if you don't enforce the entire Chapter 28 code document, you may not be able to enforce any of it. You can't pick and choose what you want. The code is the code; you MUST follow it to the letter of the law (code).
D.”maintaining a HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP, AND WHILE PROTECTING THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND LONG TERM WELFARE OF THE COMMUNITY." There are so many issues surrounding this that an entire book could be written and probably will when it comes to discovery and depositions. Everyone who lives, works, plays and visits the Thanksgiving Point area knows of the concerns of health, safety and welfare. If you allow this to go forward, you cannot in good conscious say that there is not a single health, safety or welfare concern and you are put on notice that the first time any child is injured in any way, the city may be held liable. I as a taxpayer do not want the City on the hook for potential lawsuits and payouts because someone decided they wanted two large office buildings on a DRIVING RANGE. Watch out for this provision, this will probably come back to haunt the City.
E. ENHANCE LOCAL PROPERTY VALUES. I would like to remind you that in order for you to ignore this provision of the code, the residents of all the neighborhoods will want some type of written legal assurance that our property values WILL INCREASE. If are property values decrease, what is our remedy with the City, are you on the hook? I will suggest everyone get an appraisal of their property and hold that for future use. The property value of one home that went through a sale just last week was DECREASED because of the pending concept plan put forth by the Church. The purchaser used the proposed concept plan as leverage to lower their original offer. Here we see evidence that property values may and more than likely decrease in value, not increase as specified in the code. You can't just ignore this, this MUST be visited in your meetings, discussed and you MUST make a determination that the property values will be enhanced. Are you willing to guarantee that by your vote? Who do we hold liable and accountable for the decrease in property values? Please be prepared to explain your position in writing and justify your position that our property values will be enhanced. To date, just with the discussion of the concept plans, property values went down!
F. Support public service entities such as the Police and Fire Department by DEDICATING land or utilizing certain space within the Resort Community Zone at no cost to the City. Has this happened, is there a plan for this to happen, when will this happen and how, by whom. This to my knowledge has not happened and until it does, I recommend you not allow any further development until the resort community is brought into compliance. You can't simply ignore the provisions of the code you do not like and enforce other provisions that are in your best interest. The code is written to protect the developer as well as the citizens of Lehi; one is not exclusive of the other. Who enforces the code and why haven't they enforced these provisions? I believe building and development of the entire resort community be curtailed until the code is enforced to the letter of the law.
When did the city council adopt/approve the Resort Community designation in the Thanksgiving Point area. Please provide me with specific dates of review, public notice, hearing, planning commission review, hearing, City council review, and hearing.
Section 28.030 section B
I would like to know the current mix of non-resort commercial, business and resort residential use (exactly) today and with projects that anywhere in the works. Let’s make sure we have not exceeded any of the limitations as they are set forth. We need and want to know the exact acreage of the current mix and the exact acreage with ALL development plans currently under construction as well as those that are in some sort the development process. This is a critical calculation and one that must be made before any further development happens in the resort community.
Thank you, that is it for now. Please be reminded, you can't pick and choose areas of the code to enforce and not enforce others. The City is obligated and liable to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens and adhere to the code as it is written. I will be sending you further review of the code and show you where the city may be out of line.
Bill Conley
Here is an email I sent to Police Chief Paul
From: William Conley <billhytek@hotmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2015 11:40 AM
To: dpaul@lehi-ut.gov
Subject: Chapter 28 Lehi City code governing resort communities
Police Chief Paul
It was nice to speak with you briefly this morning. As I mentioned, there is code in Chapter 28 of the Lehi City code governing resort communities that directly impacts and in my opinion benefits your organization.
I have attached a copy of the resort community code with this email. It will be much easier for you to read if you simply google, Lehi City chapter 28 resort community code.
Here is the relevant section that directly impacts your organization.
Section 28.010 Purpose and Intent.
The intent of the Resort Community Zone and this Chapter is to recognize and provide for the orderly development of certain properties as a tourist, convention, hospitality, business, and gathering destination and to provide for the implementation of the Lehi City General Plan. Furthermore, this ordinance and the standards for development contained herein are intended specifically to accomplish the following:
F. Support public service entities such as Police and Fire Departments by dedicating land or utilizing certain space within the Resort Community Zone at no cost to the City.
Section 07.050. Public Support Requirements
(Police Chief Paul, these are not suggestions, but requirements. To my knowledge NONE of the following has happened.)
The large scale and public nature of a Resort Specific Zone requires the specialized support of various public services. The property owners shall therefore make certain allowances within the Resort Specific Zone property for public facilities and public support operations as follows:
A. Fire/EMS Sub-station. One half (1/2) acre of property shall be dedicated to the City without cost whereon a Fire Sub-station may be constructed and operated by the City.
B. Police Sub-station. A facility or space within a facility shall be provided to the City without cost wherein a Police Sub-station may be operated.
C. Utility Transactions. A space within a facility shall be provided to the City without cost wherein the public and City may conduct transactions for public utilities.
D. Security Services. A professional security staff shall be employed by the property owners in an effort to help promote public safety. The resort’s security staff shall cooperate with City Police and Fire Departments, but shall in no way or at any time replace or assume the responsibilities of the City Police and Fire Departments.
I hope you bring this up with Mayor Bert Wilson, Jason Walker, Robert Ranc, City Council and the fire chief. The city is growing and it is time that the city enforce what is written in chapter 28 of the resort community code. I would be willing to discuss this with you and any other member of your staff, the Mayor, Jason Walker or members of the city council.
Thanks
Bill Conley
801 867 7227
The bottom line and the reason I am showing you the emails I sent to Police Chief Paul and the City attorney is to demonstrate that the City is NOT enforcing or adhering to the Lehi City Code. It is about time they start. If the City does not follow and adhere to its own code, how can we expect them to enforce developers to follow city code and in this case, they have not. They are choosing to ignore and enforce code that is clearly written. The developer SHOULD NOT be allowed to proceed in their development until they have properly followed Lehi’s entire city Code and the City requires them to abide by the code EXACTLY as it is written.
Letter sent to the commissioners prior to the meeting on March 24, 2016.
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To: Lehi Planning Commission
From: Bill Conley
Subject: Additional concerns over the Thanksgiving
Point Office approval
In the analysis of the plan, the
church has requested approval for a 135,000 square foot office building
(paragraph 1). In paragraph 3, they
indicate they are going to build a 98,400 square foot building, which is it? At 135,000 square feet they will need 559
stalls, at 98,400 square feet they will need 443 stalls, and they say they
are going to have 494 stalls, less than they will need if the building is
135,000 square feet. I highly doubt
this building is only going to be 98,400 since their initial proposal to the
city was a 120,000 square foot office building.
How many stalls will be required
by the city for the Family Search and Discovery Center? That has not been defined in this
application. I can’t imagine it is the
same ratio as 4.5 stalls to every 1000 feet.
How many people do they believe will be visiting the Family Search and
Discovery Center on a daily basis? How
many workers? How large is the center?
None of this is mentioned, only that they are building a commercial building of
135,000 square feet or 98,400 square feet.
I don’t think they have enough
parking stalls for the commercial office building and a future LDS Stake
Center. As a standalone Stake Center,
how much parking would be required? As a standalone commercial office
building, they do not have enough parking slots.
Are they including parking stalls
from what will eventually be the LDS Stake Center? If so, are you sure they can do this? Someone needs to check if this is allowed. Has this ever been done before? Can you mix a for profit commercial
enterprise and a religious institution and share parking? I highly doubt it. I don’t think the IRS will take kindly to
this situation.
Where else in Lehi is there a LDS
Stake Center combined with a LDS Commercial office development? Where else in the country? Highly unusual and I don’t believe should
be allowed.
There is NO WAY that 50% of the
property (6+ acres) is landscaped.
Look at the drawings. Are they including in this application the
future proposed LDS Stake Center as landscaping?
I was told by Christie that the
church intends to propose the construction of the LDS Stake center a few
weeks from now. If so, including it as
landscaping in this application seems a bit disingenuous.
I would like to know the exact
square footage of the landscaping. In
order for this project to be at 50% they would need to landscape over 261,360
square feet. Really, don’t quite see
6+ acres of landscaping on the drawings they provided. Don’t buy it! Have them prove it; the
drawings clearly DO NOT show 6+ acres of landscaping.
Parking is an issue.
Landscaping is an issue.
Most importantly, the building
itself is an issue! Not to code, not even close to code! I gave you an account of how this is not up
to code yesterday.
Proposed building shows the use of
brick, metal accents and glass with pop-outs, awnings, decorative lighting,
roof cantilevers and recessed entry.
The drawing included with this application are wholly inadequate and
do not completely represent the building as it will look once it is complete.
I most adamantly believe this
project is adjacent to the home owners at Thanksgiving Village. I believe that Ryan needs to research this
a bit more.
They indicate a traffic study has
been submitted and is currently being reviewed. Why would you even consider approving this
application when the traffic study review has not been completed? The traffic study submitted by the church
received an F grade. Nothing has
changed since they have done that study. Well actually, somethings have
changed; traffic has increased significantly since that study was done.
The proposed traffic signals at
2150 N and 2300 W would be a huge mistake.
That would make 3 traffic signals within a few hundred feet. One on
2150 as they suggest and two on 2100. This is ludicrous and would create a
huge traffic snarl. Traffic is already
a major problem at that intersection, adding an additional light would be a
nightmare. This also suggests that
they expect vehicles to travel from the proposed office development through
residential neighborhoods where dozens of children play in their front
yards. Can you honestly say you are
protecting the health, safety and welfare of these children by increasing the
amount of traffic each day by hundreds if not thousands of vehicles?
Absolutely NOT!
Secondly, this traffic signal may
never be installed, then what? The
project needs to be put on hold until all traffic studies have been reviewed
and completed. This rush to approve is most definitely wrong.
Listen to this nonsensical
sentence. The Planning Division Staff
recommends that the Planning Commission grant approval to the proposed site
plan as the proposed use is a permitted use within the Thanksgiving Point Resort
Community (Is it?) Does the proposed development adhere to the language in
the Special Warranty Deed as signed by the church and Beesmark? Do you even care that the church is
violating the signed Special Warranty Deed?
Here is the fun part:
WITH THE CONDITION THAT THE CITY,
THE DEVELOPER AND UDOT come to an agreement regarding
ROADWAY – What? That has never been mentioned before. What
roadway improvements are they talking about?
Shouldn’t you be made aware of the potential roadway improvements? How
could you possibly approve an application where the roadway improvements have
not been made public?
SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS – no guarantee
here. No proof this will help or solve
anything. The traffic study has not
even been completed. I would love to
see the proof of how this is going to help traffic flow and congestion, not
speculation, but actual proof.
MAYBE REQUIRED TO MITIGATE
POTENTIAL TRAFFIC ISSUES CAUSED BY THIS DEVELOPMENT - The mayor, multiple city officials and the
church have all come out and publically stated that this WILL IN FACT create
more traffic congestion. Why would
they need two traffic studies if they didn’t think traffic would be a major
issue? One stop light isn’t going to solve
anything and will only hurt traffic flow and increase congestion.
Lastly
This project most certainly IS
detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare of Lehi City. Just ask those residents who children play
in their front yard where thousands and thousands of cars will be speeding by
going to and from work.
The proposed site plans DOES NOT
meet the requirements of the Lehi City Development code, not even close,
unless you close your eyes.
Are you aware the last DRC meeting
lasted 20 minutes?
In the last DRC meeting the
applicant wasn’t even present.
Did you read that under current
conditions the circuits feeding the proposed area have no available
capacity? What is being done with
this? When will capacity be available?
Why would you even consider approving an application where there are NO
circuits available to the proposed development? Have you done this before, if so, when and
for whom? This is a big red flag.
Read further
Until further review and system
improvements are DESIGNED (not yet designed) and or in place (when will that
be?) we (the city) are unable to serve this project. What?
This project as of today CAN NOT be developed. All cost associated
with the design, construction and implementation have not been calculated.
The date of the design, construction and implementation has not been made
known. Who will pay for the design,
construction and implementation? How much will it cost?
You cannot even think of approving
this project without full knowledge of what this will cost and when it will
be completed and by whom.
Read further
A line extension, conduit and
equipment WILL BE REQUIRED (don’t know how much that will cost or who will
pay for it) for a master circuit in order to provide adequate service to this
project. Lehi Power provided sketch
with points of attachment and power infrastructure to be constructed
(designed and constructed, who knows when?)
I did quite a bit of research
today regarding the acreage of other Stake Centers in and around the Lehi
area. The 1.41 acres as proposed would
be the smallest footprint of any Stake Center anywhere that I could
find. The next smallest footprint I
could find was 2.75 acres and most were much larger, some as large as nearly
10 acres. Once again it appears to me
that the Stake Center when it is built will use the commercial office
building parking lot and the commercial office building will use the Stake
Center parking lot. Show me one other
Stake Center in Lehi or one other church building that is doing this. I think someone should contact the IRS and
let them know what is going on in this project.
It should be noted that the church
is in violation of the special warranty deed they signed with Beesmark. In that deed, the church indicated it would
build a 6000 square foot family search and discovery center on the southern
border of the property. In that deed
and on the drawings at Utah County of the Family Search Plat, there is no
mention of a 135,000 square foot office building housing a 6000 square foot
Family Search and Discovery Center.
According to the Deed a LDS Stake Center cannot be constructed on the
southern border of the property, a Family Search and Discovery Center cannot
be built on the northern border of the property.
Morally and ethically, the church
is bound by their agreement. I believe
the city has a responsibility to not participate and help one party to a
contract violate the contract by approving a development. Those that have
signed this agreement if they are men of integrity should live up to the
agreement. If they don’t, then they
are certainly not men of integrity and do we really want organizations like
that in our city?
Thank you for your time and
attention to this matter.
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