General Information

Government Type

Municipality

Entity

Cottonwood Heights

Public Body

City Council

Notice Information

Add Notice to Calendar

Notice Title

Information Pamphlet for Citizen Initiative

Notice Tags

Initiative/Referendum, Official Notices

Notice Type(s)

Notice

Event Start Date & Time

June 20, 2019 02:00 PM

Description/Agenda

INFORMATION PAMPHLET FOR CITIZENS INITIATIVE Dear Cottonwood Heights Resident, On May 24, 2019, an application for a citizens initiative (the 'Application') was filed with the office of the Cottonwood Heights city recorder. As explained below, an 'initiative' is a new law proposed for adoption by the public through a petitioning and verification process which, if it successful, can result in the new law appearing on an upcoming ballot for approval or rejection by the voters. The initiative process is governed by Utah state law, which specifies the exact steps, standards and timetables which must be followed by both the proponents of the initiative and the governmental entity. If this initiative process ultimately is successful under the applicable state statutes, then it is anticipated that the proposed new law will be included on the ballot for the municipal general election scheduled for November 5, 2021. The timing of the election is, again, a function of state law. Utah state law governing the initiative process provides that (a) the citizen 'sponsors' of the initiative may provide a written argument in favor of the initiative, (b) the city may provide a written argument against the proposed initiative, and (c) the city's election officer (here, the city recorder) then compiles, publishes and publicly distributes a written information pamphlet which contains the Application, the 'for' argument, the 'against' argument, and a fiscal/legal impact statement prepared by the city's budget officer and attorney. Those items follow as part of this information pamphlet. If you have any questions regarding this citizens initiative, please contact me at 801-944-7021 or pmelgar@ch.utah.gov Sincerely, Paula Melgar City Recorder/Election Officer 2277 E. Bengal Boulevard Cottonwood Heights UT 84121 Phone: 801-944-7021 Fax: 801-944-7008 Website: cottonwoodheights.utah.gov/ APPLICATION FOR INITIATIVE: See attached copy of the Application. PROPOSED ORDINANCE Title of Proposed Ordinance: ORDINANCE REPEALING COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS CITY ORDINANCE 317-A-AN ORDINANCE ENACTING THE PDD-1 (WALSH) ZONING ORDINANCE; RE-ZONING 5.9 ACRES OF REALTY AT 6784 SOUTH 1300 EAST TO PDD-1 (WALSH); AND AMENDING THE ZONING MAP. Text of Proposed Ordinance: Section 1. Repeal of Cottonwood Heights City Ordinance 317-A. Cottonwood Heights City Ordinance 317-A is repealed. The approximately 5.9 acre parcel of real property located at approximately 6784 South 1300 East is re-zoned from PDD-1 (Walsh) Zone to R-1-8, and the Cottonwood Heights City Zoning Map shall be amended to reflect this re-zoning. Section 2. Repealer. All ordinances or parts thereof in conflict with this Ordinance are, to the extent of such conflict, hereby repealed. Section 3. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take immediate effect as soon as it shall be published or posted as required by law and deposited and recorded in the office of the City's Recorder, or such later date as may be required by Utah statute. ARGUMENT FOR CITIZEN'S INITIATIVE PROPOSITION: This initiative would make it possible for citizens to vote on whether to repeal and replace an unusual high density development law, Ordinance No. 317-A. Ordinance No. 317-A facilitates unusually high density development (54 ft high, 35 units per acre) on the property known as the 'Walsh Farm' (6784 S. 1300 E.), a property on which more moderate high density development (35 ft high, 22 units per acre) was already possible through the city's standard zoning process. Ordinance No. 317-A constitutes the first use of an alternative zoning pathway, the Planned Development District (PDD), and so if Ordinance No. 317-A remains in place it will set a city-wide zoning precedent. The City Planning Commission recommended against Ordinance No. 317-A and almost all citizens who attended city meetings spoke against it, yet the City Council passed it on a night when only three members of the Council were present. This initiative is a continuation of last spring's referendum effort. That effort gathered a total of 6,425 signatures, however, it fell 741 signatures short of its 6,179 signature requirement once the county clerk excluded non-valid signatures (primarily signatures of residents not registered to vote). It was eventually discovered that an imitation petition was circulated by the opposition, which caused confusion about which petition was real and whether residents had already signed the real one or not. Fortunately, an initiative requires only approximately 1,800 signatures, so, in light of the strong support from residents last spring, it seems very likely enough signatures can now be gathered even if the opposition again circulates an imitation petition. Ordinance No. 317-A is significant to Cottonwood Heights and its residents. Given that the City Planning Commission recommended against it, given that only three of the residents' City Council representatives were present to vote on it, and given its precedent setting nature for Cottonwood Heights zoning, the citizens themselves should have the opportunity to learn about, discuss, and vote on whether to repeal and replace Ordinance No. 317-A. This initiative will make that possible. ARGUMENT AGAINST CITIZEN'S INITIATIVE PROPOSITION: The proposed initiative seeks to enact a new Cottonwood Heights ordinance whose sole purpose would be to repeal city Ordinance 317-A; in other words, the same end result as was sought by the initiative proponents in their failed referendum process earlier this year. Ordinance 317-A was approved to utilize the city's Planned Development District (PDD) enabling ordinance (city code chapter 19.51) to amend the zoning designation of an approximately 6 acre parcel of privately-owned ground located near the interchange of interstate 215 and 1300 East in the city (the 'Walsh property') to allow construction of a mixed use multi-family housing project containing 204 total units with minor commercial components. The Walsh property is surrounded on two sides by multi-family housing of similar or greater density than the proposed development, by the 1300 East freeway ramp on another side, and by single family housing on the remaining side. Although the Walsh property currently contains only one residence and therefore may have seemed to neighbors like a very nice wooded natural area in their neighborhood, in fact the property is privately owned and has since 2005 been identified in the city's general plan for future use as multi-family housing. The proposed PDD-1 zone applied to this property under Ordinance 317-A is a customized zoning designation which affects only the Walsh property. It will have no precedential legal effect on any other land in the city. The PDD-1 zone was formulated in an effort to achieve a better, more predictable end result than zoning under one of the city's more generic zoning designations, such as its standard RM (Multi-Family Residential) zone. The applicant will be required to develop the Walsh property in strict accordance with the proposed PDD-1 zoning ordinance and the detailed development plan incorporated into Ordinance 317-A. The city understands that the developer has invested about $600,000 to formulate a development plan for the Walsh property that will achieve the results desired by the city. The PDD-1 re-zone proposal went through an extensive public input process. There were 13 public meetings where input was obtained and presented to the city's planning commission and city council. All meetings were noticed (advertised) in compliance with all applicable noticing requirements. Although the planning commission ultimately recommended denial of the proposal re-zone on a 4-3 vote, following additional public input and consideration the city council approved Ordinance 317-A on a 3-0 vote (two council members were absent). The council's decision was based on various recommendations and findings, including that applying the PDD-1 zone to the Walsh property will result in a better multi-family project, customized to this parcel, than standard residential multi-family zoning and further will include various elements to alleviate impacts to adjacent property owners, including increased setbacks. The zone also provides public amenities, including stricter tree preservation requirements, a public trail along the stream and a ten percent set aside for affordable housing. Based on the foregoing, city administration recommends against the initiative seeking to repeal Ordinance 317-A. FISCAL AND LEGAL IMPACT ESTIMATES: Fiscal Impact Estimate: The initiative's estimated impact is $30,000, consisting of election, legal and miscellaneous costs which would be paid from the city's general fund. Subject to the possible fiscal impact of any significant damages awarded against the city in subsequent initiative-related litigation as outlined below, the city's budget officer estimates that that law proposed by the initiative would have no significant fiscal impact and would not result in either an increase or decrease in taxes or debt. Legal Impact Estimate: Legal counsel for the Walsh property's owner/developer has asserted that Ordinance 317-A fully vested the owner/developer with development rights under Ordinance 317- A. Additional development actions by the owner/developer like obtaining a building permit and commencing construction (which may occur well before the November 2021 election) probably would be asserted by the owner/developer to even more fully vest asserted development rights. Repeal of Ordinance 317-A under the initiative likely would result in litigation by the owner/developer seeking to enforce any vested development rights, causing the city to incur uninsured attorneys fees and to potentially incur significant, uninsured monetary damages. THE ARGUMENTS FOR OR AGAINST THE CITIZENS INITIATIVE ARE THE OPINIONS OF THE AUTHORS.

Notice of Special Accommodations (ADA)

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals needing special accommodations or assistance during this meeting shall notify Paula Melgar, City Recorder, at 801-944-7021 at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. If you would like to submit written comments on any agenda item they should be received by Paula Melgar, City Recorder no later than Tuesday at noon. Comments can be emailed to pmelgar@ch.utah.gov

Notice of Electronic or Telephone Participation

Council Members may participate in the meeting via telephonic communication. If a Council Member does participate via telephonic communication, the Councilmember will be on speakerphone. The speakerphone will be amplified so that the other Council Members and all other persons present in the Council Chambers will be able to hear all discussions.

Meeting Information

Meeting Location

2277 East Bengal Boulevard
Cottonwood Heights, 84121
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Contact Name

Tiffany Janzen

Contact Email

tjanzen@ch.utah.gov

Notice Posting Details

Notice Posted On

June 20, 2019 01:39 PM

Notice Last Edited On

June 20, 2019 01:39 PM

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