Draper Is Home

Let's Move Forward with TRAX

2007-09-09T23:17:00.000-06:00

The following is an open letter of support for City Council Candidates supporting the Draper TRAX line:

Friends and Neighbors:

This Tuesday the field of thirteen candidates vying for three open seats on the Draper City Council will be narrowed to six. One of the most pivotal issues in this election is the approach our city will take with regard to the intended project to extend TRAX into Draper.

Last year our City Council expressed its concurrence with UTA’s conclusion that the existing rail right-of-way is the only viable option for bringing light rail transit into our community. Despite taking this position there still remains much work to be done as the details of this project are developed in the coming months and years. It is imperative that we move beyond the argument of which route TRAX will take and turn our focus to more productive concerns.

We now need to begin to identify which measures we should be demanding from UTA to minimize the negative impacts of the TRAX line. There is only a narrow opportunity for us to provide this input and get the most for our community which will require the concerted effort of both Draper City and the general public.

Unfortunately we are still expending efforts to defend against litigation regarding the resolution passed last year which has proved to be an obstacle to moving forward with a more constructive discussion.

So during this campaign season I encourage you to research each candidate’s position with regard to TRAX and support those candidates who understand the great benefits that transit will bring to our community.

Let’s keep the Draper TRAX line moving forward and not take a step backward.

Jeff Stenquist
Draper City Council

No 'one size fits all' for local government

2007-05-10T21:15:00.000-06:00

The skirmishes between the Bluffdale Mayor and City Council (see http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5843658) have prompted the legislature to form a taskforce to study potential changes to municipal forms of government. There is talk on this taskforce of changing all cities to a strong mayor form of government similar to what exists in several large utah cities such as Sandy, Salt Lake, Provo, Ogden etc.

While this form of government works well for some, it may not work for others. There are 200+ in the state. Some large, some small, some urban, some suburban, some rural. There needs to be a variety of organizational models so different cities can decide what works best for their communities. We certainly wouldn't want to force all companies to be an LLC.

Hopefully we can have some sensible options rather than a one-size-fits all approach.

Law Opens the Door for a New School District

2007-04-22T16:28:00.000-06:00

This article will be published in the May edition of the Draper Journal (Also see today's Salt Lake Tribune Article):

Representative Greg Hughes and Councilman Jeff Stenquist with Governer Huntsman at the signing of SB30.

During the 2006 Utah Legislature, our representatives passed a law allowing cities to create their own school districts. Several cities commissioned studies to explore the idea.
One preliminary study conducted for Sandy and Cottonwood Heights was presented to Draper City and suggested some potentially significant benefits of forming a separate school district.

After the 2006 legislation was passed, it was found to lack some important details. One aspect of the original law would not allow Draper to participate in a district split because the city spans multiple counties. Other issues such as dividing assets, conducting new school board elections and bonding needed to be clarified. After these issues were identified and studied, a new bill, Senate Bill 30, was crafted and introduced in the 2007 session. This bill was sponsored by Senator Carlene Walker R-Cottonwood Heights and co-sponsored by Representative Greg Hughes R-Draper

Senate Bill 30 merely addressed the mechanics of how a district could be split. There were several legislators from communities concerned who were concerned about a split in the Jordan School District, and they attempted to block passage of the bill in the House in its original form. Fortunately Rep. Hughes was able to get the bill passed in the House with the intent intact.

A few months ago Draper entered into an interlocal agreement with Sandy, Midvale, Alta, Cottonwood Heights and the unincorporated areas of Salt Lake County to conduct a more thorough feasibility study. The study will be completed and presented to all City Councils by early May.

The public will have the opportunity to hear the results of that study when it is presented to the City Council and at scheduled Town Meetings in each of the participating communities . Then the City Council will have the option of placing the question on a ballot this fall for a public vote. If such a vote were to pass, the new district would be operational no sooner than 2009.

Many questions still need to be carefully explored. The Legislature has opened the door but now we need to decide whether to walk through it.

For more information see www.draper.ut.us or my personal blog at draperishome.blogspot.com.

Jeff Stenquist
Draper City Council

Epidemic of Loutishness

2007-03-27T10:39:00.001-06:00

Unfortunately problems highlighted in these two articles are increasingly pertinent, even in our own community.

Epidemic of Loutishness

Online Anonymity Lets Users Gets Nasty

Tough to dump a new law — a good thing

2007-03-11T18:47:00.000-06:00

I found this Deseret News opinion column interesting in light of the referendums begin proposed to overturn the school voucher law passed in the last legislative session.

There's also recently been an effort to overturn a decision by the Draper City Council to accept a report by UTA regarding the proposed TRAX alignment. While I understand many of the concerns expressed, in this case I think there has been a fundamental misunderstanding of the referendum process. A referendum is a mechanism to overturn a law while an initiative is intended to create a new law. Since the decision made by the Draper Council was a non-binding resolution it is not subject to be overturned by referendum.

Tough to dump a new law — a good thing

Draper Taking the High Ground

2007-02-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

Our efforts to regulate development in geologically sensitive areas was the subject of a very favorable Salt Lake Tribune Editorial today. I've posted several articles on this blog about these issues as well as my efforts to fight HB233 which would strip us of our ability to safeguard against development in hazardous areas.

What I want to say today is that I personally am not anti-development. I have a respect for private property rights and have no desire to prevent property owners from utilizing their land. At the same time we have a responsibility to look out for both the health and safety of our residents (and potential future residents) and for the financial liabilities of the city.

When we're dealing with issues like floods, fires, landslides, mudslides, rock slides, avalanches and so forth, don't come cry me a river about private property rights.

Hughes Defends Small School Districts.

2007-02-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

Sen. Carlene Walker's SB30 passed the full House yesterday but it was a battle the whole way. Fortunately Greg Hughes, who was the House sponsor, championed it through.

The bill passed through the Senate and the House Gov't Operations Committee with only one amendment to require an interim committee to study some of the questions raised. Several attempts had been made to amend the bill to allow the entire school district vote on the split or to delay the public vote until 2008. Allowing the entire district to vote would have essentially prevented Draper and neighboring communities from splitting from Jordan School District as is currently under consideration since the majority of district voters are outside those communities and are likely to oppose to the split.

On Monday the Mayors of Taylorsville and Herriman asked the Utah League of Cities and Towns to oppose this bill in our legislative policy committee meeting but I and others spoke out against the league taking a position since there are several communities on both sides of the issue. As a result the league voted to remain neutral.

Greg and other supporters of the bill worked hard to gather support for the measure before it came up for a vote on the House floor. After Greg introduced the bill Rep. Harper (R-West Jordan) proposed a hostile amendment and several representatives from west Salt Lake County spoke in favor of it. It was neck and neck as the votes came in until it was 33 for and 31 against with 11 absent. Rather than let the amendment pass, Greg requested a Call of the House which is a call out to all absent representatives to come in and vote. This was the first time this session that a Call of the House had been used. As the representatives trickled in, the no votes gradually went up and the amendment failed 32-38. After that the opponents of the bill lost momentum and the bill passed 45-21.

SB30 was really just about the mechanics of how to split a school district in terms of dividing assets, holding elections and so forth. These clarifications were found to be necessary after the legislature passed the bill allowing cities to initiate splits from school districts last year. Of particular importance to Draper is that this bill allows a city which spans two counties, as does Draper, to participate in the split. The original legislation did not allow that.

Draper City is currently participating with Sandy, Cottonwood Heights, Alta, and Midvale to conduct a detailed feasibility study to determine if it would be beneficial to split from Jordan School District. The split could be put to a public vote as early as this November. SB30 clears the way for us to move forward.

Senator Walker and Representative Hughes deserve a lot of credit for their hard work to run this through the legislative gauntlet. Tough issues like this are where voter support is earned the hard way.

See articles in the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News.

Owners see their dream homes go slowly downhill

2007-02-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting article about homes impacted by a landslide in Provo. Very applicable to our fight in Draper regarding Geo-Technical issues and our opposition to HB223.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5216402

URGENT 2007 Legislative Update!

2007-02-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

Two bills impacting Draper were on the agenda this morning at the House Government Operations Standing Committee. Here is a quick update on the outcome. More information can be found on Lincoln's blog.

HB334 which strengthens the prohibition against using eminent domain powers for trails had a long debate centered mostly around a dispute between Mapleton City and a large property owner (Wendell Gibby). Some of the committee members spoke out against the bill but ultimately it was recommended by the committee on a 4-2 vote and will now continue to the full house. We basically lost this battle last year but this bill puts some additional nails in the coffin.

HB233 "Environmentally Sensitive Zoning" is, in my opinion, an utterly devastating piece of legislation on par with last years over-the-top SB170 which would have stripped cities of all land use authority.

The room was packed for this bill and notably present was the same attorney representing Hamlet Homes that blasted the City Council last week (see this Tribune article) and has now filed notice of a lawsuit. Instead of addressing this item the committee adjourned so this is tabled till the next meeting which I believe is Monday morning.

Fortunately our own Greg Hughes is in a position where he could play a key role on this and I have already brought our concerns to his attention. We will be personally contacting each member of the committee to communicate our message before the next meeting.

I'll keep you posted.

Here is a copy of the letter prepared for the Committee:

February 1, 2007

Rep. Glenn A. Donnelson, Chair
Utah House Government Operations Committee

Re: HB233 Environmentally Restricted Zoning Districts (Rep. M. Morley)
HB334 Eminent Domain (Rep. A. Tilton)

Dear Committee Members

The Draper Mayor and City Council would like to express our concerns and opposition to two bills before your committee today.

HB233: Traverse Ridge which separates Salt Lake and Utah counties and is part of incorporated Draper City has been identified as having significant problems with geologic stability which raise complex challenges for development activities. As a result Draper City has implemented a Sensitive Lands Overlay Zone and Geologic Hazards Overlay Zone to ensure that adequate engineering analysis is conducted to determine if areas with identified geologic hazards are safe for development. These ordinances are an effort to provide protection for all stakeholders and see that prudent measures are taken to safeguard the health and safety of our residents.

We are gravely concerned that this bill would completely invalidate these ordinances.

As one of the few cities with large-scale hillside development experience this bill would be particularly disastrous to our community and thousands of our residents. The most important stewardship we have as elected officials is to protect the health and safety of our residents and this bill would restrict us from performing this essential function.

We respectfully ask that you oppose HB233.

HB334: Draper City has expended millions of dollars to invest in a network of recreational trails in our community. These trails are treasured by our residents and are touted as a key element that makes Draper such an attractive community in which to live. We currently have several projects underway to build additional trails and it is sometimes necessary to acquire additional property to provide an adequate right-of-way. Since our ability to use eminent domain authority for these trails was restricted by SB117 during the 2006 General Session we’ve seen a sudden tendency for some property owners to demand prices in excess of fair market value for their property.

We recognize that condemnation authority should be used sparingly and judiciously. However, eliminating this tool has severely weakened our negotiating position and will result in unnecessary and excessive taxpayer expense in order to complete projects intended for the benefit of all our residents and neighboring communities.

It is our desire to work with concerned property owners and State Representatives to develop future legislation that would balance the interests of both individual property owners and the general public.

Cc: Rep. John G. Mathis, Vice Chair
Rep. Douglas C. Aagard
Rep. DeMar Bud Bowman
Rep. Lorie D. Fowlke
Rep. Keith Grover
Rep. Neil A. Hansen
Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson
Rep. Eric K. Hutchings
Rep. Curtis Oda
Rep. Larry B. Wiley

Lawyers fume as Draper again delays final subdivision approval

2007-01-26T11:51:00.000-07:00

Our concerns about landslides and the pressure to develop despite the hazards are very evident in this article. HB233 would prevent us from regulating development in even the most sensitive areas. The attorney for Hamlet Homes was present to testify in favor of HB233 at the committee hearing I attended.

http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_5083880

Neighborhood Preschools

2007-01-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Draper is currently considering an ordinance regarding school definitions and zoning. Here is an explanation of the position I stated when this was discussed at this weeks City Council meeting. You can read a pdf version of the ordinance here or by visiting the Draper City website.

The ordinance we’re considering creates additional definitions and zoning for several types of schools including preschools, private schools, as well as vocational schools and institutions of higher learning. State law requires us to allow all types of public schools in any zone in the city. We aren’t even allowed to have input on traffic access, we don’t inspect the building nor can we limit their operations in any way.

The current draft of the ordinance we’re considering would also allow private K-12 schools in both residential and commercial zones but we would be able to apply conditions to them on a case by case basis. These conditions could include things such as limitations on the size and layout of the school, hours of operation, lighting, parking and so forth to accommodate traffic and other impacts on the neighborhood depending on where it was located.

The question we’re weighing is that if we allow private K-12 schools (with conditions), what grounds do we have to prohibit private schools for 3-6 year old children? For example, a private elementary school would likely be more ‘intense’ in terms of building size, number of students, traffic etc. than a school serving younger children. If we prohibit private preschools in residential neighborhoods should we prohibit all private schools for the same reasons?

I agree that we don’t want things in our neighborhoods that will bring excess traffic and noise but we do make important exceptions to that rule. Namely churches, schools, parks and so forth. I live just down the street from Oak Hollow Elementary which accesses directly onto a small residential street. We also have a large park and a swimming pool nearby on Vestry. We even have a large LDS stake center and temple under construction right in the middle of a residential neighborhood right here on south mountain. All of these things bring traffic and other impacts right into our neighborhoods but we welcome them because there is a huge benefit to having them close to where we live. I place a high value on being able to walk to schools, parks and churches without having to travel to commercial areas like 12300 South to do those things. Even those who don’t use those facilities have their property values increased by having them nearby. How many real estate listings advertise that they’re “close to schools”?

So do these benefits apply solely to public schools? I don’t think so. Schools like Juan Diego, Waterford, Rowland Hall and others bring benefits to their communities.

The opponents to this idea are using doomsday images of gargantuan buildings and choking traffic in our neighborhoods to create animosity and stifle civil dialogue. Chief among them owns a preschool himself and is simply seeking to eliminate competition for his own benefit and has gone so far as to attack me personally because of my vocal position on this issue and also because my son attends a rival school.

As a parent of four young children I understand the value of having neighborhood schools for both elementary and preschool aged kids and providing choices for parents to provide either public or private education. At the same time I will work to ensure that we’re able to place appropriate limitations whenever possible to protect the peace and quiet of our residences.

Legislative Update

2007-01-23T09:54:00.001-07:00

Here is a brief update of the legislative watchlist:

HB233 "Environmentally Restricted Zoning Districts" Michael Morley R-Spanish Fork. OPPOSE. The League is working on an agreement with Rep. Morley to address his concerns without the need for this bill. Fingers are crossed.
SB30 "Creation of New School District Amendments" Carleen Walker R-Cottonwood Heights. SUPPORT. I haven't heard about any serious opposition to this bill so I'm hoping for smooth sailing. Sen. Howard Stephenson specifically asked me about this bill at a luncheon last week and I let him know that it is critical for us that it pass. This bill goes before the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee tomorrow morning (1/25).
SB41 "Forms of Municipal Government" Carleen Walker R-Cottonwood Heights. This bill would do away with the form of government Draper currently operates under (Council/Manager by Ordinance). The impetus of this bill is related to the issues they've had in Bluffdale and other communities recently.
HB334 "Eminent Domain" Aaron Tilton R-Springvill. We were expecting a bill addressing eminent domain for trails to be introduced this session so here it is. I haven't had time to review it yet so I'll follow up with a position once I've had a chance to review it.

TRAX Extension to Highland?

2007-01-22T08:53:00.001-07:00

Here's an example of the increasing pressure that will be coming to extend TRAX to northern Utah County as development there explodes.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650224943,00.html

"Lehi Get Renowed Architect" - Should Draper be Worried?

2007-01-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

Articles in the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune are reporting that a famous architect, Frank Gehry, has been brought in to design a "high-end lifestyle shopping center and restaurants, as well as a five-star hotel and residential community" just south of the Salt Lake County border in Lehi.

While this is a great thing for Lehi and for Utah it also highlights the efforts being made by Draper's neighbors to establish commercial centers. Cities often compete with each other for lucrative projects that will maximize their sales tax revenue (see my previous post "Why is Sales Tax Such a Big Deal"). The result is that some cities are net exporters of tax dollars and some cities are net importers.

Sandy, for example, has done an excellent job importing sales tax revenue. They have Jordon Commons, Southtowne Mall, and the ExpoCenter. Sandy struck gold with the AutoMall since car dealerships are one of the biggest producers of sales tax. They also have Home Depot, BestBuy and Costco just on the border with Draper.

For years Draper residents have spent much of their shopping money in Sandy, Salt Lake City and other areas to help build parks, arts centers, rec centers etc. in those communities while Draper has been playing catch-up.

But now it's time for Draper to move to the fore and stake our claim to development that will form the foundation of our tax base that will fund our city for years to come. But that doesn't mean we need to or want to become the next Sandy. We can do even better. We can bring in projects that are unique. And we've taken some great first steps with Draper Peaks and IKEA.

But Draper isn't the only community doing this as these articles show. So I guess my point is that while we're going in the right direction we can't affort to sit on our laurels and expect great projects to come to us. Good city planning and economic development don't just happen on their own. Good developers and retailers that that can actually build those unique projects have to be recruited and then we need to work together to realize a common goal.

So should we be worried? Not at all. As long as we're smart in aggresively moving forward with our own plans I'm sure there's plenty of prosperity to go around.

2007 Legislative Session

2007-01-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

The 2007 session of the Utah Legislature started today and countless people will be watching the bills being proposed. I am particularly interested in legislation that will impact Draper specifically and municipal government in general. Over the past year I've represented Draper City on the Utah League of Cities and Towns Legislative Policy Committee so I've been able to keep up with the issues over the past year but now that the session has started I expect it to get crazy. There are many details of the legislative process that I don't completely understand so I'm about to get a crash course.

Many people have asked me to keep them updated on issues that will impact our community so I plan to post information here as the session progresses. We always need to be vigilant about bills related to municipal land use regulation, taxation and so forth but here are some of the bills and issues of particular interest to Draper.

HB233 "Environmentally Restricted Zoning Districts" Michael Morley R-Spanish Fork. Draper has several areas that have been designated as 'environmentally sensitive' due to issues with landslides, wildlife, wetlands etc. This bill would significantly restrict a city's ability to enforce limitations on development in these areas. This bill would essentially render useless Draper's efforts to address issues in these areas. See here.
SB30 "Creation of New School District Amendments" Carleen Walker R-Cottonwood Heights. The passage of this bill is essential to facilitate Draper's plans to join Sandy, Cottonwood Heights, Midvale and Alta to separate from Jordan School District and to form a new school district. Any legislation related to new school districts will be watched closely.
Transit funding has been a hot topic during 2006 so it will be interesting to see what the legislature may do and what impact it may have on the plans for the Draper TRAX extension. See here.
There has been talk of modifying a law passed last year limiting a city's ability to use its eminent domain powers for recreational trails. Draper has several trail projects that will require property acquisition so restoring this would be beneficial to Draper.
For general municipal legislation, the ULCT published a preview of the session that you can see here. Also check out the updates on Lincoln's blog.

This is just the start. If you have any questions about any of these issues or if there is information I've overlooked, please let me know.

Draper TRAX Article

2006-12-20T14:20:00.000-07:00

This article was printed in the December 2006 Draper Paper.

Also see here and here.

By Bill Colbert
Draper City Council

After listening to extensive public comment and reviewing extensive documentation, the Draper City Council unanimously approved a resolution concurring with the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) Draper Transportation Alternatives Study finding that the future TRAX line should be constructed along the existing UTA-owned right of way (ROW) through Draper. The goal of the UTA Draper Transportation Alternatives Study was to identify a Locally Preferred Alternative that will be studied in much more detail in the future. The transportation alternative found most viable by the study was light rail transit (TRAX) on the UTA-owned right-of-way, also referred to as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA).

Historically, the rail line on the existing UTA-owned ROW was originally constructed during 1871-1872 by the Utah Southern Railroad. By March 30, 1872 the Utah Southern reached the Point of the Mountain. Brigham Young was listed as the railroad's president. In June 1875, financial control of the railroad was turned over to the Union Pacific (UP) Railroad.

From 1936 to 1993, UP operated the existing ROW as part of its "Provo Subdivision" rail line. Long-term residents may recall the long trains of iron ore from Wyoming being transported through the city. From the south, trains of coil and plate steel from Geneva traveled north towards Salt Lake City. In the 1990's, UP moved the trains on the Provo Subdivision to the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad tracks between Salt Lake City and American Fork. As a result, UP no longer needed the rail line between Salt Lake City and Mount (at the Point of the Mountain).

In December 1992, the Draper City Council adopted a resolution recommending UTA purchase the Union Pacific Company's Provo Subdivision rail line (on the existing ROW) to preserve the transportation corridor. On March 31, 1993, Union Pacific sold a portion of its right-of-way between Salt Lake City and Provo to the Utah Transit Authority as part of its planned operation of light rail along the Wasatch Front.

Since 1993, Draper City has repeatedly taken actions to support the UTA-owned ROW and facilitate future construction of light rail along this corridor. These actions include the costly construction of four-grade separated bridges and closure of an at-grade crossing at 13200.

Some residents in our community are adamantly opposed to the existing ROW for a future TRAX extension and they have initiated a referendum to overturn the council resolution. Not surprisingly, many of these residents own homes along or near the existing ROW and propose to relocate the ROW on an alignment along State Street and Minuteman Road. These residents believe operating light rail near their homes will diminish property values, result in significant traffic delays, endanger their children's safety, increase noise & vibration, increase crime and destroy their quality of life.

The City Council has the responsibility to facilitate viable transportation and transit planning to serve the long-term needs of our community. After reviewing the UTA study findings, the impact to existing residential and commercial property owners on the State Street alignment is simply untenable. The State Street alignment would require condemnation of properties and the demolition of people's homes. The State Street alignment would raise greater safety issues, due to the many more points of conflict with vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Further, the State Street alignment would require the costly construction of additional bridges near each freeway interchange along I-15. Access to existing and future businesses would be negatively impacted with significant consequences. Finally, UTA would have to get Sandy City to concur with the alignment change, acknowledging there would be similar impacts to their residents and businesses.

TRAX primarily serves residents commuting between their homes, work and events. Retail businesses are not a primary destination of TRAX passengers. The existing ROW will best serve the largest segment of current and future Draper residents, employees and visitors.

Construction on the segment between Sandy and the Intermountain Farmers Association (IFA) facility in the Town Center may begin within a few years. Even with the passage of Salt Lake County Proposition #3 that will increase the county sales tax to accelerate future transportation projects, extending TRAX south of IFA is part of long range planning and may take up to 20 years to come to fruition. Construction of the Commuter Rail line between Provo and Salt Lake City, hopefully with a station near the Bangerter Highway, adjacent to the existing UP rail line on the west side of town, will likely be accelerated. However, the priority and schedule of county-wide transit and road projects will ultimately be determined by the Salt Lake County Council of Governments (COG) with guidance from the state legislature.

With the initial study now complete, UTA will likely proceed with a more detailed environmental study of the existing ROW. Draper residents will continue to have the opportunity to participate in future study sessions and public meetings to discuss the impact of TRAX on our community.

Greg Hughes gets things done for District 51!

2006-11-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

This is a letter I've written in support of the re-election campaign of representative Greg Hughes:

"In my short time serving as a Draper City Councilman I've watched how Greg Hughes works diligently to represent our district. He is a person who truly cares and takes time to thoroughly research the issues. He speaks his mind and isn't afraid to take a stand while at the same time being open and easy to work with. He's shown time and again his ability to work with groups on different sides of an issue to develop workable, pragmatic solutions.

On several occasions I have heard both his fellow legislators as well as many other officials enthusiastically express their respect for him and appreciation for his efforts. Greg truly is an outstanding representative.

I urge you to join me in voting to re-elect Greg Hughes.

Jeff Stenquist
Draper City Council"

As a specific example of what I mentioned in the second paragraph I have been involved representing Draper City with the Utah League of Cities and Towns Legislative Policy Committee which works closely with the legislature on issues of concern for local communities. There have been several occasions where the ULCT has needed to work with Greg on important issues, including some that were initially problematic for municipalities. With each of these issues the ULCT was not only able to work out a mutually acceptable compromise but afterward they openly raved in our committee meeting about how great is was to work with Representative Hughes and his ability to get other legislators to get on board.

This is Greg's reputation among many groups, not just the ULCT. He has always been accessible to us as elected officials in Draper if there is anything we need to have addressed at the state level. He has spent hours meeting with us on a variety of issues. Those intangible attributes are priceless in a legislator.

Our community is extremely lucky to have such a high quality, well respected and effective representative working for us.

Draper Trails Article

2006-05-04T17:29:00.000-06:00

I recently found an article on trails in Draper written by Gregg Bromka who is the author of several popular books on mtn. biking in Utah. In case you're not aware,
CyclingUtah is a very popular local monthly magazine that is available free at local bike shops, REI stores, public libraries etc.

Also of interest is an article on page 3 about Bill Corliss who was recently
killed cycling in Saratoga Springs and who was an active cycling advocate.

You can read it here.

We owe a big thanks to all those who have put so much hard work over the years to develop these trails for the benefit of generations to come.

Sutherland Institute editorial on "Quality Growth"

2006-04-16T13:40:00.000-06:00

Paul Mero published a Deseret News editorial arguing that city planning efforts at quality growth amounts to "government interference in the housing market". (Here is a rebuttal by Pamela Atkinson).

While I'm not an advocate for excessive government interference in private markets, Mr. Mero's comments are short-sighted and take a grossly simplistic view of some complicated issues. The truth is that if planning and zoning is done well, it can be a huge benefit to property values and the quality of life in a community. It's also important for the public and private sectors to work together to acheive 'quality growth'.

This is the goal we always strive for in Draper and while we don't always get the results we hope for, I think that overall we're making some great progress.

New Tax to pay for TRAX

2006-04-11T12:41:00.000-06:00

This Deseret News editorial discusses the possibility of a property tax to fund four TRAX extensions. I don't disagree with the editorial but sales tax has advantages over property tax for several reasons. First is that property tax only impacts property owners. There are many seniors who own property but live on fixed incomes that are negatively effected by property tax. Using sales tax would also bring in tax revenues from non-Salt Lake County residents who come here to shop.

Late Night Meetings

2006-03-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

There was an interesting article posted in the Daily Herald (Utah County) on City Council meetings going late into the night. See the story here.

In Draper our City Council meetings often go late into the night for a variety of reasons. We start at 5 pm with a dinner and then around 5:30 we go into a pre-business meeting where we get department reports or have other types of presentations. Our regular business meetings start at 7pm and often have very full agendas. If we have a lot of public hearing items or controversial items with lots of debate or public input the meeting can go quite long.

We also will have a closed door meeting almost every week due to the number of property acquisition, litigation and personell issues we are constantly having to address. Some have questioned our need for so many closed door meetings. Well, while I obviously can't reveal the details of what we've discussed in those meetings I can say that when I first took office I was shocked at the number of lawsuits (many I would consider frivolous) that the city dealing with and the number of personnell issues we deal with. Our need to hire a city manager, city attorney and city engineer in 2006 has certainly added to this number.

But by far the biggest factor contributing to length of our meetings is the incredible number of issues Draper City is dealing with right now during this period of explosive growth.

IKEA News Story

2006-03-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

I heard this story on the Marketplace public radio show about how in Europe IKEA has become a destination. Particularly their restaurants.

Listen to the story here.

In other IKEA news the groundbreaking for the Draper store will be on April 4th at 11:00am.

Public Input Primer

2006-03-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

I recently received an email from someone who was frustrated at not being allowed to provide comment during an appeal hearing. The question seemed a good opportunity to give some of my thoughts regarding public comment during city meetings.

What is the purpose of public input?
The public is able to give comment on certain items before the City Council, Planning Commission or other body. Decisions made by these bodies impact residents of our city either directly or indirectly and it's important to give the public an opportunity to provide input as those decisions are made. We have also been elected to represent our residents and we certainly want to know what our residents would like us to do.

However in my view the goal of seeking public comment is not to simply conduct a public opinion poll. As an elected official what I'm looking for from the public is to get more information. Are there facts or consequences we aren't aware of or other factors we should take into consideration? Information backed up by evidence or when presented by someone with pertinent expertise is particularly useful. We all have opinions that we're eager to share but opinions can't really be used as grounds for making decisions. Such decisions based on the whims of whomever happens to be in the room are invitations to litigation.

I've sometimes heard comments like "There were six people who spoke out against the proposal and only one who spoke in favor but they still approved it!". Well, unfortunately a few people standing up in a meeting doesn't constitute a statistical sample or a scientific poll of Draper residents. There are times when the council chambers are packed full of people who share a particular view of an issue but that still doesn't make their view the right one or the legal one or the one shared by a majority of residents.

Why can't I speak or ask questions outside of the public comment period and why was my time to speak limited to a few minutes?
In this country we have a constitutional right to free speech. But that right has limits (e.g. you don't have the right to yell "fire!" in a crowded movie theater). In this case the right of the city to conduct its meetings in a fair, orderly and efficient manner trumps the rights of individuals to speak out of turn, be disruptive or speak for as long as they like. Even cheering and booing is considered inappropriate as it can have the effect of intimidating or biasing others in the meeting, including the decision makers.

Why wasn't the public allowed to speak at an appeal hearing?
One of the confusing aspects of municipal government is that, unlike the state or federal levels, the City Council at times is acting as all three branches of government. For example, when creating or changing city ordinances we're acting legislatively. When issuing permits or approving development plans we're administering existing law which is an executive function. And when hearing appeals we're performing a judicial function. (For a good explanation of this see Roles of the City Council)

So in the case of hearing an appeal we're wearing the hat of the judiciary and we have different procedures that we use such as not taking public comment. When you think of the council as acting as a court this makes sense. It wouldn't be proper for a judge to invite members of the public to speak during a criminal trial or other litigation proceedings.

For this reason we only allow the person who filed the appeal to present their case and the council then can ask questions of the appellant or the city staff to gather information upon which to base a decision.

Why wasn't I allowed to speak on agenda items during the citizen comment period?
Again this goes back to the right of the city to conduct an efficient, orderly meeting. There is a time allotted for public comment on items that are allowed or required to have a public hearing and that is the time to speak to that item. If a public hearing has already been held and an item is on the agenda for the council to take action then the time for public input has passed and we need to proceed efficiently through the agenda.

The citizen comment period is an opportunity for the public to bring issues to the attention of the city council that are not on the agenda. Individuals who have come to the meeting for that purpose need to have the opportunity to speak without the time being occupied by items outside the proper hearing process.

Is there an easy way to keep track of these rules?
Here is the easiest way I know how to explain this. There are two opportunities for public comment at City Council meetings. The first is during the citizen comment period for issues which are not actively in process. The second is during public hearings on specific agenda items. Each item is listed on the agenda as either a "Public Hearing" (sometimes "PH" for short) or "Action" (or just "A"). If an item is listed as an action item then the public will not be able to speak.

Corner Canyon Workshop

2006-03-13T22:50:00.000-07:00

Here is our first guest post from BruceJohn Stracke:

Saturday was a fantastic day in Draper. The City hosted a public workshop to receive citizen input regarding the future of Corner Canyon Regional Park. I’d guess 50-60 folks gave their time and thoughts to the effort. The spirit was friendly and open; even with the differing viewpoints and interests. I for one saw the workshop as a great success if only from the standpoint of having the opportunity to meet and work with folks with different agendas or ideologies in a constructive consensus building way. The organizers did a super job of bringing everyone together and offering all an opportunity to express their thoughts in an environment that encouraged horse folks, environmentalists, OHV riders and water companies to share freely and openly while the others listened respectfully.

The most significant thought I came away with was how enticing it is to over program the area. There are so many good ideas regarding the canyon’s use, it would be easy to over develop; changing the character of the canyon for future generations. Of course the implementation of each idea would impose itself on the others too some not compatible with each other. Taken to an extreme the canyon would actually be loved to death. Not the goal. In the words of Dale Smith, a life long resident, “In Corner Canyon more isn’t better.”

As a participant in the workshop I enjoyed the opportunity to meet and discuss the canyon with many people each with their own perspective of the canyon. There were some men seated at a table when I walked in passing photographs about. Historical shots of the canyon, Lake Hardy, old dead falls below Lone Peak, the meadow known as the sheep corral, potato hill and places and faces I did not recognize. Some I met spoke of outings as children: Boy Scout camping trips near the creek under a bluebird sky and girls on horseback riding up through the canyon along the creek under the trees. Many recalled as children “exploring” the uncharted wilderness, looking for gold, discovering a new mountain to be named. Others spoke of outings as adults, through the canyon and up Movie Road to the little waterfall or over the saddle into Hogs Hollow down the “road” to Alpine. Everyone had seen deer, fox, grouse, moose, elk; one gentleman claimed to have seen cat tracks. I myself talked of taking others, who’d never spent a night camping under a tent of stars, up through the canyon and into the back country under Lone Peak for an experience they never forget. The newest Draper residents talked about how great it will be to protect the canyon for their children. Everyone mentioned how our kids today need a place to play, to discover nature for themselves, to see deer coming down to the water, to find the tracks of fox and see red tail hawks flying overhead. Everyone talked of the beauty of the canyon and while they all defined it differently they were speaking about the natural habitat, the wildlife and the joy of being surrounded by nature in our own “backyard.”

Today from the windows of the Council chambers and most of Draper, you can look up and see a beautiful natural canyon opening up to our city, calling to somewhere deep down inside each of us. As we move forward with all our plans it would be a shame if our children could not say the same 40 years from now. The memories, hopes and votes all imply preserving this last great natural space here within our city. As much as we all have good ideas on how to develop Corner Canyon, let’s remember nature is the master of making the most with very little. I heard a lot of great ideas Saturday, the best one was, “In Corner Canyon more isn’t better.”

BruceJohn

Why is Sales Tax such a big deal?

2006-03-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was perusing the annual financial audit report for the 2004-2005 fiscal year that ended on June 30th. I wanted to point out a few interesting numbers.

The total revenue for the city was $16.6 million ($15.7 was budgeted). Property taxes only accounted for 19% ($2.97 million) of that revenue. Total expenses for the year were $14.1 million ($14.2 million was budgeted). The two major expenses that stand out are Public Safety expenses which were 41% ($5.7 million) of total expenditures and General Government expenses which were 39% ($5.5 million) of expenditures. What I'd like to point out here is the ratio of property tax revenue to total revenue and property tax related to these two major expenses.

As I pointed out, Property Tax revenue is only 19% of the total revenue the city receives and it only covers 26% of the cost of basic Public Safety and General Government expenses. I think many people have the mistaken impression that cities operate off of property taxes and sales tax is gravy. In fact cities DEPEND HEAVILY on sales tax revenue just to function and provide the basic safety services such as police & fire.

When you consider this it becomes apparent why cities are so desperate to bring in retail stores to generate that needed revenue. This is why cities compete with each other to entice business to locate in their communities. This is why some cities were opposed to removing the sales tax on food because it can be a significant source of sales tax revenue for some cities, especially for small cities who may only have a single grocery store in town. This is why you often hear about controversies where cities will work to bring in businesses such as Wal-Mart over the objections of resident groups.

I'm not saying this is good or bad. I'm simply pointing this out to help explain the environment cities operate under as they try to meet their financial obligations.

(Note: Draper City collected $4.5 million in sales tax revenue for fiscal year 2004-2005)

What is the point of this blog?

2006-03-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

Why create "Draper Is Home"?
Blogging has quickly emerged as an effective way for individuals and groups to get their message out. This blog is simply an experiment to try and share information and opinion on issues facing our community. It is not meant to be a substitute for other sources of information but to provide one more outlet to get the scoop on Draper happenings. The inspiration for this blog came from other local political blogs such as The Senate Site and The Planner's Corner.

Why is it called "Draper Is Home"?
The name was borrowed from a past city slogan. It's been said that there even used to be bumper stickers with it. If anyone has more information on this, let us know.

What kind of information will I find here?
Both information and opinions on a variety of topics. Keep in mind that one person's blog entry is just that; it doesn't imply endorsement by Draper City, the Mayor or City Council.

Hopefully we'll have something new posted every day to keep the content fresh. We'll see if we can keep that up or not.

Who can post?
Contributors can post on topics of their choice and everyone is encouraged to comment on what they've said. Posts are also welcome from guest contributors so if you'd like to contribute a post, let me know.

While anyone can comment on anything posted here we ask that your comments be respectful and on topic. Comments are moderated but only comments that are inappropriate, offensive or off topic will be rejected.

Is this an effort at censorship?
When I first created this blog I received a couple of anonymous comments (they were rejected because they were off topic) complaining that this blog was an effort to censor or stifle public opinion. Frankly that assertion is ridiculous and irrational. The purpose of this blog is to provide an outlet to present information and receive feedback. Anyone can choose to participate or not and we don't begrudge others the ability to present their opinions in different forums. While we reserve the right to moderate comments we won't reject a comment simply because we don't agree with it provided it conforms to the guidelines outlined above.

Bravo Steve!

2006-03-09T18:06:00.000-07:00

Steve Decho copied me on his email to Holly Mullen.

"Ms. Mullen,

I just finished reading your snotty and snide op/ed piece blasting Draper, which curiously appeared on the Utah news page instead of the Opinion column (perhaps the Editor will correct that particular oversight in the future). While you may be confused by facts, I first need to explain that: I have lived in Draper for 7 years; I do not own a horse; I drive a 1987 Dodge Shadow; and, my only association with anything French is the order of fries I get at Arctic Circle. I applaud the efforts of my city council to improve my city with zoning and development plans. If this means turning down D.I’s. preferred location, then so be it.

Your effort to categorize Draper as snobbish an elite, while making me swell with pride, must be your effort to advance some agenda or to assuage your insecurities. I appreciate our city council’s efforts on our resident’s behalf; I don’t appreciate your derision and sarcasm. Hopefully, your editors will allow you to bloviate on the Opinion page so that your tripe will not be mistaken as factual news.

Steve Decho
Draper, UT"

Report on Second-hand Vote

2006-03-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

With all the discussion going on in the media regarding the second-hand store ordinance that was passed by the Draper City Council last night I think it would be useful to give an unfiltered version.

Defining compatible uses via planning and zoning is one of the fundamental functions of local government. Responsible zoning helps to create harmonious communities and protects property values. The last thing we need is an inconsistent patchwork of random development. That was the intent of the proposed ordinance.

Pete Larkin's comments on Channel 4 today were correct when he said that last night's vote was not about Deseret Industries. It was about defining compatible zoning for second-hand and thrift stores in general. Pete was also correct to state that the Mayor and Council are not opposed to Deseret Industries coming to our community and I hope that a modification that we made to the ordinance last night will allow DI some flexibility in where they locate.

The original proposed ordinance restricted second-hand stores only to "Commercial Business Park" (CBP) zones but last night we modified the ordinance to allow them in "General Commercial" (CG) zones as well. As a result we certainly haven't restricted DI or other thrift stores to the west side of I-15 or the "outskirts" of town. With the modification we made I think it will still provide DI the flexibility they need to find a suitable location in Draper.

To those who would paint this as east vs. west I would say to them that first of all we have never intended to restrict DI to the west of I-15 and second of all, what is wrong with locating on the west side? Personally I think that the west side of Draper would be a wonderful location for any business (or resident) to locate!

It's my expectation and hope that DI will now go forward, acquire some property and bring their wonderful services to our community.

Here are some additional misleading stories in the media:
KSL - This story was generally accurate although they said that the property near 300 E. had been purchased which is not correct. My understanding is that it's simply not available for sale.
Deseret News - Also incorrectly identifies a specific location for a proposed site.
Deseret News Editorial - They suggest we grow up. I suggest they check their facts before jumping to conclusions.
Salt Lake Tribune
Holly Mullen's Holier-than-thou Drivel - I can't even speak to this uninformed sarcastic crap.

Response to Deseret News Editorial

2006-03-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

You can read the editorial by John Florez here.

Here is a copy of my email to him:

"Mr. Florez,

While I appreciate your commentary it seems it was largely based on misinformation that has been distributed through the media regarding this issue.

First I want to clarify that there is no proposal before the Draper City Council specifically regarding Deseret Industries. In fact, Deseret Industries currently has no pending applications with the city. What is under consideration is a proposed ordinance specifying compatible zones for large second-hand retailers in response to continued interest in our community. As Draper continues to grow it is important for us to proactively plan for future commercial and residential developments. It’s one of the fundamental functions of local government.

It’s unfortunate that the media has chosen to portray Draper as anti-DI which could not be further from the truth. Deseret Industries would make a welcome addition to our community if they decide to come here and would provide convenient access for our residents who want to shop, donate or volunteer there.

Regardless of what decision the City Council makes on the pending land use ordinance I am sure the Council will balance the needs of second-hand retailers, Draper residents and the business community as it continues its deliberations on this issue.

Please refer to the press release from Draper City at http://www.draper.ut.us.

I've also posted additional comments at http://draperishome.blogspot.com/.

Sincerely,

Jeff Stenquist
Draper City Council
jeff.stenquist@draper.ut.us"

KSL Puts the Wrong Spin On Second-Hand Issue

2006-03-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

After I was quoted by the Salt Lake Tribune I immediately began getting calls from KSL TV and Radio. In my interview with Kim Johnson I made some comments that were taken out of context and portrayed to make them much more controversial than was necessary. Another disappointment was how Doug Wright also interpreted it as an east vs. west issue, which completely missed the point.

It's unfortunate that KSL is spinning this issue in such a negative way and I regret that in my effort to clarify my comments it seems to have made the situation worse. One major misconception about this issue is that it's only about a particular second-hand retailer, Deseret Industries. But the ordinance under consideration by Draper City addresses second-hand stores in general.

Certainly Deseret Industries would be a great addition to our community. Deseret Industries provides incredible charitable services and I'm sure there are locations in our city where they can be successful and compatible with surrounding uses.

These are the types of things I shared during my interview with KSL but it chose only to air a few choice words that have enflamed public opinion on this issue. It is also interesting that I was interviewed by both KSL Radio & TV but didn't get a single call from any other news outlet. Apart from the initial Tribune article the only other station to mention this story was Fox13 but only during the 11am news. On KSL this was the lead story during the prime-time 6pm show.

I can't predict what the Council will do on this issue but I am sure the Council will balance the needs of second-hand retailers, Draper residents and the business community as it continues its deliberations on this issue.

Second-hand Stores in Draper

2006-02-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

On Friday 2/24 the Salt Lake Tribune ran an article on a proposed ordinance to restrict large-second hand stores from certain commercial zones.

Here is the press release from Draper City in response to this article.

More on this later...

Senate Bill 170 Bad for Draper

2006-02-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

The bill proposed by Al Mansell would have had a devastating impact on Draper city to shape the future of our community. Fortunately the efforts to oppose this bill were successful in getting it dropped. Two other related bills (the "Sons of 170") addressing some aspects of the original are being considered but are not nearly as offensive as the farce that SB170 was.

Senator Mansell stated that SB170 was meant to send a message to cities but launching such a mean spirited attack on Utahn's ability to have a say in what happens in their communities may very well prompt a backlash against the very special interests Senator Mansell represents.

http://www.draper.ut.us/Web%20File%20links%20SAVE/Recently%20Passed%20Ordinances/06-11.pdf