Garden City was recently sued and
believe the courts will fairly disseminate the facts and decide the outcome
based on the rule of law. We are confident that public access to the public
lands will continue for future generations based on the evidence and the law.
As the Mayor, it is important to know the homeowners decided to seek litigation and not work the city after repeated attempts. The roads are dedicated and recorded both in the original and amended plat for perpetual use of the public. Furthermore and because the designation was for the perpetual use of the public, taxes for all these years were never paid by any resident of Shore Lodge as they were exempt because of the public nature of the recorded deed.
I would highly encourage your readers to carefully read all the 22 points and not be swayed by the rhetoric. Our single objective as our city grows is to provide Garden City residents, homeowners, and visitors more access to beaches, trails and other outdoor recreational opportunities.
Experts who have reviewed our case feel very strongly Shore Lodge roads to the beach are clearly for PUBLIC USE and we will continue to do what we believe is necessary and ethical. The public accesses are available for walking and you have every right to go down those roads and use the beach and enjoy them.
Mayor John Spuhler, Garden City
(Ed: Note: Since the city's Legal Response was in a PDF file, we have had to retype and condense the response from Garden City's Attorney following. Garden City can send you the entire PDF file if you wish)
1. Shore Lake Estates Subdivision is located between Highway 30 and the Bear Lake high water mark of 5,923.65 feet.
2. The City is the Permittee of a sovereign lands General Permit from the State of Utah which Permit grants the City the sovereign lands lying along the line from 250 North in Garden City at the high water mark and east to the water's edge....all of which constitutes a part of Bear Lake's Beach front which the State of Utah has designated for public recreational purposes.
3. The Sovereign Lands are located immediately adjoining the eas boundary of the Subdivision and extend ito Bear Lake's bottom and include Bear Lake's water surface
4. Garden City is responsible under its General Permit to provide police fire and other emergency services and monitoring of the Sovereign Lands.
5. The Plat for the Subdivision was filed on June 19, 1960.
6. The Original Plat created 40 separate subdivision lots and seven separate streets, which provide acess to the lots and the Sovereign Lands. Each of the streets runs from the Highway directly to the Sovereign Lands. Access to the Sovereign Lands from the streets remain open.
7. The Owner's Dedication set forth in Original Plat provides that Shore Lodge Estates "hereby dedicate for pertetual use of the public all parcels of land shown on this plat as intended for public use."
8 In September 1962, an amended plat for the Shore Lodge Estates were filed by its then ten owners whereby the number of lots in the Subdivision were reduced from 40 to 29 lots,"but whereby the number and location of the Streets remained unchanged."
9. The Owner's dedication set forth in the 1963 amended plat was slightly changed from the 1960 dedication, makes the statement, "Shore Lodge Estates do hereby dedicate for the perpetual use of the public all parcels of land shown on this plat as intended for public use."
10. There is nothing in either the Amended or Original Plat to indicate that the streets are not intended to public use as is generally true with regard to steets that are ordinarily so shown on subdivision plats.
11. The Streets were exempted from the Rich County property tax rolls which strongly indicate that the subdivided streets were not intended to be private but were intended in fact to be dedicated for public use.
12. The Special Improvement District for Sewer Services installed public sewers and sewer lift stations in each street and the SID and Garden City retained the necessary rights to access and maintain the same.
13. Maintenance of the sewer lift stations is paid for out of Garden City's and the SID revenues with responsibility for any accident, discharge or failure of the lift station being the responsibility of the SID.
14. The Subdivision lots 1-5 and 10-21 have Garden City public water lines and public water meters in the streets. Lot 7-9 and 22-28 have related Garden City public water and meters and Garden City maintains the above with public funds.
15. The streets were accepted and became part of Garden City's public streets when the plats were signed and the Subdivision was annexed and Garden City and the SID provided services.
16. Only the owners of lots 26-29 petitioned to Vacate the Street located between their respective properties by petitioning the Garden City Town Council to vacate the same by ordinance and was recorded with the Rich County Recorder on July 9, 1969.
17. No Covenents, Conditions, Restrictions or Easements for any Home Owners Association related to the property have been filed or been appealed.
18. While recorded By-Laws for Shore Lodge Estaes HOA for the Subdivision have been provided, the same were not recorded against the Subdivision's individual lots of record.
19. Not all lot owners in the Subdivision agree that the streets are private, as asserted.
20. Adverse possesion of real property, such as the subject streets, is precluded for any real property held by a governmental entity and designated for any present or future public use.
21. A plat that is signed, dedicated and acknowledged by each power of record and approved according to procedures operate to dedicate all streets and other public places and vests fee of those parcels in the municipality or county for the public use named, or intended as shown on the plat
22. Shore Lodge Estates lot owners have not applied or nor have they request that the subject streets be vacated as public streets.
"Any member by the public, including any public employees and officials, who may have at any time examined either of the plats, would have had the reasonable and compelling right to assume tht each of the streets shown theron had been dedicated to the public for public use, including their use for access to Sovereign Lands and to Bear Lake. There is nothing shown on either plat that would provide such a member of the public, or public employee or public official any reasonable basis for reasonably assuming otherwise."
From the Law office of Ray G. Martineau
As the Mayor, it is important to know the homeowners decided to seek litigation and not work the city after repeated attempts. The roads are dedicated and recorded both in the original and amended plat for perpetual use of the public. Furthermore and because the designation was for the perpetual use of the public, taxes for all these years were never paid by any resident of Shore Lodge as they were exempt because of the public nature of the recorded deed.
I would highly encourage your readers to carefully read all the 22 points and not be swayed by the rhetoric. Our single objective as our city grows is to provide Garden City residents, homeowners, and visitors more access to beaches, trails and other outdoor recreational opportunities.
Experts who have reviewed our case feel very strongly Shore Lodge roads to the beach are clearly for PUBLIC USE and we will continue to do what we believe is necessary and ethical. The public accesses are available for walking and you have every right to go down those roads and use the beach and enjoy them.
Mayor John Spuhler, Garden City
(Ed: Note: Since the city's Legal Response was in a PDF file, we have had to retype and condense the response from Garden City's Attorney following. Garden City can send you the entire PDF file if you wish)
1. Shore Lake Estates Subdivision is located between Highway 30 and the Bear Lake high water mark of 5,923.65 feet.
2. The City is the Permittee of a sovereign lands General Permit from the State of Utah which Permit grants the City the sovereign lands lying along the line from 250 North in Garden City at the high water mark and east to the water's edge....all of which constitutes a part of Bear Lake's Beach front which the State of Utah has designated for public recreational purposes.
3. The Sovereign Lands are located immediately adjoining the eas boundary of the Subdivision and extend ito Bear Lake's bottom and include Bear Lake's water surface
4. Garden City is responsible under its General Permit to provide police fire and other emergency services and monitoring of the Sovereign Lands.
5. The Plat for the Subdivision was filed on June 19, 1960.
6. The Original Plat created 40 separate subdivision lots and seven separate streets, which provide acess to the lots and the Sovereign Lands. Each of the streets runs from the Highway directly to the Sovereign Lands. Access to the Sovereign Lands from the streets remain open.
7. The Owner's Dedication set forth in Original Plat provides that Shore Lodge Estates "hereby dedicate for pertetual use of the public all parcels of land shown on this plat as intended for public use."
8 In September 1962, an amended plat for the Shore Lodge Estates were filed by its then ten owners whereby the number of lots in the Subdivision were reduced from 40 to 29 lots,"but whereby the number and location of the Streets remained unchanged."
9. The Owner's dedication set forth in the 1963 amended plat was slightly changed from the 1960 dedication, makes the statement, "Shore Lodge Estates do hereby dedicate for the perpetual use of the public all parcels of land shown on this plat as intended for public use."
10. There is nothing in either the Amended or Original Plat to indicate that the streets are not intended to public use as is generally true with regard to steets that are ordinarily so shown on subdivision plats.
11. The Streets were exempted from the Rich County property tax rolls which strongly indicate that the subdivided streets were not intended to be private but were intended in fact to be dedicated for public use.
12. The Special Improvement District for Sewer Services installed public sewers and sewer lift stations in each street and the SID and Garden City retained the necessary rights to access and maintain the same.
13. Maintenance of the sewer lift stations is paid for out of Garden City's and the SID revenues with responsibility for any accident, discharge or failure of the lift station being the responsibility of the SID.
14. The Subdivision lots 1-5 and 10-21 have Garden City public water lines and public water meters in the streets. Lot 7-9 and 22-28 have related Garden City public water and meters and Garden City maintains the above with public funds.
15. The streets were accepted and became part of Garden City's public streets when the plats were signed and the Subdivision was annexed and Garden City and the SID provided services.
16. Only the owners of lots 26-29 petitioned to Vacate the Street located between their respective properties by petitioning the Garden City Town Council to vacate the same by ordinance and was recorded with the Rich County Recorder on July 9, 1969.
17. No Covenents, Conditions, Restrictions or Easements for any Home Owners Association related to the property have been filed or been appealed.
18. While recorded By-Laws for Shore Lodge Estaes HOA for the Subdivision have been provided, the same were not recorded against the Subdivision's individual lots of record.
19. Not all lot owners in the Subdivision agree that the streets are private, as asserted.
20. Adverse possesion of real property, such as the subject streets, is precluded for any real property held by a governmental entity and designated for any present or future public use.
21. A plat that is signed, dedicated and acknowledged by each power of record and approved according to procedures operate to dedicate all streets and other public places and vests fee of those parcels in the municipality or county for the public use named, or intended as shown on the plat
22. Shore Lodge Estates lot owners have not applied or nor have they request that the subject streets be vacated as public streets.
"Any member by the public, including any public employees and officials, who may have at any time examined either of the plats, would have had the reasonable and compelling right to assume tht each of the streets shown theron had been dedicated to the public for public use, including their use for access to Sovereign Lands and to Bear Lake. There is nothing shown on either plat that would provide such a member of the public, or public employee or public official any reasonable basis for reasonably assuming otherwise."
From the Law office of Ray G. Martineau
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