May 1, 2021
Garden City, Utah
Attn: Mike Leonhardt, Mayor, Dan Kurek, Planning Commission Chairperson
RE: Proposed Sun Communities Development at Bear Lake
Dear Mayor Leonhardt and Commissioner Kurek,
We’re writing this letter to express our opposition to the proposed Sun Communities development in Garden City that will be heard at the Planning Commission meeting on May 5th.
The negative impacts that the proposed 500-lot RV project would cause are both numerous and obvious. Sadly, you simply cannot “undo” a mistake once it’s been made, so we encourage you to proceed carefully and to fully consider the consequences of a development of this scale.
Our opposition to the proposed project is based on the following:
1.
Incompatibility with the existing Master Plan
for Garden City.
Nowhere
in the City’s current Master Plan do we see information that would lead us to
believe that a 500-lot RV Community is desired, or that a project of that scale
has been anticipated or provided for with regards to city infrastructure. (water,
sewer, ingress, egress, traffic, safety, etc.)
2.
Improper Zoning
Zoning
is intended to help ensure that development is consistent and compatible with
the uses of other properties in the area. The subject 110-acre property is not
currently zoned to accommodate the proposed project nor is the proposed project
compatible with the uses of other property located around it.
3.
Location
We
oppose the location of the proposed project due to the significant negative impacts
that it would have on the area. To our knowledge, neither an environmental
impact study or an economic impact study has been completed regarding the
proposed project.
4.
Traffic Congestion
The plat map for the Sun Communities project shows that the primary entry point for the project would be located on Hodges Canyon Road. In addition to the existing traffic on Hodges Canyon Road, the City’s current master plan shows that the proposed Paradise Parkway (Buttercup Lane Bypass) would bring a significant amount of additional traffic south from US 89 and dump it onto Hodges Canyon Road just west of the proposed project. That traffic, coupled with the additional traffic created by the proposed project, would have to somehow get back to US 30 before proceeding either north or south. Obviously, that situation is simply not feasible as it would result in serious safety issues and cause absolute gridlock at and/or near the intersection of Hodges Canyon Road and US 30.
To
our knowledge, no UDOT-sanctioned traffic study has been completed regarding the
quantification of the proposed project’s impact on traffic and safety.
5.
Water & Sewer
The proposed project would cause significant impact on the City’s already-strained sewer and water capacities. City services have been repeatedly interrupted in recent years due to capacity issues. To our knowledge, no study has been completed as to the proposed project’s impact on city water and sewer capacity.
In conclusion, we ask that you deny the developers application for approval. This is simply the wrong project in the wrong location.
Sincerely, Phillip V and Connie R Olsen, Bear Lake Property Owners, Shorelodge Estates
As the water operator for Bear Lake West I can attest to the
fact our water resources are struggling to meet demand in the summer. So is
Fish Haven Sewer District. This spurt in growth is a nightmare for us utility
operators trying to do more with fixed resources. The only options are to
consider each application carefully and make the developers pay for utility
expansion and capacities....and even then resources for supply of water and
sewage treatment have their limits.
As homeowners in Garden City, we strongly oppose the trailer park proposal and ask the planning committee to say no to this development. The entire area around Bear Lake has already grown too big and we do not need another project to utilize our water and place an undue burden on the sewer system and cause more demand on our lake and other resources. There has been so much development take place over the past few years to include hundreds of rental properties and we residents do not support the additional growth in our pristine valley. Please vote "NO" on this application.
Thank you,
Stephen and Caroline Pope
1 comment:
As a homeowner, I am appalled at such a proposal. One company should never profit at the expense of so many citizens. The development would ruin our beautiful slice of heaven, and property values would tank. To me, a "no" vote is the only sensible choice. We should say, "Not only no, but hell no."
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