Many Draper residents will return to city chambers Thursday night to continue their battle with a local developer and City Hall over a housing development that the residents say will "destroy the heart and soul" of their neighborhood.
The disagreement over the development of nearly 200 townhomes and apartments at 900 E. Highland Drive was put on hold when the city's planning commission postponed its vote, disappointing the nearly 100 residents who showed up to protest the development.
Since then, resident Jeff Hodges said he and 350 other residents have banded together against the 11.6-acre project. The residential development, called Montclair Village, would replace a "walkable community" of retail and open space that residents say they were promised in the South Mountain master plan.
"When we purchased into our homes, we purchased into a lifestyle," Hodges said. "It is the nearly unanimous opinion of the neighborhoods that if the application is accepted in any part, it will quite literally destroy the heart and soul of our community."
The commission may not take a vote on the issue Thursday. Montclair developer Douglas Lowe said he has asked the planning commission for a continuance until he has more time to work with residents on a resolution that will balance the residents' desire for a town center with his high-density development.
"A lot of their fears are just fears of the unknown. That's always going to be there as long as that property is undeveloped," Lowe said. "There's a lot of confusion. There's a lot of emotion."
Lowe said he has met with several groups of residents since the Aug. 26 public hearing to discuss a compromise on the area. Hodges, who is leading the residents' opposition to the plan, said neither he nor anyone else living next to the proposed development has been contacted by Lowe.
Lowe said he also wants to make commercial property a part of the development, but such retail buildings are not a part of Lowe's application to the city.
Resident Wiebke Lips said she is not willing to give up the commercial intent of the area for townhomes and apartments. The area, she said, is already saturated with high-density housing and needs the walkable community to enrich the quality of life in Draper.
"Your decision will determine whether Draper city, and specifically South Mountain, will be known for its unique and diverse character and its high level of living value — or whether it will become just another bedroom community," Lips wrote in a letter to the planning commission Tuesday.
Draper's character as a city has already been called into question, Hodges said, by the city's approval of townhome developments across South Mountain. Those past approvals in spite of citizens' protests don't bode well for residents in Thursday's decision, he said.
"We don't feel Lowe has a right to do this. But what I honestly believe will happen is that they will let him get away with it one way or another," he said.
Bill Rappleye, planning commission chairman, said the development has become emotional and personalized for residents who don't understand the legal guidelines that constrain the planning board. Simply because the town center was part of the master plan does not bind the city to that idea if a more feasible option pops up, he said.
The planning commission vote comes on the heels of an appeal to the City Council on Tuesday by Draper residents concerning a similar townhome development only 1.5 miles east of the proposed Montclair Village. The Draper City Council approved the 11 acres of townhomes and single-family homes in August despite protests by residents who said they were promised the land as open space.
"There's been a lot of concern about Draper's tradition of doing Cracker Jack-box projects," said Draper resident Matt Haines. "Draper is simply not doing a nice job with its high-density housing."
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