The developers of South Jordan's new Daybreak community have accused the city of making "back-door" deals to pave the way for a high-density housing development that they say threatens the character of the master-planned community and will make a traffic nightmare for visitors to the new LDS temple there.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in 3rd District Court, Kennecott Land Co. (KLC) accuses South Jordan of violating its contract with Kennecott, saying that through illegal private deals and closed meetings the city bought 174 acres next to Daybreak, transferred it to Boyer Co. and promised to allow residential development there at a density of 14 units per acre.
KLC further accuses the city of illegally condemning the land just east of Daybreak's main entrance and the proposed site of a new temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"It's something that we don't think is in the best interest of the residents of South Jordan," Kennecott Land spokeswoman Vicki Varela said. "It creates high-density housing adjacent to Daybreak, and it creates transportation problems to people getting access to the temple in Daybreak."
The LDS Church has also asked the city to reconsider the development, saying in a letter, "We are concerned that the development plans for property immediately east of the proposed temple site provide for changes in transportation access, uses and density not consistent with what was previously presented." Church spokesman Dale Bills said the church had no comment on the lawsuit, to which it is not a party.
South Jordan's attorney, John Geilman, said the city had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment. City Manager Ricky Horst is out of the office until Monday and could not be reached to comment on the land deal or the proposed development.
Boyer Co. spokesman Wade Williams said that because Boyer is not a party to the suit, he did not want to comment and emphasized that Boyer has not made any application to the city regarding specific zoning or development of the land.
According to the suit, a March 2003 agreement between South Jordan and Kennecott Land laid the groundwork for Daybreak, a master-planned community based on principles of walkability and environmental sustainability. As part of the agreement, Kennecott Land agreed to preserve at least 30 percent of its Daybreak land as open space.
The agreement also called for the city to consider the impacts on Daybreak of any proposed development of the adjacent land. According to the lawsuit, the impact on Daybreak was ignored in the Boyer land deal.
The city bought the land from the previous owner for $40 million after purporting that the land was eligible for condemnation. According to the lawsuit, only a small portion of the land was condemnable for the widening of 11400 South to accommodate Daybreak and The District, a nearby Boyer commercial development.
After the city condemned the land, the South Jordan City Council signed off on a transfer agreement with Boyer, selling the land and allowing an average housing density of 14 units per acre — "several times more than the average density the city granted to Daybreak," according to the suit.
It is this density that Kennecott worries will hurt the viability of Daybreak, often advertised as an oasis of open space with a community feel.
In addition to accusing South Jordan of breaching its agreement with Kennecott Land, the lawsuit decries the process that led to the land deal as illegal. Varela said it was done with a "lack of transparency."
"The manner it's been handled by the city is not transparent and not consistent with what the citizens of South Jordan should expect in terms of being involved in public discussion of what's going on in their city," Varela said. "It's a real violation of public trust."
She said Kennecott Land had to file a Government Records Access and Management Act request to learn the details.
"We started asking questions at the end of August. We couldn't get answers to our questions, so we had to go through a GRAMA process to understand the transactions that have been agreed upon. We have a strong belief in the importance of transparency," she said, pointing to Kennecott Land's recent west-bench planning process, which has involved city and county officials, community representatives and others.
Varela said Kennecott Land has attempted to work with city staff, including Mayor Kent Money, to resolve the dispute, through "dozens" of conversations over the past few months but to no avail." However, she said the company hopes that once the details of how the deal was made are revealed, the City Council will change its mind and the lawsuit can be dropped.
"We're optimistic that now that the City Council understands the problems, they will rescind this illegal condemnation," she said. "It's a solvable problem."
E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com