MAPLETON — The steep slopes of Maple Mountain are no place for a ritzy new subdivision, the Mapleton City Planning Commission has decided.
The nine-member commission mulled over a proposed zone change and subdivision plan for Wendell Gibby's mountainside land for more than six hours before voting nearly unanimously to deny both. The Thursday vote was 8-1 against the zone change and 9-0 against the subdivision plan.
The use of the land has been hotly debated since 2002 when Gibby plowed through a dirt path the city had designated as the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Mapleton slapped Gibby with a fine for disturbing a geologically delicate area, and Gibby fought back with several lawsuits. A memorandum of understanding the two parties signed in May requires Mapleton to make arrangements for Gibby to build a 47-home subdivision on the mountainside.
Tuesday's decision is purely advisory, and the City Council has the last say on the issue.
The planning commission did not consider the legal implications of turning down Gibby's requests — an action that could potentially hurl the city back into the jaws of four still-unresolved lawsuits — when they made their recommendation to the City Council, said planning commission Chairwoman Barbara Pratt.
"That's the City Council's business," she said. "We only looked at how the property stacked up against city ordinances."
The commission felt Gibby's land was too geologically unstable to support the proposed subdivision, Pratt said. The City Council recently created a new zone specifically to accommodate Gibby's subdivision — a hybrid of the city's residential zone and its critical environment zone — but Pratt said it did not afford enough environmental protections.
"The environment needs to remain the main concern," she said. "That land needs special handling so the city can pay more attention to the problems and hazards that could arise as well as scarring of the hillside."
Pratt said the commission also had a number of problems with Gibby's subdivision plan, which included several 13-foot-high retaining walls. Because of the topography of the land, the commission was skeptical of road and sewer plans.
Mayor Jim Brady said the City Council has not yet considered the geologic condition of Gibby's land. Because of the city's legal position, however, he said he hopes Gibby will resolve the commission's concerns before bringing the proposal before the City Council.
"The City Council is just as desirous now to wrap up this issue with Mr. Gibby as they were when they first approved the settlement," he said.
Despite the memorandum of understanding, though, Brady said the City Council is not legally bound to approve either the zone change or the subdivision if Gibby's design does not comply with city code.
Gibby was not upset by the planning commission's recommendation. He said he is confident the City Council will approve the subdivision.
"If they don't approve it, everything blows up," he said. "We go back to court, we go right back to where we were six months ago, and we plug it out for another six years. That's kind of a nuclear option and I don't think the city's going to do that."
Jim Lundberg, who is acting as spokesman for a group of residents who oppose the Maple Mountain development, agreed. He said he already considers the subdivision's approval a done deal and is making plans to overturn the City Council's decision to create a special zone for Gibby's subdivision with a referendum.
The subdivision and the accompanying retaining walls would be a liability to the city, he said. The development also clashes with the city's vision statement, which champions "protecting Maple Mountain."
E-mail: estuart@desnews.com