Referendum petition proponents sue Morgan County for approving Wasatch Peaks Ranch subdivision

Five Morgan County residents to whom Judge Noel S. Hyde recently gave the go-ahead to pursue a referendum to challenge a zoning ordinance allowing the development of Wasatch Peaks Ranch have filed suit against the county and the developer.

In an Oct. 16 complaint filed in Second District Court, Whitney Croft, David Pike, Robert Bohman, Brandon Peterson, and Shelley Paige say Morgan County has violated their civil rights by going ahead on Oct. 3 and approving phase 3A of the proposed development. According to the residents’ and their attorney’s interpretation of the law, the county cannot approve any phases of the development until the referendum issue has been resolved.

The timing of the ruling from Judge Hyde did not allow the five the time to collect signatures to get the issue on the Nov. 21, 2023, ballot. They are still hoping for the petition to get on the next ballot but say county officials have even refused to prepare the documentation they need to do so pending Wasatch Peaks Ranch’s appeal of Judge Hyde’s ruling. They also claim that the 3A subdivisions that were granted approval did not comply with the zoning in effect for the property before the county approved the ordinance.

“By accepting subdivision applications, approving them, and allowing the subdivision plats to be recorded, Morgan County and WPR are violating the injunction in Utah Const. Art. VI prohibiting the effectiveness of an ordinance while a referendum is pending,” their complaint says.

“To justify violating this constitutional mandate, Morgan County and WPR have created a discriminatory classification system where the Constitution applies as written to select referenda but not others. In this prejudicial system, if Morgan County grants a referendum application the ordinance in question does not go into effect. Conversely, if Morgan County denies an application, as it did here, the contested law becomes effective and the landowner – WPR – is permitted to proceed with development while the referendum is contested,” it says.

The county has also unlawfully discriminated against them because it has deprived them of their right to contest the original zoning ordinance which greenlighted the Wasatch Peaks Ranch development, they say.

“To compound this systemic prejudice and discrimination, even though the Court concluded the application is referable to voters, Morgan County is allowing WPR to enjoy the benefit of an effective zone change while they appeal,” the complaint says. “By treating the ordinance as effective while the Plaintiffs are conducting a referendum, Morgan County is unlawfully discriminating against Plaintiffs and all Morgan County citizens’ interest is participating in a fair and balanced referendum by placing its limited, delegated legislative power and WPR’s economic interests above Plaintiffs’ superior, reserved legislative power, thereby denying the right to conduct a referendum “before the law or ordinance goes into effect.”

But Morgan County and its attorney Garrett Smith have a different interpretation of the law. 

At the Oct. 3 meeting, Smith told the commissioners that Hyde’s ruling would effectively act as a stay if Wasatch Peaks Ranch submitted a new development agreement but that applications filed prior to Hyde’s ruling (such as 3A) were already in process and were therefore grandfathered in.

“There are various filings that are going before Judge Hyde and the Supreme Court but the legal recommendation from my office is [under the Western Land Equities case law and its project] when an application is submitted it grandfathers the applicant into whatever law existed at the time that application was submitted,” he told the commissioners. “The county is not ignoring Judge Hyde’s decision as some are claiming because we're taking a different approach or I'm recommending a different approach.”

On Oct. 18, the five residents filed a motion for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order asking the court to order Wasatch Peaks Ranch and Morgan County not to record the plat for the 3A subdivision and not to proceed with any other development until the referendum issues have been resolved. The following day Wasatch Peaks Ranch filed an objection to the residents’ motion, claiming they did not follow the procedures outlined in Utah law to do so.

Since the filing, the court has not taken any action. It is unclear what the outcome will be as in all likelihood the future of the 12,000 acres owned by Wasatch Peaks Ranch will be determined in the courts and the litigation is expected to last for some time. λ