The Summit County Council spent over two years reviewing the application for the Discovery CORE development. Now, a month after finally approving the 105-unit project, the neighbors of the development are bringing a lawsuit against the County Courthouse, claiming the approval is unconstitutional and the project is simply in the wrong place.
Discovery CORE is planned to be built behind the Weilenman School of Discovery along Interstate 80. The project will be situated on 70 acres and developers have said half of the units will be affordably priced workforce housing.
The residents filing the appeal have formed a group called CAGE, Citizens for the Alignment of Growth and the Environment, and say their mission is to protect the environment and lifestyle which attracts Summit County residents and tourists, while supporting responsible growth in our community.
CAGE founder Craig Eroh, spoke out against the development during the County Council’s review process, said the only way the citizens can be heard is to repeal the project through the court system.
“This project violates the General Plan. We love the community we live in and the decision being made by the County Council through CORE goes against the General Plan,” said Eroh, who lives in the neighboring subdivision Summit Park. He characterizes the Discovery CORE project as an example of suburban sprawl.
“If you have to get in your car and drive everywhere, that is suburban sprawl and is against the guidelines of the General Plan and CORE,” he said.
Eroh said he is not against the 1,110 unit Silver Creek Village development that was also recently approved, because it will be structured as a town center and allow for walking access to necessities.
County planner Kimber Gabryszak, who worked with the applicants and the County Council throughout the Discovery CORE planning process, called the development’s planning process open and transparent.
“Any time we take a project through we ensure it meets the code and plan, that’s our job” she said. “We had numerous work sessions and public hearings regarding this development.”
During the public hearings, Summit Park and Pinebrook residents were the most outspoken about the negative impacts the development could have. In particular, they said the affordable housing aspect would mainly serve workers who commute to Salt Lake City.
CAGE’s lawyer, Joe Tesch, said the group is not against workforce housing, but want to make sure it goes in the right place.
“The law of CORE, the basis of this development, seems unconstitutional. The planners and County Council all had difficulty with the parameters,” said Tesch. “We do not think the development was properly processed and that there were errors committed along the way.”
According to Summit County Manager Bob Jasper, the county has been sued by the neighbors or developers before over development decisions.
“There is always that tricky balance between community rights and property rights,” Jasper said. “The money we have to spend on lawsuits instead of community services because someone is not satisfied with the county process is disappointing. There are always so many different views; on one side people cherish open space. On the other side developers don’t want us to just take over their land and not let them do anything with it. On a federal level we have to provide workforce housing and on a sustainability level, if we don’t have the workforce housing in our community, people will have to drive even further every day.”
Discovery CORE developer Glen Lent said the neighbors appear to be grasping at straws in their lawsuit and it appears to be another case of “not in my backyard.”
“The people that are going to suffer are those that need this workforce housing like the firemen and teachers,” Lent said, adding that as far as he is concerned, the development has approval and is moving forward.
Summit County’s lawyer David Thomas said the Courthouse has not yet been served with the appeal and believes the county acted appropriately. Once the county is served, they will have 20 days to file an answer.