Snyderville Basin, landowner Nadine Gilmor filed a lawsuit against Summit County this week, claiming wrongful denial and violation of due process following the Council’s denial of the Stone Ridge development slated for a parcel of her land.
Stone Ridge developers planned to build 230 homes on 300 acres between Old Ranch Road and Trailside Drive. Developer Pete Gillwald, appearing on behalf of Gilmor, proposed a CORE project that would preserve 80 percent of the development’s 300 acres for open space and include 72 workforce housing units, allowing the development to have significantly more than the eight units that the area was zoned for. After an arduous process of work sessions and public hearings, the County Council voted 4-1 to deny the project in late March.
Salt Lake City-based attorney Bruce Baird is representing Gilmor. According to Summit County’s Attorney David Brickey, the county has not yet been served with official papers. Brickey said the county does not yet know how much time they will have to respond or what Gilmor is asking for.
“The lawsuit makes about five allegations against the county based on the denial of the development,” Brickey said. “The allegations are standard for a complaint of this nature and there is nothing too shocking.”
Brickey said that once they are served with the lawsuit, the county will have a certain number of days to respond before entering a discovery phase, during which he expects one side to request a summary judgment.
“During the summary judgment, we will ask the judge to make a decision based on all of the evidence he has seen,” he said. “If he doesn’t think there is enough evidence to decide one way or the other, it will go to trial. The best-case scenario for us is that the judge agrees with the County Council and says they acted fair and just and does not award Gilmor any money.”
Brickey added that he expects both sides will try to settle the lawsuit without a trial.
According to the lawsuit filed by Baird, the County Council “wrongfully and arbitrarily” denied the development based on misinterpretations of the law and incorrect assumptions. It also states that the zoning of the land is unreasonably low and therefore prohibits development, there was a violation of due process, Gilmor was not given equal protection and the Council set an artificially low value on the Stone Ridge development to effectively force the area to be left as open space.
The lawsuit goes on to say that Gilmor would either like the development to be approved or receive just compensation and damages. The court document did not specify a monetary amount.
Baird declined to comment on the lawsuit.
If it goes to trail, the case will be heard in Third District Court by Judge Keith Kelly. Summit County Manager Bob Jasper said the lawsuit came as “no surprise” and was exactly what the Council expected when they denied the development. During the final vote on the development, Council member Dave Ure said he would rather negotiate with Gilmor and find a solution for both parties than see the county in court once again.
Brickey will represent Summit County in court.