Nibley says no to Andersons' subdivision request at Meadow Acres

By Denise Albiston

March 22, 2004 | NIBLEY -- Residents of Meadow Acres banded together to ask the City Council to maintain the integrity of their ranchette style subdivision near 3500 S. 250 West.

The council held a public hearing Thursday night that resulted in rejection of a proposed amendment to the subdivision. This amendment would have allowed Craig Anderson to subdivide his four-acre lot into four individual lots of approximately one acre each for development.

"I didn't invest in Meadow Acres subdivision expecting to be able to mine for diamonds; neither did I expect that the constitution of the land division could be changed. The intent, plat, and establishment of Meadow Acres subdivision was not to be of the density the change proposes," said resident Ken Lowry.

"What they [the Andersons] are requesting is in harmony with the city ordinances," said Scott Wyatt, an attorney representing Craig Anderson. "The city decided some time ago that three-quarter of an acre is an acceptable lot size for this area."

Councilman James Waite said the three-quarter acre lot size has been approved for subdivisions carved out of raw farm land. He said he doesn't believe the council has changed an original lot size of an existing subdivision.

"I would like to see the Andersons do with their land what the ordinances allow, but in the same sense, that's not fair to the other property owners. I don't think it's right to change that little piece of Nibley without support from the surrounding neighbors," said Councilman Scott Wells.

City manager Larry Anhder said when people buy into a subdivision, they have some expectation of what the area will be. He said the developer of this subdivision elected to make the lot sizes larger than what was required by the city.

"When we were asked to subdivide this area, we were concerned with the nearby dairy. We specified to the owners that a large lot requirement was a good buffer for the dairy," said Jay Nelson, a former mayor of Nibley.

Wyatt said in order for the council to deny the Andersons the right to subdivide their property, the council must find that a person could be materially injured by this decision. He said it's hard for him to conceive how this could happen.

"Maybe there is nothing materially devastating by dividing this property up, but it could be a big mess," said Teri Briggs, a neighbor of the Andersons.

Steve Farnes, chairman of Nibley's Planning and Zoning Committee said subdivisions are put into place by the state to allow individual cities to define property rights. He added the council has a duty to maintain the viability of these rights in order to give people reasonable expectations and protections concerning their property.

"When we bought into this subdivision, we didn't sign into an agreement," Craig Anderson said.

Wells said he felt the Andersons agreed years ago to a subdivision that consisted of four ranchettes, and the right thing for the council to do is to honor that agreement. He said the council needs to protect the rights of the other three property owners that live near the Anderson home.

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