Industry News
It’s over. For the last five years, there has been an ongoing legal battle between the ultra-exclusive Wasatch Peaks Ranch (WPR) and five residents of Morgan County, Utah.
Now the legal saga has reached a swift and stunning conclusion.
Background
The feud started in October 2019 when the county council voted 6-1 to approve rezoning the land from “forestry” and “multiple use” to a “resort special district.” This paved the way for WPR to be built. The county council approved the rezoning despite a letter that was delivered to them with 1,000 Morgan County resident signatures opposing the rezoning and the subsequent development agreement.
Not willing to accept the council vote, five Morgan County residents filed a petition to have the rezoning go to a referendum (general vote) the very next month. The petition was rejected by the county clerk.
This triggered a lawsuit by the residents in the 2nd District Court to get the referendum approved. Consequently, WPR filed $5 million lawsuits against each of the residents and later increased it to $10 million claiming it had purposefully filed a “legally flawed” referendum to stall the developer’s progress. Additionally, WPR claimed the stalled referendum campaign had put one of its funding rounds on pause and cost them millions in investments.
Finally, in September 2023, the district court ruled in favor of allowing the referendum. The residents then sued WPR, seeking punitive damages. Of course, WPR immediately appealed the ruling.
The Agreement
In mid-January the two sides began talks outside the courtroom to attempt to resolve the issues. Finally, after one marathon day with a mediator, they were able to agree on a surprise compromise.
The backbone of the agreement was the residents would drop their petition to have the rezoning go to a referendum as long as WPR preserved as much of the mountains as they possibly could. Specifically, WPR will create a conservation easement on 2,300 acres in the southern part of its 12,700-acre property. WPR also agreed to allow access to the National Forest Service land, located along its ridgeline mountains, by allowing public trails across portions of its property.
Also in the agreement was that WPR would create a foundation to “specifically benefit the residents of Morgan County.” WPR will put $4 million into the fund, which will be managed by a member of the county commission, along with a representative from WPR and one or more people appointed by the residents involved in the lawsuit.
This agreement is a complete resolution of all the issues. Everything is being dismissed. This includes the temporary restraining order and injunction that was put in place in December. WPR can now continue to build up its property.
I’m sure both parties are glad to have the cloud of the legal battle over with. Both sides can be proud that the agreement seems to benefit the larger Morgan County community. No doubt this took a huge effort and some compromise on both sides, but it represents the best aspirations of the legal system, where both parties can work within the legal system but also use it to resolve their differences.
