Contact: Dan Schroeder, 801-626-6048
The city provided the records to the Ogden Sierra Club in response to a request pursuant to the Utah Government Records Access Management Act (GRAMA). Most of the relevant records consist of email messages between Ellison, Ogden City Attorney Andrea Lockwood, and Ogden City Planner Greg Montgomery, with successive drafts of the proposed ordinance attached. The earliest draft came to the city from Ellison on August 16. Subsequent revisions by Lockwood and Ellison consisted of minor clarifications that did not alter the essential features of the ordinance (see below for an example). Roughly 90% of the language in Ellison's August 16 draft remains in the version of the ordinance now being considered by the Planning Commission.
The ordinance is titled "Mixed Use Zone (MU)", but it is actually a general-purpose zoning ordinance that could accommodate virtually any type of use. In a letter to Mayor Godfrey dated July 21, Peterson asked the city to adopt such an ordinance, referring to it then as a "Planned Community Development Zone." Much of the language in the ordinance was borrowed from a similar "Specially Planned Areas" ordinance adopted last year in Iron County to facilitate large resort developments. Ellison was also involved in drafting the Iron County ordinance, on behalf of a client who is now developing a resort near Brian Head.
In his November 1 staff report recommending approval of the new ordinance, Montgomery makes no mention of how the ordinance was drafted, or of Peterson, Ellison, or Iron County. Rather, the report claims that the ordinance is intended to allow the development of high-density urban mixed use centers and villages, as identified in Ogden's General Plan. The ordinance itself, however, does not seem to require mixed use, and could potentially be applied to any parcel of land in the city. The ordinance simply states that the allowed uses in an MU zone "shall be those uses specified in an approved development agreement . . ."
Ordinarily, a "mixed use" zone would be applied only in areas where high-density development is desired. It would include minimum density requirements and other elements to encourage an urban, pedestrian-friendly atmosphere. Many cities have used such ordinances successfully in recent years to promote redevelopment and economic growth. An example would be Ogden's existing Centeral Business District (CBD) zone, which was recently expanded to include the River Project.
The records recently obtained from Ogden City also show that Ellison's office played a role in drafting an extensive revision to Ogden's Sensitive Area Overlay Zone ordinance. The revision would remove the current prohibition against building on slopes steeper than 30% within the overlay zone. After a lengthy public hearing on November 1, the Planning Commission tabled that proposal until February.
Another email exchange between Ellison and Lockwood discusses how they should respond to press inquiries about his involvement in drafting the proposed ordinances.
The Sierra Club will gladly make all of the documents obtained through its recent GRAMA request available to the media. A few of the most significant documents are linked below.
To illustrate the evolution of the "mixed use" ordinance, here are three versions of the ordinance's most important section.
Iron County "SPA" ordinance adopted May 2005:
The uses allowed in a SPA zone adopted pursuant to this ordinance shall be those uses specified in an approved Development Agreement for the subject project. The uses shall not be limited to those uses otherwise permitted in the Iron County Zoning Ordinance or otherwise permitted in any other SPA Zone.
Original draft of "MU" ordinance for Ogden City sent by Tom Ellison on August 16, 2006:
The uses allowed in a MU zone adopted pursuant to this Chapter shall be those uses specified in an approved development agreement for the subject project. The uses shall not be limited to those uses otherwise permitted in the Ogden City Zoning Ordinance or otherwise permitted in any other MU Zone.
Final draft submitted to Planning Commission in late October, 2006:
The uses allowed in a MU zone established pursuant to this Chapter shall be those uses specified in an approved development agreement for the subject project. The uses shall not necessarily be limited to those uses otherwise allowed in the Ogden City Zoning Ordinance or otherwise allowed in any other MU Zone.
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