This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County officials have long complained about legislative mandates and impositions - often engineered by lawmakers from the more conservative Utah County - that hurt their ability to manage their own affairs.

Now, some Utah County residents are feeling the pinch of legislators sticking their noses in local affairs in order to help out a buddy - and generous Republican Party contributor - against the wishes of most of the people in the community.

This is a story of a land dispute between one man who bought 120 acres on the mountainside above Mapleton, just south of Provo, and the city's officials and most of its residents who oppose his plan to build homes on that land. The plot is seasoned by the fact that, before the property was purchased, the city for years had in place a restrictive zoning ordinance called a Critical Environmental Zone, requiring higher engineering standards and less density of buildings for developments within that zone. But when the city claimed that the landowner began excavating the area without going through proper channels, and the battle morphed into competing lawsuits, the Legislature got involved.

The landowner is Wendell Gibby, a gifted radiologist who developed "imaging technology" that can scan the human body and detect diseases. Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich, D-Price, credits Gibby with saving his life. Gibby had made presentations before the Legislature against what he called the monopoly of Intermountain Health Care and invited lawmakers to visit his medical facility. When Dmitrich came, Gibby gave him a free body scan and found early signs of cancer. Dmitrich was able to get preventive treatment.

Complimentary scans for other legislators are among the favors Gibby has performed to ingratiate himself with lawmakers, along with generous political contributions. So when the city of Mapleton continued to block his residential development in the foothills, town officials began hearing from lawmakers.

Last year, Rep. Aaron Tilton, R-Springville, filed bills that would prevent a city from seeking eminent domain for horse trails and for emergency access in areas like the one owned by Gibby. Rep. Mike Morley, R-Spanish Fork, filed a bill that would force cities to do costly engineering studies and other technical requirements in order to preserve their Critical Environmental Zone. If the city couldn't meet the standards imposed by the bill, the CE1 zone would revert to a zone designation equal to the highest-density zone in the city, meaning the foothill land would be changed from 3-acre lots to one-third of an acre lots.

Those bills frightened the Utah League of Cities and Towns, which pressured Mapleton to reach a settlement with Gibby. So town officials buckled and changed the zoning ordinance so Gibby could build a number of homes on his property and even require the city to supply utility services. The standard practice is for developers to install their own utility infrastructure.

The cozy relationship between Gibby and the legislators messing with Mapleton's affairs was revealed when Morley accidentally sent a reply to an e-mail from Gibby to members of the Mapleton City Council.

"Wendell, I made a deal with your permission and I will not break that deal unless they do," Morley's e-mail said. "If they do, I will hammer them, if not this year, next, but I will hammer them and there will be no excuse."

Mapleton residents, unhappy with the deal the city made with Gibby, got 1,100 signatures on a petition for a referendum to overturn the Gibby-friendly ordinance.

No problem for lawmakers, though. Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, has filed a bill to "protect personal property rights" from citizen referendums.