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Posted: 12:06 PM- The Utah Attorney General's Office believes there's a good chance that a new law banning voter initiatives on land-use ordinances is unconstitutional.
In a letter to Sevier County Attorney Dale Eyre obtained by The Tribune today through an open-records request, Assistant Attorney General Thom Roberts says there is "a serious concern that a court would strike SB53 down as violative of the Utah constitutional provisions concerning initiatives."
Sen. Brent Goodfellow's SB53, described as mere housekeeping during the recent Legislative session, passed with little opposition. But the April 29 letter penned by the assistant attorney general advised Eyre that it could be declared unconstitutional.
"SB53 provides that the legal voters of a county may not initiate a land use ordinance or a change in a land use ordinance," wrote Roberts, explaining that the language appears to deal with legislative creation of a land-use ordinance rather than individual property decisions or implementation of zoning and land-use laws.
Eyre sought a top legal opinion after the grassroots Right to Vote Committee in Sevier County launched an initiative petition in March to put a private developer's plans for a coal-fired power plant to a public vote this November.
By last Friday, under pressure of the new law kicking in Monday, the group turned in 1,536 signatures for the county's verification - 1,177 valid voter names are needed to place the measure on the ballot.
Roberts cited the state Constitution, Article 6, section 1 as the basis for legal voters to be able to initiate any desired legislation or to require any existing law to be submitted to a vote of the people.
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