This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
American Preparatory Academy must resolve its ongoing property dispute before Jan. 1 or pay $50,000 in easement fees, Salt Lake County records show.
The charter school is involved in a lawsuit against its southern neighbor, Price Logistics Center Draper, over a narrow strip of land that separates American Preparatory Academy (APA) from 11950 South.
That dispute has left APA functionally landlocked, relying on an easement with The Forest Corp. to allow vehicle traffic to and from the school.
But an easement agreement filed with the Salt Lake County recorder's office in January stipulates that if the lawsuit is not resolved in the school's favor this year, APA will owe Forest a one-time payment of $50,000.
The $50,000 lump sum is in addition to monthly payments of $1,000 the school currently pays to use its driveway, which will increase to $3,000 in September, according to the easement agreement.
"As with all contracts, if we are making progress with our court action, we would of course try to prolong the payment," said Brad Findlay, chairman of APA's governing board. "But the contract says Jan. 1, 2018, and we will be prepared to make that payment if necessary."
School administrators have long hoped to access 11950 South, which runs parallel to the school's property and includes a traffic light at its intersection with Lone Peak Parkway.
Construction is underway on a second APA campus on the Draper property, which required the school to buy and demolish a home to create an emergency access drive through a nearby neighborhood.
Residents worry the removal of the home will result in school traffic spilling into the neighborhood and that the opening of a new high school this fall will exacerbate already severe traffic congestion as families pick up and drop off students.
Findlay wrote in an email that an additional lane is being added to APA's driveway to mitigate congestion. He said the $50,000 payment is meant to compensate Forest Corp. for the loss of land value if the school is required to rely solely on the easement for vehicle access.
"It is yet another case in which APA is forced to commit resources that should be used to educate children," Findlay wrote, "because we are denied access to a public street, built and paid for by taxpayers."
The school's lack of vehicle access led to construction being temporarily halted in March by the Utah Board of Education, which oversees charter school construction in conjunction with the state fire marshal.
Findlay and the school's governing board have also attempted to resolve the property dispute through eminent domain, asking the state Charter School Board to intervene after a judge ruled the school's board lacked the authority to condemn private property.
Critics have questioned why construction on the high school began before access was resolved, including suggestions that the urgency of a fall school opening was intentionally manufactured to press the eminent domain issue.
Findlay dismissed those assertions, saying the construction timeline reflects the need for classroom space.
"The easement agreement and payment to Forest did not play any role in the timing of our project," he said.
Ted Black, chief deputy in the state Fire Marshal's Office, said the school has been accommodating and receptive to the fire marshal's requests.
"I don't see anything malicious here," he said of the ongoing dispute. "This was an issue of confusion. They thought they had everything in line, but it turns out they did not."
He said there is a need for vehicles to get in and out of a school property, which necessitated the demolition of a home if 11950 South was unavailable.
The easement and the neighborhood driveway combined are sufficient for APA to operate, Black said, even with the construction of a second campus.
"In a situation like a large school, you need to have an alternative access," Black said, referring to the demolished home. "They don't ever have to use that but it's there. It meets the requirements of the code."
Twitter: @bjaminwood