It's an historic endeavor, but not because it's the first time that Utahns have demanded a direct say in how their communities will be developed. It's historic because it may well be the last.

Utah Senate Bill 53 takes effect May 5. Approved by lawmakers with minimal opposition and signed into law by the governor last month, the misguided measure prohibits the people from initiating land-use laws via petition, or forcing a referendum on such laws enacted by local governments. And in doing so, the Legislature sided with the few against the many, allowing developers' private property rights to trump the interests of the community at large.

The bill's sponsors say the law is simply an attempt to codify decisions made by the courts. But it doesn't jibe with the Utah Constitution, which gives citizens the right to both make and break laws at the ballot box. It can't be squared with a 2005 Utah Supreme Court ruling that zoning actions taken by the Sandy City Council were "subject to referenda." And, in the context of the Sevier County power plant, the new law fails a bigger test - the morality test.

Nevco Energy's ongoing effort to build the 270-megawatt power plant is exactly the kind of issue that begs for citizen participation at the polling place, democracy in its truest form.

If lawsuits involving air permits are settled in the company's favor and the county grants a conditional-use permit to build on the 299-acre site between Interstate 70 and Sigurd, the decision won't impact a street corner, or a block, or a neighborhood. It will affect an entire region.

There are pros and cons to the proposal.

Some residents and environmental groups, including the grass-roots Sevier Citizens for Clean Air and Water, express legitimate, overriding concerns regarding the plant's impact on the public's health, the environment and the region's quality of life. Others cite jobs, property rights and our nation's growing energy needs as reasons to press forward. If a vote occurs, the outcome is not a given.

But anyone who values the rights of residents to determine their future will agree that the citizens should have the final say in all such cases. Senate Bill 53 should be repealed.