This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Recently the citizens of Torrey and Teasdale dodged a big bullet — a potential gravel pit in the center of their communities. The land, 120 acres, is owned by SITLA, the School and Institutional Trust Land Administration. SITLA is a state agency tasked with managing millions of acres scattered throughout Utah, to sell or lease, for the financial benefit of Utah public schools.
During the zoning and permitting process for the gravel pit, a strange truth came to light. As a state agency, SITLA is exempt from any zoning regulations. You may have SITLA land near you and, if so, they can do anything they want with that land and you will have no opportunity to voice your objection.
Members of the community filed a lawsuit against the Wayne County Council and the construction company over details in the permitting process but we lost. In the meantime, SITLA determined it could make more money by selling the land than it could from the gravel pit lease. So it decided to put the land up for auction. Hopefully, someone with a kinder use of the land will prevail.
With SITLA free of zoning regulations and intent on making the biggest bang for the buck, all Utah communities near SITLA land parcels are at risk of having something in their neighborhood they don't want.
To the SITLA director and board I say, the residents of Utah rely on your sense of place and community. We are dependent on your ethic to protect us. Free of any regulation, you have excessive power in your hands. Therefore, you must monitor yourselves. There are many options for wise land use and long-range economic and community development. These considerations should be part of your business dealings. Money should not be everything.
Lorraine Miller
Teasdale