Font ResizeAfter a years-long movement within Millcreek to keep so-called "monster homes" from reshaping skylines and crowding neighbors, the Salt Lake County Council pledged Tuesday to settle the debate next month.
It's an aggressive timeline that Council Chairman Joe Hatch hopes will put to rest before spring building season starts an issue that has divided the east-side township of 65,000 people.
But the council can expect a fierce debate in the weeks ahead as policymakers weigh the rights of property owners to build and the rights of neighbors to protect themselves from homes that snug up to property lines, erode privacy or replace vistas.
Those arguments have played out for years in the inboxes of county planners, who have received hundreds of e-mails on both sides of the debate. Now, it's the council's turn.
"We've got one chance at this," Councilman Jim Bradley said. "It's got to be the right one."
The Millcreek Planning Commission already has endorsed a plan for bridling big homes -- a proposition that the commission's chairman, Gary Sackett, described as "reasonable " but almost universally disliked.
The proposed building standards contain two parallel tracks for developers -- a black-and-white approach that imposes rigid requirements for building heights and dimensions and a grayer tack that allows property owners to build bigger if their projects are compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Developers could choose
"There is some ability," Sackett said, "to react to the evolution of a neighborhood in a controlled, developmental way."
How does that plan settle with Millcreek's four community councils? Two support it (Mount Olympus and West Millcreek) and two want it defeated (Canyon Rim and East Millcreek).
"What was being proposed was not helpful," East Millcreek Community Council Chairwoman Leslie Riddle said. "It was far too restrictive."
With no clear majority on either side, the County Council now must decide how to regulate long-term growth in this community -- a decision expected by Oct. 27.
The Salt Lake County Council will weigh in on the Millcreek mega-home debate this fall. If all goes as planned, policymakers will have a decision by the end of October. Here's the timeline:
Oct. 6 » A council subcommittee will release its findings on the proposed building standards.
Oct. 20 » Residents will present their arguments for and against the measure in a public hearing.
Oct. 27 » The County Council will reach a decision on what standards, if any, to impose.
