Real Common Sense Wins out .. Vote for It !
I love real common sense. I particularly love common sense in government, whether it's State, Federal, County, or City. By real common sense I mean stuff I can understand, as opposed to lawyer common sense, that no one seems to understand. The problem is, there is not enough of it going around.
Some went around recently (real common sense) in the West Jordan City Council. The Council denied a major Utah Home-Builder a petition to reinstate previous density to a 15 acre parcel which is part of the Stone Creek Development. The impact on schools and traffic were sited as the reason.
The Home-Builder wants to build an additional 5 units per acre, based on an amendment the City gave a previous applicant to build 7.07 housing units per acre on the parcel. The amendment further states however that if someone else acquires the property, density would revert back to the original 2.7 housing units per acre.
The common sense issues are, if more cars and more kids are the problem, then more houses is NOT the solution. The addition of five units per acre translates into 75 more homes or condos. They could easily bring an additional 150 students to the Hayden Peak Elementary School. Seventy Five more Condominiums or Town-Homes could mean 75 to 125 more automobiles to add to an already difficult traffic situation.
A spokesman for the builder was quoted by Carolyn Kingsley, in her article in the Aug. West Jordan Journal, that " this is the first time that I am aware of in the zoning history of the State of Utah where zoning is attached to a person and not a property, and I've been doing this for 25 years". Well I'm sure there are some legal nuances that make this an accurate statement, but common sense tells me that the state has hundreds if not thousands of people that enjoy the "grandfathering" of a particular use. Not a dimes worth of difference.
The bottom line for me is, I vote for common sense and I wont forget who showed common sense when I cast my vote. I'm in the common sense party.