Opinion ID: 168501
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Boulder Excavating Company (complaint 43-46; 50; 52; 65; 67-68)

Text: 60 Plaintiffs complain that since September 1998, Boulder has permitted Boulder Excavating Company (BEC), a heavy construction business with buildings and a storage yard, to be located next to plaintiffs' property in the medium-density residential district, notwithstanding the Town Council's refusal to designate Mitchell's property as existing commercial on the General Plan map. Plaintiffs also complain that BEC was permitted to erect business signs, notwithstanding a lack of sign permits, and was granted a business license in November 1998, notwithstanding the lack of a conditional use permit. 61 On February 10, 1999, the Planning Commission granted conditional use permits to BEC. Plaintiffs assert that the Commission did not fully address their issues, and that the few limitations placed on the permit have not yet been implemented. Plaintiffs filed an appeal from the grant of the permits with the Town Clerk. They complain that the Commission permitted BEC to continue its operations even though their appeal was pending. They further contend that although they filed a government records request for the permits, they did not receive copies of the permits until after the appeal period had expired. Plaintiffs state that when they received the permits, they discovered that Boulder had waived items required by the LUO, without any discussion at the meetings, effectively sandbagging their appeal. 62 On June 1, 1999, Boulder mailed plaintiffs notice of a Town meeting set for the next day, at which their appeal of BEC's conditional use permit would be discussed. Plaintiffs were out of town, did not know that their appeal would be discussed, and were unable to attend the meeting. BEC's attorney was permitted to speak about the appeal, in plaintiffs' absence. 63 Plaintiffs were permitted to tell their side of the story at a June 17, 1999 Town meeting, at which BEC's attorney was not present. They complain, however, that copies of the LUO, the zoning map, and the General Plan existing use map were not available at the meeting. The Town Council denied plaintiffs' appeal and upheld the Planning Commission's decision to issue BEC conditional use permits. 64 Plaintiffs complain that on July 14, 1999, BEC filed a building permit application to construct a building to house a company backhoe and other equipment. They contend that the permit application was defective because it was not properly filled out for a commercial building, but that the Town Building Official nevertheless allowed the construction to go forward. They also complain that the building was built in a public right of way blocking the street leading to the Mitchell property. 65 Plaintiffs contend that the Town, knowing that their LUO had been declared unconstitutional by the Utah Supreme Court and that a new LUO was about to be passed, contacted BEC and obtained applications from them for a wide variety of businesses, including an RV park, lodging, cabins, tent sites, a gift shop, an arcade, a swimming pool, a commercial greenhouse, and a hog farm. Plaintiffs contend that these uses are inconsistent with the General Plan and the LUO. The applications were accepted in late February 2001, and the Town passed a temporary LUO on February 28, 2001. Plaintiffs contend that the Town violated Utah law by approving these applications, when a temporary LUO is designed only to preserve the status quo. 66 Nearly all of this claim is precluded, because it is essentially identical to the claim plaintiffs previously litigated in state court, or because it involves allegations that could have and should have been made in the previous action. The only exception appears to be the allegations involving the July 14, 1999 permit applications and other permit applications approved in February 2001, which could not have been raised in the previous action.