In an effort to develop and better utilize the land he owns, Jared Erickson brought a proposal before the Farmington City Council March 19 hoping for approval to rezone his property from Agricultural (A) to Large Residential (LR). With his property sandwiched between Kaysville, the Rio Grande Rail Trail and Haight Creek additional effort was required to utilize the land well despite these limitations. 

The proposal will add three new houses to the area with only slight variations from standard on the size of the yards. It will also instigate the burial of the remaining power lines along that road. Almost immediately upon hearing the applicant’s plans for the property, the City Council expressed apprehension about the eight feet cement wall that was being requested, especially it being right next to the sidewalk that would be going in there. The other concerns voiced by the council were regarding modifications needing to be completed on the Haight Creek Trail abutting the east side of the property and the sidewalk being continuous and consistent along the front of the entire property, specifically if that can be accomplished without having to lose the trees that are established there. 

Erickson stood in front of the City Council for approximately 20 minutes attempting to plead his case and explain his reasoning for the plans being the way they are. He was very open to a verbal agreement on getting the Haight Creek Trail repairs completed, the details of which will be figured out at a later date. When it came time to discuss the sidewalk, Erickson’s main concern was being able to keep the trees and when the suggestion was made to have the sidewalk right against the curb for two of the three lots that would be facing the street an agreement was made. The only remaining issue was the height of the wall that was in the plan. The City Council was concerned that it would be an eye sore and send the wrong message and Erickson was concerned about the lack of privacy that anything shorter would provide, it seemed like there wasn’t going to be an agreement that evening. 

That was until the Mayor Brett Anderson called for public comment. Amme Ruedas, who was completely unknown to Erickson until that point, stood before the council and offered her unique, outsider’s perspective. Ruedas got in front of the council and confirmed the desire to save the established trees in front of the property. “The Sycamore trees come back every year and are beautiful,” she said. Ruedas also validated the need for an eight-foot-high fence along the property line due to the amount of traffic driving on adjacent roads and their headlights constantly shining into their yard. Because of her perspective an agreement was able to be reached between the City Council and Erickson that the eight-foot fence could be there as long as there is an additional five feet of landscaped space between the fence and the sidewalk. Erickson will be able to move forward with his development plans.