This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It's good to be the king. Or even the speaker of the House. Or, in some cases, just a Republican legislator in Utah.
Rep. Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, fits the last two labels. Some Sandy residents say that, at least figuratively, he fits the first one too.
Curtis, an attorney, has had great success in battling opponents of his clients' development plans in City Hall and some wonder if it's due to his negotiating skills, the merits of his causes or who he is and the powerful position he holds as speaker of the House of Representatives.
In the past few days, I've written about the $2.3 million land sale Curtis negotiated that had some Salt Lake County Council members raising their eyebrows. I also wrote about zoning variances he obtained from the Sandy Planning and Zoning Commission to build a road through a sleepy cul-de-sac and create several building lots below, to the chagrin of most of the neighbors.
The Sandy Board of Adjustment nixed that approval last week, and that raised questions about just how much juice Curtis has with the planning commissioners who approved his variance applications in the first place.
Now, I've learned Curtis got his way with the all-Republican Salt Lake County Commission eight years ago, just before the county changed its government to a mayor-council form. That was before he was speaker, but he was a member of the Legislature who shortly thereafter would become chief counsel to then-County Mayor Nancy Workman.
In that case, his family members had applied for a zoning variance to build a duplex on the 1600 East block of Creek Road in Sandy. The Little Cottonwood Community Council obtained signatures on a petition opposing the variance and the Planning and Zoning Commission denied it, ruling the size of the lot was not conducive to a duplex. The matter was appealed to the County Commission and the lot was approved.
Curtis has done nothing wrong in his applications and negotiations for his clients or himself, and has always gone through the appropriate channels and processes.
But in the case of the 10 acres that were purchased for open space, County Mayor Peter Corroon has asked for another appraisal before signing off on the final sale. The appraisal that led to the $2.3 million deal - $1.8 million from the county and $500,000 from Sandy - relied on several assumptions, including the questionable claim the owner could build five lots on the mountainous terrain over several faults if he kept it and developed it.
Previous rulings by Sandy and Draper planning officials rejected developer Gary McDougal's claim he could put five building lots on the property because of its difficult terrain, access and utility problems and its fault lines. The land is in Draper, but relies on Sandy for its access.
It wasn't until McDougal retained Curtis as his attorney that his ability to sell the land for open space, and to complete the connection of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, became a reality.
Draper Community Development Director David Dobbins said it was never determined just how many lots could go on the property, but Draper and Sandy finally signed off on the five lots to justify the price eventually paid.
McDougal for years had successfully appealed the appraised value of the property to just a fraction of his eventual selling price in order to pay minimal taxes.
But council member Joe Hatch doesn't begrudge the property owner or his attorney for trying to get a low appraisal value for taxes, but a high one for negotiating a sale. That's business, he said.
"If we should be angry at anyone it should be the county assessor for buying the argument for years that the property wasn't worth much and, therefore, taxing very little," Hatch said.