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Salt Lake Tribune, The (UT)
Date: November 18, 2003
Section: Utah
Edition: Final
Page: C7
Open space zone snags property sale
"We just want out": Retired couple threaten to sue SLC
for disrupting their ability to close a deal
Heather May
The Salt Lake Tribune The Salt Lake Tribune
The Knowltons just want to sell their Salt Lake City
home. Joseph and Kathleen Knowlton bought the
sprawling east-side house near Emigration Creek in
1963. They watched their five children grow up there
-- even built a gazebo for their weddings.
But the retired couple can't care for the 2 acres
anymore.
They found a buyer willing to purchase the property at
1665 E. Kensington Ave. (1535 South) for $1 million.
But they can't sell.
The land has been stuck in a zoning dispute for more
than a year. Some of the property is zoned as open
space, and the Knowltons' neighbors don't want it
reclassified to allow a new owner to build up to three
more homes on land that abuts the creek and the city's
Wasatch Hollow Park. Residents fear added noise and
air pollution that could come with new homes. Most of
all, though, they want to preserve the undeveloped
land as open space.
"This is mature riparian habitat," said Dan Duggleby,
whose home overlooks the Knowltons' gully. "It [open
space] is a value that people have. If we don't
support it, we're going to wind up with nothing."
The Knowltons have retained an attorney and threatened
to sue the city for taking their property without
compensation if the land isn't rezoned.
"We just want out," said Joseph Knowlton, a
72-year-old retired attorney. "My wife wants to take
care of me in a nice, quiet place."
The Knowltons' property used to be zoned residential.
But, in 1995, city officials undertook a citywide
rezoning effort and the property was tagged as open
space -- a move the Knowltons insist took place
without their knowledge. The Knowltons believe the
rezone was a mistake. It wasn't discovered until their
prospective buyer, Allison Leishman, was researching
what she could do on the property, according to the
Knowltons.
Leishman didn't return a phone call Monday.
But others don't believe the open-space zoning was
done in error. The property is landlocked, with the
only access through the Knowltons' driveway. And some
of the land sits in a 100-year flood plain and thus
could not be developed, according to a city survey.
Planning Commission members have recommended the City
Council rezone the property outside of the flood plain
as residential. The rest would remain open space,
which would limit development to one home, said city
planner Greg Mikolash. The council will discuss, and
possibly vote on, the issue tonight.
The Knowltons disagree that their land is in the flood
plain, but they don't want to spend the $14,000
necessary to do a study. They would rather the council
rezone the land and deal with development issues with
a new owner. Their contract with Leishman says they
must resolve the zoning before they get their money.
And while other buyers are willing to purchase the
land and keep it wild, the Knowltons can't sell to
them. Leishman filed a lawsuit against the couple to
hold them to their contract with her, Joseph Knowlton
said.
"We'd sure like to find a way to have a good outcome
for everybody," said Duggleby, who is sympathetic to
the Knowltons' situation and knows the other willing
buyers.
The whole situation has renewed interest in reviving
an ordinance that would set standards for development
around stream corridors, said Lynne Olson, a member of
the Sugar House Community Council. That community,
which is near the neighborhood, fears the rezoning
would set a precedent allowing other open space to be
developed. "There's a trend here. We really need to
find a way to deal with it."
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Caption: Joseph Knowlton takes a stroll around his
property, which he says he can't sell because Salt
Lake City officials zoned part of it open space.
Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune
------------------------------------------------- Date: November 21, 2003
Section: Utah
Edition: Final
Page: C9
Council rezones parcel; couple may sell, move
Open area: Dispute had tied up property along
Emigration Creek
Heather May
The Salt Lake Tribune The Salt Lake Tribune
The Knowltons get to move. Joseph and Kathleen
Knowlton, who have been trying to sell their 2 acres
at 1665 E. Kensington Ave. (1500 South), got the
go-ahead Thursday night when the Salt Lake City
Council voted to rezone the private property from open
space to residential.
By rezoning the land, the council set the stage for
the largely undeveloped land in a gully along
Emigration Creek to house up to three new homes.
Many council members, even those who voted to rezone
the land, were reluctant. The property is in
Councilman Dave Buhler's district, and he said he
would like for the city to own the property and make
it part of the adjacent Wasatch Hollow Park. "While I
personally would like to see it remain open space, I
don't own it. Neither does the city. We haven't paid
for that right," Buhler said.
The Knowltons had threatened to sue the city for
unconstitutionally taking their property without
compensation if the city refused the rezoning.
Councilwoman Jill Remington Love, who voted against
the rezoning, urged the mayor's office to look at
condemning and then buying the property to turn it
into a trailhead. The council cannot initiate such an
action. "It would be a lost opportunity if we didn't
acquire this property," she said.
The Knowltons were set to sell their property a year
ago for $1 million when the to-be-owner discovered
that some of the land was zoned as open space and was
thus undevelopable. While others were willing to buy
the land and keep it undeveloped, the Knowltons
already had signed a contract with Allison Leishman,
who apparently wants to build up to three more homes
there. Development plans must be approved by the
Planning Commission.
Caption: Graphic: Disputed land (map)
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