ON THE RECORD: Sunnydale Neighborhood Residents

To: Salt Lake County
      Planning & Development Services
      Board of Adjustment

From: Residents of Sunnydale Lane neighborhood, Emigration Canyon

Re: Variance request, 3299 E Cove Road, Emigration Canyon

Date: 01/14/07

Residents of Sunnydale Lane live at the bottom of steep Emigration Canyon slopes. A variance is being requested for additional construction on these slopes immediately above us. The undersigned submit this letter to the County's written record based on our concerns about residential development on such steep slopes.

We understand the above variance request concerns a lot of record in an existing subdivision and that county staff find the proposal meets standard criteria for approval of a variance. Nonetheless, given the risks to public health, safety, and welfare of steep hillside development we remain uneasy about the risks of this construction. In addition, given the ever-present option developers have of appealing for a variance, we are concerned this variance will add local precedent for circumventing the Hillside Protection Ordinance as a means to develop steep Emigration hillside.

First, we request the county make very clear in the record of these proceedings that approval to develop on 40-50% slopes, if given here, should N0T be construed as encouraging, or setting a precedent for, development proposals on adjacent steep hillside land that does not contain lots of record.

Second, we note that the Utah Geological Survey finds landslides to be common in Utah and that the State of Utah acknowledged a recent landslide in upper Emigration Canyon. The Utah Geological Survey web site lists several features of areas prone to landslide that apply to Standel Cove and many current residents of Sunnydale Lane & Standel Cove recall installation of hillside movement monitoring and alarm equipment in Standel Cove due to ground movement and the related threat of catastrophic landslide during the spring runoff of 1984. Of the features that predispose to landslide, several (steep natural slopes, developed hillsides where septic-tank soil absorption systems are used, and irrigated landscapes) may apply to this particular variance request. Homeowner's insurance typically does not cover landslide damage of the sort that could be incurred by homeowners immediately down-hill as a result of this granting of this variance. Therefore, we request that the Board of Adjustment specify how the risk of future landslide attributable to this development has been estimated and what the cost of landslide insurance coverage might be in the Standel Cove neighborhood.

Third, we note that the Fire Department has actively participated in the annual Emigration Canyon Fire Day'' thereby supporting the community's concern about our local, recent history of human-triggered forest fires and risk of future ones. We therefore request the county acknowledge the importance of setting a high standard of fire safety for new construction in the canyon. In this context, the request for a variance on the requirement for a firetruck turn-around is disconcerting. The proposed sprinkler system is sensible but. currently would depend on an electrically-powered well pump; electricity in Emigration Canyon is not as reliable as we would like and would presentably be less reliable during a fire. A 300 gallon back-up water tank for such a contingency is qualitatively a sound concept but quantitatively unimpressive. If the contiguous Sunnydale Lane and Standel Cove neighborhoods someday square access to the high pressure Salt Lake City water line that currently passes us by, then a higher standard of water availability for fighting fires could be considered in the future. Therefore, if granted, we also request that the County be on record as stating that nothing about this variance should be construed as excusing or excluding any residential development on East Cove Road from compliance with, or access to, future enhancements to local fire safety (for example, fire hydrants). In the mean time, we also request that the Board of Adjustment ask the Fire Department to inform us whether it would be feasible for at least a pumper truck to gain access to the end of East Cove Road by driving up Standel Cove just beyond the take-off of East Cove Road and then backing into the latter.

Fourth, we note that all residents of the Sunnydale Lane and Standel Cove neighborhoods currently depend on the pristine quality of their personal wells for their culinary water. The wells on Sunnydale Lane are, obviously, downhill from the septic system planned for this residence. We understand that this septic system requires a variance due, at least in part, to the pitch of the hillside. Therefore, we reinforce the necessity for adequate evaluation of the septic variance for this development by the County Department of Health and ask for a clear statement from the County whether this evaluation will include consideration of down-hill well water quality.

In summary, the potential implications of this variance for Sunnydale Lane in particular and Emigration Canyon in general raise four categories of concern: 1) stronger and wider perception of precedent for steep hillside development, 2) landslide risk, 3) forest fire risk, and 4) groundwater contamination risk. In this letter we have requested clarification of these risks, who made the risk assessments, and due diligence to their mitigation. We will hold Salt Lake County partly responsible for costs and damages incurred should such risks come to pass.

Respectfully submitted,

c.c. Joseph Smolka, Chair, Emigration Canyon Community Council

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