Locals in Erda, Ut Complain Re: Temple Development, Church Responds....

[smac97]

Here:

Quote

Latter-day Saint leaders are withdrawing their plan to build a residential community around the proposed Tooele Valley Utah Temple, according to a statement issued Tuesday.

“We acknowledge the efforts of those who have raised questions and sincere concerns about the Tooele Valley temple project, including the residential development surrounding the temple. There is a sincere desire on the part of the church to avoid discord in the community,” the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement.

“Therefore, regardless of the outcome of a pending signature-gathering effort, we have determined to withdraw our rezoning request for the residential portion of the temple project.”

The Tooele County Commission voted 2-1 to rezone the land for the temple and the church’s proposed residential community around it. However, some residents raised concerns about the density of the housing in the proposal. They launched a petition that would require the issue to be decided by a referendum which could not be held before next June.
...
The First Presidency’s statement did not specify whether the church would try to resubmit a new plan for the residential community in the future.

“We look forward to working with local officials and community members to determine next steps to move forward with the construction of the temple,” the First Presidency’s statement said. “We hope those from all viewpoints on this matter will treat one another with kindness, civility and Christlike love.”

The church wants to build the temple on a church farm northwest of the intersection at Erda Way and state Route 36, an unincorporated part of Tooele County.

The farm sits on the valley floor in a rural area where the minimum lot size for a home is 1 acre and and many are on 5 acres. The church proposed building a community of 446 homes on 167 acres. That density of 2.66 homes per acre was lower than the growth anticipated in the area by the county’s general plan but higher than wanted by some residents who want to maintain the area’s rural feel.

I don't think the Church can always accommodate complaints about how it does things, but stories like the above show that it is trying to be considerate and a good neighbor.

Meanwhile, the locals are pretty happy:

Quote

A referendum over a proposed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple has enough signatures to make it on the ballot, but it might not need to after the Church made a surprise announcement Tuesday.

The Church decided it would pull the rezoning application, one day after referendum sponsors turned in more than enough signatures to leave the issue to voters.

On Tuesday evening, Meredith Mannebach dumped a bucket of feed over a fence into an empty bucket on the ground for her two pigs to gobble up.

They squealed with satisfaction. One of her cows joined in on the evening feast.

Being able to own farm animals on her 5-plus acre property is why Mannebach likes living in Erda.

"We want to live this lifestyle. We want to be more self-sufficient," she said.

They want rural living on large land. What some locals don't want: a proposed community housing development around the future Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Tooele Valley Utah temple.

Ryan Sorensen would have had a view of that development from his home in Erda.

"Minus the trees, it would have been right there," he said, pointing through trees to a field.

He explained that the issue of the development around the temple has created tension in their tight-knit community.

"It's been pretty divided," Sorensen said.

People, taking sides, posted signs on their front lawns for and against the development.

Thanks,

-Sac

Edited August 19, 2020 by smac97

[bluebell]

I'm glad they were able to resolve the issue without creating more conflict in this world that is already overrun with neighbors fighting neighbors over different issues.

I wouldn't be surprised if this area is eventually developed anyway (not by the church) despite what the residents think.  Lots of people moving in to Utah and subdivisions are huge money makers.

Edited August 19, 2020 by bluebell

[smac97]

16 minutes ago, bluebell said:

I'm glad they were able to resolve the issue without creating more conflict in this world that is already overrun with neighbors finding neighbors over different issues.

I wouldn't be surprised if this area is eventually developed anyway (not by the church) despite what the residents think.  Lots of people moving in to Utah and subdivisions are huge money makers.

Yeah.  Property proximate to Salt Lake and its environs (north, west, and south) will have a hard time staying "rural."  And at some point the preferences of the property owners will turn from "I like my cows and a quiet way of life" to "I like the millions of dollars I can make selling my farm to a developer."  And the Powers-that-Be will like the added business and tax revenues that inevitably follow such development.

I have memories growing up in the 80s of Orem having all sorts of orchards.  They are very few and far between now.  North Utah County has exploded over the last 20+ years.  The same will happen in Erda, methinks.

Thanks,

-Smac

Edited August 19, 2020 by smac97

[LoudmouthMormon]

Not enough fighting in this thread.  Here you go: How do you pronounce "Tooele".

The only authorized answer is "It's written on Willy's present".  If you're one of those heathen "too lee" people, just block me now.

[Ahab]

The Church will still own all of that land, right?  Eh, we as the Church can just wait til later to build them houses there.

[provoman]

43 minutes ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

Not enough fighting in this thread.  Here you go: How do you pronounce "Tooele".

The only authorized answer is "It's written on Willy's present".  If you're one of those heathen "too lee" people, just block me now.

Two-Will-Uh west side of O-Kur moa-uns.

[bluebell]

1 hour ago, smac97 said:

Yeah.  Property proximate to Salt Lake and its environs (north, west, and south) will have a hard time staying "rural."  And at some point the preferences of the property owners will turn from "I like my cows and a quiet way of life" to "I like the millions of dollars I can make selling my farm to a developer."  And the Powers-that-Be will like the added business and tax revenues that inevitably follow such development.

I have memories growing up in the 80s of Orem having all sorts of orchards.  They are very few and far between now.  North Utah County has exploded over the last 20+ years.  The same will happen in Erda, methinks.

Thanks,

-Smac

I’m in Layton near the Hill AF Base and what’s saving us right now from such a fate are the AF rules about the allowable population density around the runways of the base. 

[bluebell]

55 minutes ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

Not enough fighting in this thread.  Here you go: How do you pronounce "Tooele".

The only authorized answer is "It's written on Willy's present".  If you're one of those heathen "too lee" people, just block me now.

I lived in Utah for almost a year before I realized it wasn’t pronounced Tooley. 

Duchesne and Mantua are also tricky for newbies. 

[smac97]

54 minutes ago, Ahab said:

The Church will still own all of that land, right?  Eh, we as the Church can just wait til later to build them houses there.

 As I understand it the property is a former church farm common so yes I think the church owns it.

[Ahab]

1 minute ago, bluebell said:

I lived in Utah for almost a year before I realized it wasn’t pronounced Tooley. 

Duchesne and Mantua are also tricky for newbies. 

I still wonder, do people in Utah say Utah like you-tah or ooo-tah?

I live near and work in Oregon and notice how some people say Oregon like or-a-gun or or-e-gone and I still wonder which is considered correct.  Plus there is a street named Couch that people say either like cow-ooch or cooch.

It's weird.  The whole world is weird, in some way, I think.

[topcougar]

This is shortsighted for residents. It will be developed eventually. The church has an interest in having a nice development around the temple. The Church will do a better job than most private developers because their primary motive is not profit.  If the church were to sell the land it would be developed more densely.  If the residents want less density, they should hope the Church develops the property rather than selling it. In my community, the Church sold  vacant land surrounding my chapel to a  private developer which  filled in as densely as the city would allow. 

[Duncan]

I had a samoan/hawaiian mission companion who prounounced "ukulele" as "oo koo lay lee" instead of how we would say it "you koo lay lee"

[Ahab]

1 minute ago, Duncan said:

I had a samoan/hawaiian mission companion who prounounced "ukulele" as "oo koo lay lee" instead of how we would say it "you koo lay lee"

I say it "you-cool-lay-lee" and think those other 2 ways are just wrong, or maybe also a little bit funny.

[Robert F. Smith]

1 hour ago, Ahab said:

............................. to build them houses there.

Wrong syntax:  It should read "them there houses."

[Ahab]

1 minute ago, Robert F. Smith said:

Wrong syntax:  It should read "them there houses."

or better still... build all of them houses right there.

[Calm]

1 hour ago, smac97 said:

The same will happen in Erda, methinks.

Happening now here in Mapleton.  They are changing the zoning requirements to allow for townhouses, etc. and even before that gave waivers to allow smaller plots.  There are still areas with larger plots and the only commercial development is on Highway 89, but the fields are slowly disappearing.  Developers want to maximize profit and city officials want to raise the tax base.

[Calm]

24 minutes ago, topcougar said:

The Church will do a better job than most private developers because their primary motive is not profit

The park in front of the temple looked quite nice.

I think in the long run they will likely end up with denser population than what the Church planned, but the Church development probably would have sped up the process.  This might delay things 5 to 10 years depending on how the Church sells the land...assuming that is what it does.  They might hold on to it until someone else less caring about the neighbourhood's feelings has broken the ice, so to speak.

If the residents figure when they get older they won't want to keep doing the rural life and their kids likely won't care, then delaying it is the way to go. 

[Scott Lloyd]

2 hours ago, smac97 said:

Yeah.  Property proximate to Salt Lake and its environs (north, west, and south) will have a hard time staying "rural."  And at some point the preferences of the property owners will turn from "I like my cows and a quiet way of life" to "I like the millions of dollars I can make selling my farm to a developer."  And the Powers-that-Be will like the added business and tax revenues that inevitably follow such development.

I have memories growing up in the 80s of Orem having all sorts of orchards.  They are very few and far between now.  North Utah County has exploded over the last 20+ years.  The same will happen in Erda, methinks.

Thanks,

-Smac

The same scenario happened in Draper, which is just over the boundary from where I live. 
 

I wonder how many of those objecting have strong roots in the area. It’s not uncommon for newcomers to move into an area and then want to shut the door on anybody else coming in afterward. 

Edited August 19, 2020 by Scott Lloyd

[OGHoosier]

1 hour ago, bluebell said:

I lived in Utah for almost a year before I realized it wasn’t pronounced Tooley. 

Duchesne and Mantua are also tricky for newbies. 

I got Mantua relatively quickly because a relative of mine had a house there for a few years. Still struggling with Duchesne.

[Scott Lloyd]

4 minutes ago, OGHoosier said:

I got Mantua relatively quickly because a relative of mine had a house there for a few years. Still struggling with Duchesne.

What’s to struggle with? It’s a two-syllable pronunciation: Doo-SHANE. You hear it once and you’ve got it. 

[bluebell]

Just now, Scott Lloyd said:

What’s to struggle with? It’s a two-syllable pronunciation: Doo-SHANE. You hear it once and you’ve got it. 

I don’t live anywhere near it and so never hear it spoken. Which means it’s easy to forget the pronunciation.  Even now after seven years I have to stop and think about it for a few seconds before it comes back to me. 

[Scott Lloyd]

It happens over and over again. A temple is announced and local NIMBYs get nasty about letting it in. The Church jumps through all the hoops, finally gets it built, property values skyrocket in the surrounding neighborhood, and nobody really remembers what the fuss was about. 
 

Somebody told Brigham Young he hated to see construction continue on the Salt Lake Temple, because whenever the Church had begun to build a temple in the past, the “bells of hell” would begin to ring. 
 

Brigham’s reply: “I want to hear them ring again.”

[Ahab]

5 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

What’s to struggle with? It’s a two-syllable pronunciation: Doo-SHANE. You hear it once and you’ve got it. 

You mean, instead of pronouncing Duchesne.as duke-es-knee, which is what it looks like how it should be pronounced.

[Scott Lloyd]

9 minutes ago, bluebell said:

I don’t live anywhere near it and so never hear it spoken. Which means it’s easy to forget the pronunciation.  Even now after seven years I have to stop and think about it for a few seconds before it comes back to me. 

I had never been there before learning the pronunciation at a very young age. The knowledge never left me. 
 

And if you regularly view or hear local newscasts in Utah, you’re apt to hear the name quite a bit. 

Edited August 19, 2020 by Scott Lloyd

[Scott Lloyd]

1 minute ago, Ahab said:

You mean, instead of pronouncing Duchesne.as duke-es-knee, which is what it looks like how it should be pronounced.

Lot easier to say Doo-SHANE.