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No Comments [ Add Comment ]Hooper leaders hope for resolution
By Jason WoodFarmer against ditch easement for developer
HOOPER -- City leaders are hoping a local developer and a longtime farming family can reach a resolution about drainage issues before a proposed subdivision appears on the calendar.
Bert Christensen wants to build 22 homes on 12.75 acres at 5770 S. 5500 West. He told officials that preliminary engineering and technical studies have shown an existing ditch on nearby property to the west could accept some light water flow if his project were completed.
He said state officials suggested he should be entitled to some form of a prescriptive easement to the ditch in case maintenance or repairs become necessary.
"There should not be much, if any, additional water traveling through that ditch due to the engineering, the detention basins we plan to build and other provisions that we plan to make," Christensen said.
However, the adjoining parcel's owner, John Russell, countered that his family has no interest in allowing intrusion of any form on his property.
"Drain water has never flowed through our land," he said. "We are not granting right of ways or easements to drive equipment through our fields to maintain that ditch."
The planning commission rejected final approval of the Hooper Haven subdivision, but the project is slated to appear on a March city council meeting agenda.
Mayor Glenn Barrow brought the council a resolution that urged the developer and adjacent landowners to resolve their differences through one-on-one discussions, mediation or arbitration, with the findings of the latter being binding.
"I just hope, as neighbors and residents of Hooper, the developer and landowners will take the time to work it out in whatever manner they choose," Barrow said.
The city council unanimously passed the resolution that states Hooper has no position on the matter except to encourage the two parties to reach a solution before the council considers the development.
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