It was constructed on city property without a permit, and now, the city has decided to restore the land.

According to a Notice of City Action statement from South Ogden City to Manny Cypers, which was emailed to the Standard-Examiner on Tuesday, the city “will immediately begin the process of reclaiming the Property, removing all unauthorized improvements, restoring the site, and recovering the associated costs.”

The notice states when the removal and restoration work is completed, Cypers will be provided “with an itemized invoice for all costs incurred” with the city expecting “full reimbursement of those costs.” Furthermore, it restricts unauthorized access to the property by Cypers, the Fox Chase HOA or anyone acting on his behalf.

It notes that Cypers previously acknowledged that his “actions, improvements, and activities on the Property occurred without formal authorization, permits, or required approvals by the City.”

In an interview Tuesday with the Standard-Examiner, South Ogden City Manager Matt Dixon explained that because this is not a situation the city has ever had to deal with, it intentionally took time to make sure it understood its options and how to handle it while seeking legal counsel.

“The council explored different options and then ultimately … decided, no, it’s in our long-term best interest as a community to not allow this and it needs to be cleaned up,” Dixon said.

Reached Wednesday by the Standard-Examiner, Cypers said that when he built the court, he thought the property belonged to the neighborhood. He said according to the master plan of the neighborhood, the area was supposed to function as a neighborhood park.

He said everyone is for the park except for two people and called it an “overreach” by the city.

“The citizens want it and that’s the thing that I don’t understand,” Cypers said. “The citizens want it and they’re still saying no.”

He said he hopes to delay the tearout, which he said was set to occur June 9.

September 2025 City Council Meeting

At a Sept. 16, 2025, South Ogden City Council meeting, Cypers gave a presentation to explain why he constructed the pickleball court and why he believed it should remain.

He said it was the result of neglect from the city in maintaining the property, which he said included weeds taller than him that he believed to be a fire hazard.

He said there was money bonded to the developer to do something with the non-wetlands portion of the property but the bond money was released and the developer left town without doing anything.

Cypers said that his understanding was that the property became the neighborhood’s to take care of and that it cost him “tens of thousands of dollars” to put it all in.

The council challenged the concrete specs, whether or not it was on a wetland area and whether the entirety of the property could be accessed by the city in the event of an emergency like flooding with the pickleball court located there.

Regarding the wetlands concern, Dixon said Tuesday that “appears to have been kind of resolved at this point,” though he said it’s the call of the Army Corps of Engineers.

He said from what he understands, the Army Corps of Engineers is aware of the situation, but it appears there is no issue because the wetlands are “still there and the water flows as it needs to drain the area.”

Regarding access, Public Works Director Jon Andersen said at the city council meeting that the entire area could not be accessed.

Dixon said at the city council meeting that a lease agreement could be an option but such agreements don’t allow for permanent structures. He also warned that allowing this would set a challenging precedent.

“So, to me, we’re opening an opportunity for any publicly owned property that the city isn’t actively maintaining,” he said. “Are we giving a green light to say, ‘Hey, neighbors, go build something on there. Don’t need a permit, don’t need any permission from the city and it’s OK.’

“That’s a terrible precedent to start setting, and I will tell you in the almost 30 years I’ve been in local government, this has got all my colleagues shaking their heads going, ‘What?’ Because just nowhere do you see someone constructing private improvements on city property.”

In his comments Wednesday, Cypers challenged the city’s enforcement consistency.

“They just chose that they didn’t like this improvement in Fox Chase and they’re fighting it tooth and nail,” he said.

Contact Standard-Examiner editor Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.