Ordinance 26-15 would change how Wasatch County regulates residential facilities for people with disabilities.
The proposed change would allow qualifying facilities to meet county requirements with either a license or a contract with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. The current code requires a contract.
That distinction was central to a lawsuit over Cascade Home.
Wasatch County approved the facility in 2023. It can house up to eight teenage girls with mental health diagnoses including obsessive-compulsive disorder and severe anxiety.
Nearby residents challenged the county’s approval, arguing Cascade did not qualify for the zoning exemption because it was licensed by the state but did not have a contract with the health department.
In April, the Utah Court of Appeals agreed and found Wasatch County erred when it granted the land-use exemption.
Cascade Home remains in operation at the property east of Heber.
The proposed ordinance would change the county code at issue in that ruling. It would also clarify that residential facilities for people with disabilities are allowed as conditional uses in a specific zone. Also, that operating as a business does not automatically chance a facility’s residential land-use classification.
Earlier this month, the Wasatch County Planning Commission recommended the county council reject the proposed code changes.
“It’s a denial with conditions,” Wasatch County Planner David Thacker said Oct. 8. “We don’t want every treatment facility to come to Wasatch County. I’m not against treatment facilities. I want to put that on the record, but we also don’t want them all here because this is an easy place to go.”
Residents opposing the ordinance raised concerns including neighborhood safety.
Heber resident Allison Diehl said she and her family live across the street from Cascade Home. She said she is afraid of what happens if the new code goes through.
“I have four little kids living across the street,” Diehl said. “And to think about them being outside every day with an unknown facility across the street that essentially could have the potential to become whatever does highly affect us each day.”
The debate over the legality of the short-term residential treatment center will continue at the Wasatch County Council meeting Wednesday. Residents can give input at a 6 p.m. public hearing before the council considers the code changes.
Cascade Programs also runs Cascade Academy, a long-term residential treatment facility that houses up to 26 teen girls in Midway, and Cascade Lodge, a boys long-term treatment center in Huntsville. Both are licensed through the state.
