The Utah Property Rights Ombudsman issues opinions as a means of resolving land use disputes statewide.
Park City resident Bob Theobald recently asked the ombudsman to investigate his neighbors he claims are violating local development rules by building in sensitive wetlands near McLeod Creek.
This year Theobald unsuccessfully appealed a Park City Planning Commission decision that allows his neighbors, the Carahers, to shift the building pad on their Park Meadows property. A building pad is the area where structures like a home or shed can be built.
Theobald is suing Park City government and his neighbors Sarah and Gerry Hall, who belong in the same HOA as the Carahers. Sarah Hall is the chair of the Park City Planning Commission.
Theobald accuses the Halls and the Carahers of deleting covenants, conditions and restrictions, or CC&Rs, that govern the wetlands on their properties, from their Home Owner Association documents guidelines.
CC&Rs are private agreements among landowners, but in this case, Theobald claims they are tied to the original conditions of approval for the neighborhood and therefore law.
The Army Corps of Engineers sent an inquiry to the Halls in July 2023 asking for more information about “potential unauthorized activity in wetlands.” The Army Corps has declined to comment to KPCW on the investigation.
The state property rights ombudsman found that Theobald lacks standing to challenge the planning commission decision under state law.
The ombudsman also rejected Theobald’s claim that the decision would create a dangerous precedent for future land use decisions in the neighborhood.
The report stated Theobald could appeal future approvals if he can prove his property suffers from specific injury, which means the effect on his property is different than the general public.
In a statement, Park City Municipal applauded the advisory opinion, saying it “is consistent with the city’s briefing in a pending motion” in the Third District case.
Theobald declined to comment Tuesday, saying he was working on a response to the city’s motion to dismiss in court.
