It’s a road with many names: the Old Kamas Highway, Old Keetley Highway, the gun club road. On most maps it’s now W. 200 South—and lately, it’s been driving some controversy.
Summit County residents who live on the unpaved road say construction traffic headed to Wasatch County is causing dust, emissions, speeding and noise.
The Summit County Council was on the verge of closing the road with a crash gate in June. Now, its top civil attorney is recommending a compromise.
“That's probably not the best solution, because it would obviously lead to litigation,” Summit County Chief Civil Deputy Attorney David Thomas said at a joint meeting of the Summit and Wasatch county councils Aug. 14.
There are two developments on the other side of the county line, just south of state Route 248: Tuhaye and Wakara. And for Wakara, W. 200 South is the only way in or out.
Wakara’s attorney Jeremy Reutzel is confident that state law doesn’t allow Summit County to maroon the future gated neighborhood.
It doesn’t have residents yet, but Wasatch County approved 176 homes and a clubhouse.
Tuhaye is larger, and further along in construction. According to construction manager Rhett Riding, 27 of Tuhaye’s 728 lots have full-time residents.
Both developers want to work with Summit County on a solution that doesn’t involve closing the road.
Thomas said both sides will need to give a little to find a compromise, but Summit County Councilmember Canice Harte had a hard time seeing how anything besides closing the road benefits Summit County residents.
“If you're trying to find a solution where everybody gives a little bit, it doesn't seem to be reciprocal,” Harte said.
Wakara’s in-house attorney Russell Skousen said its trails will be public though, and developer Rich Wolper offered residents along the gun club road access to Wakara’s clubhouse free of charge.
And Wasatch County Councilmember Kendall Crittenden notes the tax benefits the developments may bring across the border.
“I don't see it totally as one-sided,” Crittenden said. “The shopping opportunities and whatnot in the Kamas Valley, that these Wakara and Tuhaye people—they can't get through a crash gate to go shopping in Kamas.”
But Wasatch Councilmember Eric Rowland said the series of approvals that ended up making W. 200 South Wakara’s only access was a “mistake.”
“If we could go in our way-back machines, I think we would have done things much differently in communicating with you [Summit County] as another council, especially when we have a shared road and common interests,” he said.
Thomas said Wasatch County ceded most of its portion of the road to Tuhaye, which turned it into a private road, in 2004. That’s why Wakara, which Wasatch County approved this April, can’t use it.
Both developments have approached Summit County at different times and offered to pave the entire road, which would mitigate dust.
But residents say that doesn’t solve safety and speeding concerns. Summit County Councilmember Roger Armstrong said on Local News Hour Aug. 15 a crash gate is not totally off the table.
As winter approaches and the pace of construction is expected to slow, Summit and Wasatch counties are convening a subcommittee to collaborate on solutions.
