Back in 2023, Wasatch County approved plans for Cascade House, a residential teen treatment facility proposed for a neighborhood east of downtown Heber.
The treatment center was intended to house up to eight teenage girls with mental health diagnoses like obsessive-compulsive disorder or severe anxiety.
The site is in a zone that allows facilities “for persons with disabilities” as a conditional use.
However, a small group of residents who live near the site of the would-be treatment center objected to the plans. They argued that Cascade did not qualify for the zoning exception since it lacked a contract with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
On April 30, the Utah Court of Appeals agreed. The judges found Wasatch County erred when it allowed the land use exception. The ruling means the treatment center cannot go forward.
Dustin Sidwell, one of the residents who sued over the plans, welcomed the decision.
“We’re all for people getting the medical care and help they need, in whatever form,” he said. “We just felt that being in the middle of a residential neighborhood was not the right spot for it.”
Sidwell said he and his neighbors were worried about traffic on their quiet streets.
At a Wasatch County Planning Commission meeting in April 2023, residents raised concerns about safety and property values. One neighbor said he didn’t want his children interacting with Cascade patients. Others said it’s not appropriate to have a business in the middle of a neighborhood.
The court’s decision hinged on a small distinction in Cascade’s status with the state health department. Since Cascade had a license, not a contract, the facility did not technically meet all Wasatch County’s requirements for a conditional use permit.
“It wasn’t just me,” Sidwell said. “It was a whole neighborhood of people that cared greatly to protect their neighborhood and to keep it non-commercial, to keep it a residential neighborhood like we wanted it.”
The company that applied to build Cascade House already has a presence in Wasatch County. Cascade Academy, in Midway, can house up to 26 teenage girls with severe anxiety disorders.
