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| Sugar House Utah: Outlying Areas |
| Riverton, Utah |
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| Riverton |
The view from Bangerter Highway in Riverton.
When you enter Riverton, you are in the land of new construction.
I am no expert on the city of
Riverton. I know it's 18 miles
southwest of Salt Lake City, and I
know it's one of the
fastest-growing Salt Lake Valley
burgs, but I don't spend a lot of
time there. I have sold a couple of
houses out that way, and I have
shown a bunch more, but I am no
expert. On the other hand, once
you have seen 100 new stucco
ramblers on quarter-acre lots,
haven't you seen them all?
This southwest Salt Lake Valley
city has a large percentage of new
construction. That is the appeal. I
find very few people are
interested in moving way out
there for one of the city's original
old homes on busy streets. Most
of Riverton's streets didn't exist
in the 1970s, and the ones that did
are now busy feeder streets for
the others.
My greatest knowledge of
Riverton comes through the court
system. spent five days on a 3rd
District Court jury in summer 2007
in the case of a farmer suing
Riverton (see story below). I
voted to give the guy about 10%
of what the others decided to
give him.
Riverton. I know it's 18 miles
southwest of Salt Lake City, and I
know it's one of the
fastest-growing Salt Lake Valley
burgs, but I don't spend a lot of
time there. I have sold a couple of
houses out that way, and I have
shown a bunch more, but I am no
expert. On the other hand, once
you have seen 100 new stucco
ramblers on quarter-acre lots,
haven't you seen them all?
This southwest Salt Lake Valley
city has a large percentage of new
construction. That is the appeal. I
find very few people are
interested in moving way out
there for one of the city's original
old homes on busy streets. Most
of Riverton's streets didn't exist
in the 1970s, and the ones that did
are now busy feeder streets for
the others.
My greatest knowledge of
Riverton comes through the court
system. spent five days on a 3rd
District Court jury in summer 2007
in the case of a farmer suing
Riverton (see story below). I
voted to give the guy about 10%
of what the others decided to
give him.
Farmer beats City Hall
Damage to crop costs Riverton $233,807
By Dawn House
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 01/31/2008 11:44:48 PM MST
Michael Giolas is telling other farmers how they can take on city hall - and win - when developers trample their
property.
"We're all being squeezed by development," Giolas said of construction crews whom he claims dumped waste
and dirty water on his leased acreage in Riverton, killing crops.
Giolas brought the first of several lawsuits against the city of Riverton in 1999, claiming officials made it
impossible for him to continue growing alfalfa and hay on land less than an hour's drive from Salt Lake City.
A jury in 3rd District Court last year found Riverton liable for more than $200,000 in damages. And on Dec. 31,
Judge Joseph Fratto signed a final judgment awarding Giolas $233,807, which included legal costs.
"This suit was important to farmers and other property holders because it held Riverton City responsible for
development practices it encourages, participates in or authorizes," said Giolas' attorney, Dale Gardiner.
Giolas sued over a botched irrigation project initiated by the city and Intel Corp. after the Delaware-based
company installed pipes in a ditch. Giolas contended that the new system wasn't completed when promised and
that it leaked one-third of the water it was to deliver onto one of his nearby plots.
"It was the city that required the line to go in, and their inspectors were out there every day,"
Gardiner said. "Cities shouldn't be able to artificially destroy a farmers' operation."
Giolas, 41, said he hopes other farmers now can turn to the courts when developers damage their crops, limit
access to their land when installing curbs and gutters or dump waste onto their properties.
"The city didn't want to pay and didn't want to settle, so it was one court hearing after another," he said Tuesday.
"The wheels of justice move slowly."
Riverton attorney David Church said the city would have welcomed the prospect of the property staying
agricultural, but the landowners long ago slated the land for development.
"Giolas was only leasing the property," said Church. "This had nothing to do with chasing farmland out of the city."
Riverton Mayor William Applegarth, while calling working farms beautiful open space that costs the city nothing to
maintain, also said "disappearing farmland is a reality. There's a constitutional principle that landowners have the
right to sell their land for other uses."
Croplands in Salt Lake County declined by 31 percent during the 1997-2002 period, according to the latest
figures from National Agricultural Statistics Service. Statewide, Utah has lost 2 million acres of farmland and
grazing areas in the past 40 years - nearly the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.
Damage to crop costs Riverton $233,807
By Dawn House
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 01/31/2008 11:44:48 PM MST
Michael Giolas is telling other farmers how they can take on city hall - and win - when developers trample their
property.
"We're all being squeezed by development," Giolas said of construction crews whom he claims dumped waste
and dirty water on his leased acreage in Riverton, killing crops.
Giolas brought the first of several lawsuits against the city of Riverton in 1999, claiming officials made it
impossible for him to continue growing alfalfa and hay on land less than an hour's drive from Salt Lake City.
A jury in 3rd District Court last year found Riverton liable for more than $200,000 in damages. And on Dec. 31,
Judge Joseph Fratto signed a final judgment awarding Giolas $233,807, which included legal costs.
"This suit was important to farmers and other property holders because it held Riverton City responsible for
development practices it encourages, participates in or authorizes," said Giolas' attorney, Dale Gardiner.
Giolas sued over a botched irrigation project initiated by the city and Intel Corp. after the Delaware-based
company installed pipes in a ditch. Giolas contended that the new system wasn't completed when promised and
that it leaked one-third of the water it was to deliver onto one of his nearby plots.
"It was the city that required the line to go in, and their inspectors were out there every day,"
Gardiner said. "Cities shouldn't be able to artificially destroy a farmers' operation."
Giolas, 41, said he hopes other farmers now can turn to the courts when developers damage their crops, limit
access to their land when installing curbs and gutters or dump waste onto their properties.
"The city didn't want to pay and didn't want to settle, so it was one court hearing after another," he said Tuesday.
"The wheels of justice move slowly."
Riverton attorney David Church said the city would have welcomed the prospect of the property staying
agricultural, but the landowners long ago slated the land for development.
"Giolas was only leasing the property," said Church. "This had nothing to do with chasing farmland out of the city."
Riverton Mayor William Applegarth, while calling working farms beautiful open space that costs the city nothing to
maintain, also said "disappearing farmland is a reality. There's a constitutional principle that landowners have the
right to sell their land for other uses."
Croplands in Salt Lake County declined by 31 percent during the 1997-2002 period, according to the latest
figures from National Agricultural Statistics Service. Statewide, Utah has lost 2 million acres of farmland and
grazing areas in the past 40 years - nearly the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.
This new 3,900-square-foot two-story drew an offer
in January 2008 at an asking price of $460,000. The
average Riverton home sold for $337,400 in '07.
in January 2008 at an asking price of $460,000. The
average Riverton home sold for $337,400 in '07.
| Riverton News |
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