Print Article
cedarvalleysentinel.com sent a survey to each of the City Council and Mayor Candidates for the 2017 election. The questions included ones about roads, education, city issues, city strengths, as well as a few to get to know the candidates on a more personal level. Over the next few weeks, those answers will be published on cedarvalleysentinel.com. If you have missed any, want to catch up, or just review them again, you can do so by visiting the Cedar Valley Sentinel (formerly i84005) Election Center at http://cedarvalleysentinel.com/elections/. Feel free to share these articles on social media. Lets get the word out and increase voter participation in this election cycle. Eagle Mountain is a great city, and it can be made even greater by our elected officials, but they need input from the residents.
The answers for the candidates have not been modified in anyway. We have also randomized the order that the answers are listed in for each question.
My view on property rights is that the owner of the property should be able to build or do what they need to do as long as they: 1. Follow all applicable laws, permits, and zoning criteria, 2. Do not negatively impact the values of neighboring properties, and 3. During building phases, all procedures and plans should minimize the impact that is made on the current residents. In order to obtain a balance, I plan on working with the appropriate committees and the City Council to ensure appropriate zoning is applied to each area. Planning is a key part to ensuring that values is maintained. On top of this, any major developments will need to submit plans, which need to be approved, on how they are going to minimize any impact (i.e. dust prevention procedures, truck traffic routes) on the existing community.Donna Burnham – City Council Candidate
Balancing property rights of current residents with the rights of developers is one of the most important yet difficult tasks a council faces. Everyone is a fan of property rights until their neighbor wants to build an ugly garage or a developer plans a new subdivision that will destroy their view. I am a strong proponent of property rights for all and will work within the legal parameters the council has to protect existing residents. Confrontational diplomacy doesn’t work. Finding the proper balance of rights, listening to input from residents, developers, and city staff, and working together will always produce a better result.Jan Preece – City Council Candidate
Property Rights are guaranteed under the 5th Amendment to the Constitutions of the United States of American and reads in part, “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.” My beliefs follow the Constitution. A person has a right to do with their property (land) as they see fit, but there is the exception of Zoning Regulations which are in place to ensure that land, and land use is developed in a matter that protects the right of the community. At times the rights of the land owner collide with zoning laws and or the desire of other landowners to change the zoning laws. When considering any changes to zoning laws, or appropriating private property for public use the rights and good of the community must be considered. I am not in favor of changing zoning unless the applicant can prove by a preponderance of evidence that it is for the public good and not just a private good. While as a city we might run into situations where private land needs to be purchased to achieve the public good, I would hope that the City and the parties involved can come to an equitable agreement. Eminent domain is always the last the most undesirable action and I would strongly oppose using this option.Tyler Shimakonis – City Council Candidate
I am pro-growth so for me property rights is about honoring individual’s ability to maintain their own standards, and balancing those rights and allowing developers to plan and develop within city limits under certain standards and agreements. I see city council as having an opportunity to work with prospective developers and home owners collectively to help our city grow. I think our planning commission does a great job in their roles but I also feel that having someone from the city council involved and understand the thought process from both sides is invaluable. When a developer has go through a 5th round of red lines somewhere the expectations and/or standards were not communicated properly from one side the other. This is where having open and honest communication can cultivate relationships.Matt Visser – City Council Candidate
stand strong on property rights. If you own the property you should decide what happens on it. That said we have zoning for a reason. We probably don’t want a pig farm, next to a restaurant. Recently in a city council meeting staff proposed that we change wording in our code. The change is simple, but it limits property rights tremendously. Heres the run down. The proposal was to restrict anything that wasn’t specifically mentioned as approved in the code. I don’t think its governments role to tell us what we can do, but to give basic restrictions. I stood up and gave public comment on my feelings, at that council meeting.Drew Curley – City Council Candidate
I am a firm believer in property rights and conforming with the laws, whether they be city-wide or for your community. If you live in an HOA, I believe in abiding by those standards or working to change them if you believe they are unjust. The same goes for the city. If we want higher property values and a safe community, these are necessary. Developers have a hand in this of course. We need to plan our city’s development responsibly to lend itself to conditions where the goals of safety and community are maintained. When and where permitted, I am committed to take the legal approach, which is to leave property as unencumbered as possible, giving preference to freedom.Melissa Clark – City Council Candidate
Our country was founded on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness–it all comes to property, personal property rights and freedoms, and when we stick to these basic founding principles, we can avoid costly or dangerous mistakes made by government. All over Eagle Mountain, we have developments popping up, but the plans for those developments haven’t happened overnight; someone has invested their own money into the land, then the engineering and plans, and amenities and infrastructure. Those who have followed proper procedures, laws, and codes should be allowed to develop their property. It has been hard losing our unblemished view out of my backyard, but I know that the houses being built across the street also represent the hopes and dreams of another family and it is not my right to stand in the way of that. The thing that has been very eye opening to me is that not all developers are created equal: some live within our community and want great things for EM and some are known for promising one thing and delivering another. We need to be proactive about zoning and codes and have people on city council who have studied the code and will look ahead to prevent the undesirable situations we have seen over the last few years, where something is being developed in a way no one likes.Stephanie Gricius – Part Time Mayor Candidate
Property rights are just that, a RIGHT. The balancing act between developers and residents can sometimes be a little sticky, but it can be worked through. One example is the dust issue that was facing the Mt. Airey area. The landowner was vested with the extractive industries overlay zone, and therefore within their right to do certain things. I went to lunch with the landowner and discussed the problem. At that point I asked if he would mind doing a presentation on the the new dust mitigation measures, which he put together and brought to council. Later, when their MDA was before council, I asked if they would be willing to remove the overlay zone if we included language that protected their current operation. They accepted, and it turned out that the conversation up to that point had been, in large part, based on a misunderstanding. Communication is key.Debbie Hooge – Full Time Mayor Candidate
Well, I would separate ‘property rights’ from ‘development rights.’ Property rights involve our right to enjoy the use of our property and to have it protected from the government changing our quiet use and enjoyment without having some eminent domain that would alter this. I am passionate about protecting the rights of the residents and people who own or lease a property and want them to able to use and enjoy it. I do not believe eminent domain or dramatic changes in use should ever be used except in the most critical occasions where there are risks to the community. Development rights are rights a community grants to property owners. They are clearly set out in a Development Code and in a General Plan and in the form of zoning. The community has the right to alter these plans. When we created Eagle Mountain, we specifically kept every piece of property within the Agricultural Zone. We did this so that no property owner had any other rights unless they came to the City for those rights. We did, however, have a general plan where we set out what we would have liked to see in certain areas of the City. All development rights are predicated on the principle that the developers keep their end of the bargain. This is why agreements, development codes, etc need to be well managed and thought out, and certainly should not be ‘boiler plate’ or provided by the developer applicant.Then the city administration needs to have the courage to enforce the obligations of the developer.Jared Gray – City Council Candidate
Property rights are important to me. I will defend rights of property owners (both existing and future) by staying within the law first of all, but making sure our zoning and future zoning plans are what is best for our city and residents.
Mike Kieffer is an IT geek by hobby and trade, with a BS in Information Systems & Technology. He is a proud father of 10, a grandpa, an author, a journalist, and internet publisher. His motto is to “Elevate, Inspire and Inform”, and he is politically conservative and a Christian. Mike has a passion for technology, writing, and helping others. With a wealth of experience, he is committed to sharing his knowledge with others to help them reach their full potential. He is known for his jackassery or his form of self-expression that encourages boldness, creativity, and risk-taking. It can be a way to push the boundaries and challenge traditional norms, leading to creative solutions and positive change.