Landowner in an uphill battle

MAPLETON — From Wendell Gibby's 120 acres on Maple Mountain, the quiet scene that spreads out below contradicts the controversy that troubles the land.

West Mountain frames the far horizon, and majestic Mt. Timpanogos sits to the northeast. In the valley, Utah Lake shimmers in the sunlight, with well-laid-out communities nearly surrounding it.

In the foreground, just below Gibby's property, posh, tree-lined homes sit neatly among manicured lawns.

"That's the nub of the issue," Gibby said of the seven-year battle to develop his mountain property. "Those people don't want houses above them."

A group of Mapleton residents called the "Friends of Maple Mountain" don't want Gibby to build 47 homes on his side of the mountain, and the sides take their struggle before the Utah Supreme Court today. The hearing is another chapter in a number of fights over Gibby's land.

To build or not

That land has U.S. Forest Service property on the south, north and east. There is a site for a 10-acre city park on the northwest side at the base of the mountain and another on the southwest side.

Original Article