Layton ponders zoning for planned development

The Layton City Council is mulling whether to rezone 70 acres near Antelope Drive for a mixed-use housing project in the face of opposition from residents who say the hillside is unstable.

North Salt Lake-based Hawkins Homes wants to build a project that would include 157 townhouses and 146 single-family units on the parcel labeled in city documents as the Adams Property LLC. The average density is equivalent to four units per acre.

The proposal would leave 16 acres as open space near Kays Creek.

The council has scheduled a June 4 vote on the plan that nearby residents say is ripe for landslides.

In an effort to offset concerns about the area's stability, the development firm commissioned several studies that it says the land can safely be built upon.

Hawkins Homes has been seeking the rezoning of the area for the past three years, according to developer Mike Flood.

"There have been extensive reports and tests," he said.

Flood declined to discuss the proposal's specifics.

"I'm not interested in answering a lot of questions," he said. "This development is in its conceptual stage."

But a spokesman for a citizens group warned the area is characterized by steep slopes that are coursed by underground springs.

"These are well-known landslide areas," David Paulsen said. "This land is very likely to move, no matter what you do to it."  Original Article