Morgan City Council approves development agreement with Wasatch West and Cloverland Investment LLC

Morgan City Council on Sept. 9 adopted Resolution 25-23 approving a development agreement between Morgan City and Wasatch West and Cloverland Investment LLC, council members said.

The agreement formalizes commitments tied to an already-approved subdivision and addresses landscaping and trail easement requirements that the city can no longer secure through municipal bonding after a recent change in state law, Gary Crane, the city—s legal counsel, said. "This is a subdivision. This is regarding a subdivision that has already been approved," Crane said, explaining the agreement—s purpose and the effect of the legislative change.

The nut graf: City staff and the developer negotiated terms intended to preserve the city's ability to require landscaping and to secure a 20-foot-wide easement in portions of the subdivision for a future trail system. Those elements would be enforced through the development agreement rather than municipal bonds, which Crane said state legislation now limits.

City staff told the council the engineering review is complete and that the developer has accepted most of the terms under negotiation. Crane said the developer also agreed to provide the city a 20-foot-wide easement along substantial portions of the subdivision for a future trail, and that the city would pursue grant funding for trail construction. "We want to make sure those were memorialized in an agreement," Crane said.

Council members reviewed the draft and asked staff to correct minor drafting inconsistencies in the resolution and agreement, including the agreement name and internal references. Staff asked for authority to finish minor, city-advantage edits without returning the document to council; council members said major changes should be returned for approval.

Council discussed enforcement tools if homeowners association covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) later conflict with the city's requirements. Crane summarized the distinction: CC&Rs are private agreements among property owners, and "the controlling element is the city's ordinance or its development agreement." He said the city can enforce its ordinances and the development agreement but generally cannot enforce private CC&Rs.

Motion and vote: Council member Dave Alexander moved to approve Resolution 25-23, seconded by Jeffrey Richins. The roll call was unanimous: five ayes, the mayor pro tem said; the motion carried.

The council asked staff to incorporate the minor edits discussed at the meeting before final execution and to return any major revisions for council review. Staff said they would continue negotiations and finalize the agreement with the developer.