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Senate approves land purchase near State Developmental Center after heated debate
Summary
The Utah Senate passed a bill authorizing a land purchase adjacent to the State Developmental Center after a contentious floor debate over whether carving 100 acres from a 300-acre trust would undermine the center’s long-term mission; the measure passed 16–11 and now goes to the House.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Senate on Feb. 19 approved substitute Senate Bill 177, a measure that authorizes a land purchase adjacent to the Utah State Developmental Center, after a prolonged and sometimes emotional floor debate about the future of land held in trust for people with severe disabilities.
Senators voted 16–11, with 2 absent, to pass the substitute bill and return the measure to the House. Senator McAllister, who led floor action on the bill, said the request originated with the director of the developmental center and that parents and center representatives had expressed support. “The initial request for this action was initiated by the director of the developmental center,” McAllister said on the floor, urging colleagues to view the change as protective of the facility.
Opponents, led by Senator Maine, said the proposal risks undermining a roughly 90-year-old trust that holds some 300 acres for the benefit of people with severe disabilities. Maine urged colleagues to reject what he called a selective sale of the best acreage. “...to take the finest of the 300 acres and take that out of the system,” he said, arguing the trust could be jeopardized and urging a comprehensive study of alternatives, including relocating the center or selling all acreage and protecting the proceeds for the trust.
Floor debate touched on valuation and fiscal notes. Senators reported the Department of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM) had contacted appraisers and that earlier fiscal figures (a $50,000 estimate cited in the fiscal note) were likely high; DFCM told the body an anticipated purchase price would likely fall between $35,000 and $45,000 per acre and that annual acquisition costs would not exceed the fiscal-note cap of roughly $325,300 per year.
Supporters said the purchase would protect the center from encroaching subdivision and provide a buffer, help with proximity to educational programs and possible shared facilities, and offered an avenue for modest institutional development that center staff favored. Opponents said no full study had been done to weigh selling all acreage or relocating the facility and worried about long-term funding and the trust’s purpose.
The bill was amended on the floor to change references from a long-term lease to a long-term purchase and to fix minor drafting and spelling errors before the final roll call. With passage in the Senate, S.B. 177 will return to the House for final action.
What happens next: Because the Senate passed the bill as a substitute and amended it on the floor, the measure goes back to the House for concurrence and final enrollment.
