The owner of an apartment complex in Murray has filed a lawsuit seeking to block a new development next door, leaning heavily on purported concerns about increased traffic as the basis to have the court block the new housing.
Hunters Woods SPE, owner of the Hunters Woods Apartments near 4918 S. Murray Blvd., filed suit in Utah’s Third Judicial District Court, seeking to block the competing apartments across the street.
The investment company, owned by Greg Wiseman, is basing its legal challenge on its claim that the residents from the 639 units on over 26 acres would create traffic issues.
“The portion of Murray Boulevard on which Petitioner’s apartment complex and the Development are located is highly trafficked, and there are legitimate concerns over the heightened density that will accompany the Development’s approval,” Wiseman’s firm wrote in its complaint.
The group is suing the city of Murray and the Murray Planning Commission over the approval of the plans, put forward by Cottonwood Residential.
Cottonwood Residential received permission this year to build the homes plus 18,900 square feet of commercial space on the site.
The developer said it plans to build out the site in four phases, with the first 398 units of multifamily residential coming first. The second phase would include the remaining townhome units, followed by 13,000 square feet of commercial space in the third. The final phase would add the remaining commercial and a multifamily podium building with 165 units.
Under the existing zoning on the site, Cottonwood could build as many as 1,043 units on the sprawling site, which allows up to 40 units per acre. It has decided instead to build 25 units per acre, with numerous buildings surrounded by surface parking lots.
Wiseman had already challenged the approval with the city’s Appeal Authority, which ruled against him, before taking the matter to court.
Murray Boulevard is a three-lane road that runs generally parallel along the west side of Interstate 15.
The legal challenge follows a general playbook by opponents of new housing, who often claim that new housing will create congestion but without citing any evidence that the new housing will cause issues.
In this case, Wiseman claimed that the consultants who worked on the project for Cottonwood Residential didn’t rely on accurate numbers for the anticipated future growth of the area to determine how many people would be driving cars nearby.
“The proposed Development would inevitably increase traffic congestion along Murray Boulevard, compromise the integrity of nearby neighborhoods, and generally boast inconsistencies with the City’s own General Plan,” Hunters Woods wrote.
The lawsuit also takes aim at the city and development’s parking requirements.
The complaint acknowledges that the development would include more than two parking spaces for every unit. Still, Wiseman’s group says, that might not be enough.
“While the Development is technically in compliance with the Code, there are still concerns that this number will be inadequate due to the pattern of parking overflow seen at other large, multi-unit developments,” the group wrote.
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