Draper Daze

The finger-pointing in Draper just never ends. Somebody under-engineered just about everything up on the ridge, and the developers and the city are busily blaming one another (Given how many people have been allowed to significantly encroach on city property over the years, it's a safe bet that the city is at least guilty of lax enforcement.). It seems that one and all have just learned that South Mountain is just about entirely made out of sand and gravel (Gee, folks, ya think that might be why all those gravel pits have been there for the last 100-odd years?). Draper has tightened its hillside building restrictions (and we'll see how well they're enforced) and intends to put a marker up there giving everyone notice of the geologic hazards (to the great joy of everyone who is now trying to sell), but it's too late. The damage is already done, and there's only one thing that's certain: Fixing it is going to be expensive.

Rebecca Walsh chimed in on this in the Trib yesterday. I would add to her comments that Draper is far from unique and that it was its small-towness that made this possible. Back-slapping log rolling like this is only possible in a small town. The city fathers didn't let these developments slide (pun intended) for the benefit of developers; they did it for their good-old-boy friends and neighbors who wanted to sell out. Draper, like thousands of other small towns, is learning what reaping the whirlwind is all about.