- A federal judge ruled in favor of Magna Investment and Development in a Sandy project.
- Judge Shelby overturned Sandy's denial of a mixed-use development proposal by Magna.
- Sandy will not appeal the decision; the project may be reconsidered by 2026.
SANDY — A proposed housing project in Sandy may get to move forward after a federal judge in Utah overturned the city's previous denial of a proposed development.
In late October, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby ruled in favor of Magna Investment and Development, which argued that a proposed project aligned with the city's mixed-use development standards, though Sandy officials rejected it claiming that it didn't.
The proposed development, which was first submitted to the city in December 2021, would include 196 residential units, with more than 14,000 square feet of retail and office space, to be built on 6 acres of land at 1300 East and Sego Lily Drive in Sandy.
Attorneys who represented Magna Investment and Development said the developer worked with city staff to make suggested revisions and supplements to the proposed project based on feedback from the city, according to a memorandum decision from federal court.
.
The disputes began to arise in early 2023, when the city started to question the interpretation of the term "mixed-use" as it pertained to the proposed project, and if it aligned with city code.
Sandy's planning commission rejected the proposal in March 2024, saying it "does not feel that this development meets the definition of a mixed use."
City staff outlined several findings in a report as to why the project did not qualify as a mixed-use development, partly due to proposed retail and live/work, or office space made up a small percentage of the overall building square footage (not including structured parking areas), the court filing states.
Magna Investment and Development appealed the planning commission's decision to the board of adjustment. The developer and its attorneys argued that the project did meet city code requirements and that the planning commission misinterpreted the city's land development code.
"The ombudsman, with its trained land use attorneys, concluded that the project was a mixed-use development as it satisfied all applicable requirements for the definition," attorneys representing Magna Investment and Development said in a 2024 appeal of the planning commission's decision.
However, in May 2024, Sandy's board of adjustment affirmed the planning commission's decision — another rejection of the proposed development, according to the court filing.
Magna Investment and Development took the matter to Utah's federal court, filing a lawsuit in June 2024.
After more than a year, the judge sided with the developer.
"The (board of adjustment's) land use decision is illegal. The court reverses the decision and remands the matter to the planning commission to issue a land use decision consistent with this ruling," Shelby wrote in his decision.
The judge said the land development code, as it's defined, does not require mixed use developments to follow a master plan or village design, nor does it impose extra standards in the neighborhood commercial district.
"It does not make sense that mixed use development in a business district would also be required to be structured as self-sustaining villages or comply with other mixed use development standards," Shelby wrote.
In addition to having its application reconsidered, Magna Investment and Development also wanted the city to pay its legal fees, but the judge denied that request.
On Wednesday, the city released a statement regarding the matter and acknowledging the October ruling.
"The city will abide by the court's ruling. The city will not be appealing this decision because it puts Sandy taxpayers at risk for incurring additional litigation costs," the statement said.
In a post on social media, Mayor Monica Zoltanski added: "We expect the applicant to now finalize the conditional use application which will be heard by the Planning Commission sometime in early 2026."
KSL reached out to Sandy officials for further comment on the matter, as well as attorneys who represented Magna Investment and Development but did not receive a response Friday.
