In the wake of disputes concerning lot sizes in the Genola Meadows subdivision, the town received a letter from the state attorney general's office claiming the town was out of ordinance on the issue, a Genola Councilman said on Monday.

In a letter dated Sept. 23 and addressed to town attorney Brett Rich and Mayor Eric Hazelet, Utah's assistant attorney general, Sheila Page, wrote Genola likely did not obey a subdivision ordinance "in that minimum lot size was less than 2.5 acres for each lot."

Arguments have been made that the lots reached the required size if road areas were included into the lots, said town councilman Chris Greenwood, who had voted against lifting a moratorium on the nine-lot subdivision. In the letter, Page said she knew of no other political subdivision with an ordinance that included roads into the area of specified lots, but such an amendment would not violate state law.

Hazelet said the issue would be discussed by the planning commission some time in November.

An inspection by the Civil Review Committee of the Utah Attorney General's Office found Seth Orton and Marty Larson, members of the Genola Town Planning and Zoning Commission, appeared to have had conflicts of interest with what is being called the "cemetery project," the letter said. As the owner of land the town purchased, Orton failed to publicly declare a conflict of interest in the matter. Larson, who is president of the commission, owns and is a partner in the Genola Meadows subdivision, but did not publicly declare a conflict of interest until May 2007, the letter said.

Greenwood said the town is not above the law, but may have looked out for its own financial interests.

"If you have a pie and you can sell a piece of pie for a certain amount of money, the more pieces you have, the more money you can get out of it," he said. "The more lots you can sell, generally, the more money you can get."

A review of complaints by the Civil Review Committee of the state attorney general's office showed a failure to specifically define items on Genola's agenda and minutes, as well as matters discussed and votes taken. In some cases, proper notice of issues was not given, a violation of the Open Public Meetings Act.

Page was firm in stating Genola must comply with state law, but wrote that no further action would be taken against the town because more than one year had passed since the approval for Genola Meadows. Additionally, any objections concerning the matter would likely be waived, and adjusting lot lines would cause more trouble than it's worth, considering that all but one of the lots have been sold since the subdivision's approval, according to the letter.

The CRC will deal separately with complaints alleging conflicts of interest and possible ethical violations by councilman Bryan Draper.

Greenwood's and councilman Kendall Ewell's dissenting votes were none-too-popular with some Genola residents, as the former found 11 trees cut down in his yard this summer. Weeks after the incident, Greenwood noticed his lawn and bushes were dying. Santaquin police investigated the scene, and soil and leaf samples were sent to a state toxicologist for six weeks. Research showed the vandals used the weed killer Roundup, or a similar product, on the lawn and bushes. Based on the appearance of the trees, they were cut using heavy-duty shears, and not a motorized saw. Large men would have done the cutting based on the force required to shear off the trees, Greenwood said.

More than three months have passed, but police have no leads on suspects, Greenwood said.

Greenwood said he was certain the vandalism was politically motivated.

Residents placed U.S. flags in places where trees had been cut down, an act that helped Greenwood feel the support of the community, he said.

"I look at it as a real awakening" Greenwood said. "People rallied around us because they realized if you do it against one individual, you do it against all."

Greenwood, who said Page's letter confirms some of his positions, said he and his family have planted new trees -- this time closer to their house -- and are in the process of getting their lawn back in shape.

"You hope you don't become a victim of crime by doing your duty," Greenwood said, "but we're moving on."

Sam Scorup can be reached at (801) 344-2561 or sscorup@heraldextra.com