A brainstorming session at the Eastern Summit County Planning Commission got philosophical Feb. 20.
Commissioner Don Sargent said he’s seen a shift in attitudes and values on the rural side of the county. Newer generations may not be as interested in agriculture, but a desire to keep land open and undisturbed is still there.
He theorized it’s a response to proposed development.
“Emphasis on open land, not just agriculture, might help as things change and evolve out of agricultural production activities on some of these lands,” Sargent said, adding that the county should prioritize “rural, small-town character.”
Commissioner David Darcey agreed there’s been a shift among constituents.
“It feels like the pendulum has swung,” he said. “People just count on individual property rights happening, but are feeling a sense that other, other quality-of-life issues here in Summit County are going away if we don't do something now. So they are scared about open space, or too much development, or drinking water.”
The commissioners are discussing revising the eastside general plan.
Both the Snyderville Basin and eastside general plans are being revised right now, and the Basin’s planning commission is having similar long-term planning policy discussions.
Looming over the eastern Summit County discussion was an application for new zoning in Browns Canyon from developer Ivory Homes, which could allow between 2,300 and 3,000 residences on about 400 acres.
Senior planner Ray Milliner asked the eastside commissioners what they wanted the general plan to say about potentially larger developments and new towns.
Commissioner Alex Peterson referenced Ivory’s most recent proposal, the failed Cedar Crest development in Hoytsville. The developer collaborated on the project with Larry H. Miller Real Estate, but it died at the planning commission.
“We need to maybe put in there that we adequately represent or show that this growth is managed over time,” Peterson said. “I don't think Ivory Homes was proposing 2,000 homes in the next, you know, five years. It was over a larger period of time.”
Peterson said it’s easy to be alarmed by the ultimate “end state” of a project after everything is built.
“I would be frightened by that. I was frightened by the end state in Browns Canyon development. You know, they were talking 2,000 to 3,000 [units],” he said. “But that's not something that's going to happen in the next couple years.”
Darcey, a Kamas city councilmember, proposed Oakley’s general plan as an example. He says it has specific guidelines to phase in development appropriately.
Milliner said the new eastside general plan will have something the Snyderville Basin already has: a “future land use map.” He told planning commissioners he would schedule a discussion to help refine the map later this year.
