In late 2022, Wasatch County passed an ordinance that paved the way for agriculture protection areas.
Heading into Wednesday’s county council meeting, there are seven agriculture protection areas, and two more pending the council’s confirmation. In total, the ones that have been approved make up roughly 570 acres, and the pending ones are a combined 62 acres.
Nearly all applications were for livestock grazing and hay production, and one included animal husbandry services.
The ordinance, based on Utah code, mainly intends to protect land from eminent domain and nuisance lawsuits.
They’re all in the Heber Valley North Fields, which are zoned specifically for agriculture. Only that area, with about 3,000 acres of open space, and the adjacent South Fields are eligible for agriculture protection.
That’s also where the Utah Department of Transportation may eventually decide to build a bypass road for U.S. Highway 40.
The goal of that project is to take traffic — especially semi trucks — off Heber City’s Main Street, where the highway runs through. A study is underway, and UDOT officials say it could take up to a decade to begin construction even after they confirm a design. Local governments do not have a say in the decision about the road.
Multiple agriculture protection areas include land where UDOT may decide to build the bypass. When councilmembers passed the ordinance in December, they said one reason was to give owners options in case the state chooses that area for the road.
But, as Deputy County Attorney Jon Woodard explained at the time, there's no precedent for whether the county ordinance could supersede a UDOT effort to condemn land. That means if the state seeks to claim land and use it for the road without the property owners’ approval, it could lead to a legal dispute.
A link to the meeting agenda for Wednesday is available here.