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Wasatch County considers $2M for open space, residents asked for input

[FILE] Land in the Heber Valley North Fields is eligible for agricultural protections. That could conflict with plans to potentially build a highway bypass road there.
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About 90 acres of land are set to be preserved as open space.

As the Wasatch County Council considers preserving two farms as open space, it’s inviting the public to weigh in.

The Pear Tree Llama Farm and the Holmes family dairy farm are both seeking open space funding from the county council. Combined, the two properties are about 90 acres of land.

The Wasatch Open Lands Board recommended the county give funding to both conservation easements at its meeting last month. Now, the money is up for a vote.

The county council is considering $750,000 of open space bond funds for the Pear Tree Llama Farm on 40 acres south of downtown Midway.

It’s also deciding whether to give $1 million in funding to the Holmes farm, a 52-acre functioning dairy east of Heber.

County manager Dustin Grabau said the farm has historical significance to the county.

“Dairy was a very big part of this county’s past, and I think everyone’s really excited to be able to preserve this,” he said. “It’s a great case of local people who have been here for a long time, being willing to step up and do things that benefit the whole community.”

He said he expects the county council will approve funding for both easements.

Residents can share their thoughts at the meeting Wednesday, Feb. 5, starting at 6 p.m.

Also at the meeting, Wasatch Open Lands Board chair Heidi Franco will give an update on how the county has spent the $10 million open space bond voters approved in 2018, plus a $5 million bond the county council issued in 2020.

The money has gone to nine open space projects across 620 acres of land. Those include the pending Lundin farm easement and the Pear Tree and Holmes farms.

Grabau said the numbers show the county is leveraging the bonds for as much open space as possible.

“Typically, the county contributes somewhere in the range of about a fifth of the total cost of a conservation easement,” he said. “So, while yes, there are large numbers that we’re talking about, really, we’re leveraging these funds and utilizing other funding sources to be able to make them happen.”

Details about the open space bond funds and about how to attend Wednesday’s county council meeting are available on the county website.

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