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Show Volume XXX Issue VII The Ogden Valley News Page 3 January 15, 2023 Letters to the Editor We Have a New STR Law! The citizens of the Ogden Valley owe a vote of thanks to our three Weber County commissioners—Commissioner Froerer, Commissioner Harvey, and Commissioner Bolos. On Tuesday, January 10, the commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a new and comprehensive ordinance governing the use of short-term rentals (a rental of less than 30 days) throughout unincorporated Weber County. The new law means there will be no expansion of STRs into any areas of Ogden Valley where they are not already permitted. The operating principles in the new law codify that homeowners who live in areas where STRs are already permitted will still be able (after obtaining the proper licenses) to use their residences as short-term rentals, so no existing development or use rights have been taken away. However, the operating principles in the new STR law also specify in detail how local communities (the neighbors of the STRs that are used in the zones where they are currently permitted) will be afforded protection from many of the negative impacts of short-term rentals that we have recently seen occurring. The new ordinance also includes enhanced and affordable enforcement for all aspects of the law and a contract with a third-party agency that will aid the county enforcement officers in enforcing the provisions of the new ordinance. Throughout the two-year process of writing this new ordinance, Commissioner Gage Froerer consistently maintained the positions that effective and affordable enforcement was the first essential and that no expansion of STRs should occur. Commissioner Harvey focused on protection of private property rights and supported the principle that the expenses of regulating STRs should not fall on taxpayers. And Commissioner Bolos hit the ground running (and quickly studied the complex new legislation) and supplied the third vote to adopt the new law at her first commission meeting. In addition to the commissioners, we owe great thanks and gratitude to the professionals in the Weber County planning office. After the Ogden Valley Planning Commission studied an early draft of the new law and made its recommendations, the staff of the planning department—especially Bill Cobabe, Charlie Ewert, Rick Grover, Iris Hennon, and (previously) Scott Perkes—all worked thousands of hours on this new ordinance. They were consistently open and available to citizens and listened to hundreds of hours of citizen input. They went the extra mile in their professional efforts to produce an ordinance to address the complex, important, impactful STR issue. Weber County now has a well-thoughtout, fair, effective, and enforceable STR law. Although the Utah state legislature is considering proposals that could affect all STRs, we would hope that state officials would look favorably on and support our new approach to STRs as they contemplate any “top-down,” state-wide mandates. Lee Schussman, Eden DWR Confirms Avian Flu in Wild Birds in Four Additional Counties in Utah The first case of highly patho- migration and winter months. genic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds in Utah was confirmed in April 2022, and now the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has confirmed the virus has been detected in birds in four additional counties since September. The virus had previously been confirmed in wild birds in nine counties in Utah, including Cache, Carbon, Davis, Millard, Salt Lake, Sanpete, Tooele, Utah, and Weber. Now, the virus has been confirmed in wild birds in four additional counties: Duchesne, Morgan, Summit, and Uintah County. The most recent cases were confirmed as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) on Monday. The rate of positive highly pathogenic avian influenza detections decreased during the summer months, but there was an increase in detections and positive cases during the fall Here is a breakdown of the most recently confirmed cases in new areas of Utah: Uintah County • A red-tailed hawk was found in western Uintah County on Jan. 1. • Several other dead birds were also found in the county, and test results are currently pending. Duchesne County • A Canada goose was found in a yard in Roosevelt, Jan. 3. • Six Canada geese and one duck were found near Roosevelt, Jan. 4. • Another Canada goose was found in a yard in Roosevelt, Jan. 5. • A dead goose was found in Myton, Jan. 7. • Several other dead birds were also found in the AVIAN FLU cont. on page 12 We’re Back from our Winter Break Come have Dinner With Us! Hours Tuesday-Saturday: 5:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. Sunday Dinner: 3:00pm-8:00pm 508 Ogden Canyon www.grayclifflodge.com 801-392-6775 Gov. Cox Issues Executive Order Suspending Federal Propane Delivery Rules On December 16, Gov. Spencer Cox issued an emergency order to suspend federal regulations limiting the hours drivers can work to deliver liquid petroleum gas. Demand for propane has spiked in Utah and neighboring states due to freezing temperatures and cold weather conditions, but federal rules limit the hours drivers can work to deliver it to stations. This order, suspending federal rules, will allow more propane to be delivered in the state and region while protecting drivers. “We’re seeing long lines at loading facilities,” Gov. Cox said. “This order will give drivers the flexibility they need to deliver propane safely and give consumers propane when they need it most.” Executive Order 2022-007 is effective for 30 days. Hopefully, the emergency order will help propane customers in Ogden Valley, too, who also have felt the ripple effect of propane shortages within the state. Several Valley customers, running short on propane to heat their homes and culinary water, have had a difficult time procuring propane in a timely manner. Many who had been on a regular refill service schedule for years have suddenly had a difficult time getting anyone to come and refill their propane tanks, which are running precariously low. UCA’s Executive Director Announces Completion of Statewide Next Generation 911 System Upgrade On November 29, 2022, Mr. Quin Stephens, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Utah Communications Authority (UCA), announced at UCA’s Annual Stakeholders’ Meeting the completion of the Utah Next Generation 911 (NG911) system upgrade. This announcement marks the completion of a threeyear project wherein UCA replaced all of Utah’s 911 call-taking equipment, replaced the servers and software handling 911 calls, and upgraded all the phone circuits that carry 911 traffic. UCA partnered with Motorola Solutions Connectivity, Inc. (Motorola) to provide this new NG911 system, with Motorola providing the system as a service instead of a more traditional capital expenditure model. The State of Utah and UCA have been at the forefront of national leadership efforts to provide this “robust public safety technology “to the citizens of Utah. Traditional 911 networks have been around since the early 1980’s but with very limited capabilities beyond a voice call to a direct three-digit number. In the mid-90’s, The FCC introduced E911, which provided upgrades for cellular phones by providing the location of the tower that the caller’s phone was affiliated with and, over time, a more specific location for the caller, yet still not precise. NG911, in comparison, is an IP-based standard that allows for telephone companies to provide more advanced data streams such as a pinpoint location, text messaging, pictures, video, and more. Melanie Crittenden, UCA’s 911 Division Director, states, “Utah now has a system that is ready, whenever telephone service providers are ready, to accept more advanced data streams.” UCA’s NG911 upgrade also provides increased resiliency and redundancy to Utah. Prior to this upgrade, individual Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs—a center that receives and processes 911 calls and dispatch police, fire, and emergency medical services) were responsible for their own 911 call-taking equipment and connectivity. Though some PSAPs pooled their resources and had some outage protections, many did not. Having one statewide NG911 phone system provides agencies with multiple places to back them up in the event of an outage or large influx of 911 calls. And the size of the system allows for statewide and local cost savings. Tina Mathieu, UCA’s Deputy Director, formerly the Executive Director at Weber Area Dispatch 911, states, “The redundancy and tools that this new system provides is an impressive accomplishment for the State and exciting for our citizens. On top of that, UCA’s new NG911 telephone system will save local PSAPs millions of dollars over the lifetime of the contract.” In fact, because of these savings, and the other efforts of UCA, the Utah Legislature was able to decrease fees on phone lines during this last session. Effective January of 2025, emergency service fees on phone lines will decrease by 15.5%, something we are very happy to announce. Director Stephens stated, “The completion of this project is a substantial leap forward when it comes to public safety communications and is a significant milestone for Utah. I want to express my appreciation to Federal Engineering that consulted on this project, to Motorola, which developed and supports this cutting-edge technology, to Utah’s PSAP who were flexible and accommodating throughout this migration, and to my staff who have worked tirelessly in support of their dedication to Utah’s public safety personnel and Utah’s citizens. |