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Show March 1 03.qxd 12/7/2021 3:39 PM Page 1 The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Your Community Newspaper March 1, 2003 PRSRT STD POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 11 EDEN UT POSTAL PATRON EDEN-LIBERTY-84310 HUNTSVILLE-84317 OGDEN CANYON- 84401 HCR 843AO House Bill 122 to Move to House Floor for Vote By Shanna Francis Ogden Valley News Guess who came in to Alpine Pizza to pick up a pizza. They were prepared for the weather and cute too! Photo courtesy of Jim Halay, owner of Alpine Pizza in Eden. The Ogden Valley Pathway Master Plan The Ogden Valley Pathway Master Plan is a great example of a successful grassroots planning effort by people who love their community. In August of 1999 a group of residents and friends met at the home of Dave and Sharon Holmstrom in Eden to discuss the future of nonmotorized travel in Ogden Valley. They decided to form what soon became a local chapter of Weber Pathways, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to promote, plan, and preserve non-motorized public pathways and related open spaces in Weber County.” As the issues were discussed at regu- lar chapter meetings at the library in Huntsville, it soon became apparent that the most important step to take would be to create a master plan for trails in the valley and have it approved by the County as part of the General Plan for Ogden Valley. Suzanne Bazin led the initial effort to research similar projects in other parts of the country and to begin plan development, while Susan Summers applied successfully for a grant of assistance from the National Park Service. A steering committee was formed with Geoff Ellis, the executive director of Weber Pathways, as the project coordinator. The other members included Suzanne Bazin, Rita Booth, Dave and Sharon Holmstrom, Ed Radford, the chair of the Ogden Valley Chapter, and Kay Salazar, from the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program. They adopted the following vision statement: “We believe that non-motorized pathways in Ogden Valley help to maintain and enhance its beauty, pastoral atmosphere, rural lifestyle, outdoor recreational opportu- nities, and sense of community. Therefore, we envision a network of pathways linking all of Ogden Valley and enabling residents, visitors, and their children to travel in safety on foot, bicycle, horseback, or skis to a wide variety of destinations throughout the valley.” Over the following 18 months, the steering committee, aided by Kay Salazar’s expertise, held a series of comMASTER PLAN cont. on page 12 Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . Page 2 Announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6 Historical Article . . . . . . . . . . . Page 9 Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 15 House Bill 122, sponsored by Representative Ann Hardy of Bountiful, advanced out of committee earlier this month, and will be moving to the House Floor for a vote. The bill is aimed at eliminating the role of planning commissions in hearing and making recommendations on the sale of city or county property by elected officials and administrators, and changing the public notice requirement as now required. The proposed bill also limits a person’s right to challenge, in district court, decisions made by county and city officials in disposing of public property. The bill has been initiated in response to the Utah Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of Plaintiffs in the Wolf Creek Park land sale lawsuit. A Standard-Examiner commentary dated February 15 criticizes, “The response to the court’s ruling that Weber County did not study the land sale adequately and allow for greater public notice and comment should be to provide for those steps in advance of selling public land to private buyers. But the approach being taken by Weber County, the Utah League of Cities and Towns, and the Utah Association of Counties— all of which are solidly behind HB 122— is to simply codify their ability to keep the public out of the information loop.” In another article printed in the Standard-Examiner written by Cathy McKitrick, and dated February 12, Plaintiff Robert Fullers states that removing the planning commission out of the process would have an immediate “chilling effect.” “That was the triggering language for public notice and hearing, the right to be heard. Our Supreme Court called it the very heart of procedural fairness. Few have the time and resources to purse this. I think the county took the Wolf Creek thing personally, and their whole reaction isn’t in the public’s interest.” The Utah Supreme Court recently ruled, “Because the county did not submit the proposed sale of the Wolf Creek Park property to its planning commission for review and recommendation, the sale is void.” To voice their opinion on the bill, Valley residents can contact their Representative, Joseph Murray, at 3937062; and State Senator, Dave Gladwell, at 782-4130. HB 237 Emasculated By Shanna Francis Ogden Valley News A substitute version of Representative Kory Holdaway’s House Bill 237 to ban disposal of “B” and “C” low-level radioactive waste in Utah, passed the House 66 to 6. The substitute bill does not ban, but places a temporary “moratorium on hotter B and C waste.” The law affects only one company—the Tooele County-based Envirocare of Utah. Polls show that an overwhelming majority of the citizenry of Utah is against the disposal of the waste within the state. According to Claire Geddes of Utah Legislative Watch, “‘low-level’ does not mean low-hazard. An unshielded exposure to class C waste can cause a lethal radiation dose, based on a 20-minute exposure at a 3-foot distance.” Over 80 percent of the hotter B and C waste comes from nuclear reactors. Many of the more than 100 nuclear reactors in the U.S. will either be decommissioned and dismantled, or relicensed and rebuilt. The resulting low-level waste stream will be massive and highly radioactive. Utah currently accepts 97% of this type of the nation’s commercial radioactive waste. Only two other states legally accept the remaining 4%. During the Initiative 1 campaign last November, which if passed, would have affected radioactive waste disposal in the state, Envirocare of Utah, the company HB 237 cont. page 3 OGDEN VALLEY AREA MAP INSIDE! If map is missing, please stop by the OVBA office at the Great American Realty Building at 5460 East 2200 North in Eden. Work on Pineview Dam Continues Current work on Pineview Dam includes the drilling of holes for anchor bolts on the right spillway wall. New radial gates are also being prepared for installation. The gates are being painted and installation is set to begin during the week of February 23. The gates may take as long as a month to properly install and test. During this time, the current road restriction hours will remain in effect—from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Road restrictions after installation will be determined by UDOT and the contractor. For more information on road restrictions, interested parties are encouraged to contact UDOT representative Brent Schvaneveldt at 801-222-3420. |