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Show Volume XI THE Issue I OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 3 October 15, 2004 Guest Commentary Vote Yes On Initiative 1 For the children and grandchildren, vote yes on Initiative 1. For the large landowners and your own best interests, vote yes on Initiative 1. Passing the Utah Clean Water, Quality Growth and Open Space Initiative is a once-in-a-lifetime community enhancement opportunity for all of us. As our population and our communities in Utah continue to grow, if we pass Initiative 1, the future of our families and communities may still include being surrounded by the open space landscape and clean water we enjoy as part of our quality of life today. Imagine the year 2020. 1,000,000 more people will be living in Utah—most of them along the Wasatch Front. Without some open space and clean water protection and intervention, there will be no family farms and ranches dotting the landscape. Today, we all enjoy the open space that has been privately provided by the current owners and stewards of these farmlands and ranchlands. But in the future, the economics of growth, and the pressures of providing for their own families will force most of these heritage landowners to sell their land to developers. The developers will maximize the return on their investments by building the highest density developments local zoning laws will allow. Therefore, without intervention, it is certain our communities will not be dotted with farms, ranches, running streams, and open space in between dense housing projects as we see today. Instead, our future landscape, communities, and lifestyle will consist only of wall-to-wall high density developments. Huge uninterrupted housing projects, pavement, commercial malls and developments, highways, and neon signs, and if we are lucky, perhaps a few small urban parks, baseball fields, or golf courses will be tucked in along the way. Gone will be our wildlife, our views across open fields, and our open running streams. But, I don’t personally believe for a minute the latter is the Utah that the majority of Utah residents want to leave to future generations. Initiative 1 is the alternative to this depressing scenario. If passed, this bond will raise money to purchase land for open space—the old fashioned way—by buying it from an agreeable landowner. For just one penny on every $20.00 purchase, or approximately $14 per year for the average Utah family, each of us in Utah can contribute to the quality of life tomorrow that we enjoy today. Each of us can look the children in the eye and tell them that we, as a community, made an attempt to make their lives and the lives of their children better. The people of this state owe a debt to the large landowners that have continued to maintain a way of life that involves the land and the preservation and care of that land. Family farming and ranching is hard work. It doesn’t pay high salaries. It doesn’t provide health care and 401K matching contributions. It includes large investments in infrastructure, machinery, and equipment. It means struggling with the weather. It is high risk, high stress business. It means that the farmhouse is smaller than the homes in the neighboring subdivisions, and it often means the family has to go without in order to pay for the repair of a broken piece of needed equipment. It is time that this state and its community of residents make a combined effort to provide—to at least some of these landowners—an opportunity to sell their lands to someone other than a developer. Initiative 1 will provide that opportunity. It will provide a fair sale option for landowners, an option they deserve. It will provide a better quality of life for all of us now, and for all future generations of Utahans. We cannot afford to ignore this important growth issue any longer. As it should, the support for Initiative 1 crosses political boundaries and ideologies. Please be part of the solution. We owe it to the children to act. Vote for Initiative 1 on November 2. Remember, as the “old timers” say, and this is becoming more crystal clear to each of us everyday, “They ain’t making any more land. Ya better get some before it’s gone.” Kirk Langford Eden Weber County Planner’s Corner Welcome to the Planner’s Corner. The staff of the Weber County Planning Commission would like to give a brief overview of just what planners do, and why, as well as the role of the Ogden Valley Township Planning Commission and the Western Weber Township Planning Commission. Future articles will begin to explain, in greater depth, other aspects and issues of planning, such as the subdivision process, individual sections of the General Plans, Zoning Ordinances, Conditional Use Permits, Land Use Permits, Site Plan Review process, and the various zones and the types of uses and conditional uses allowed in these zones. Planning is a dynamic, ongoing process. A General Plan is written after obtaining citizen input from public meetings, workshops, and public hearings before it is finally adopted by the County Commission. A General Plan should be reviewed for necessary changes every few years to ensure that it is effectively responding to the needs of the community it serves. The Ogden Valley General Plan was adopted in January of 1998, and serves all of the unincorporated eastern portion of Weber County, including Ogden Canyon, but excluding the Town of Huntsville. The West Central General Plan, adopted in September 2003, serves all of unincorporated western Weber County. A General Plan is not specific, and serves as a guide to the development of the area it covers based upon citizen wants, needs, and desires and combined with scientific studies to determine issues related to hydrology, & Remodeling Since 1981 745-6900 PLANNERS cont. on page 13 Don’t miss the event of the year! Carver’s Cove Craft Fair October 14, 15, & 16 Lots of homemade crafts and fun. Thurs. and Fri. 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Sat. 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 2329 N. 5025 E., Eden South of the Valley Market on Highway 158 AEE: Fine Additions geology, recreation, and transportation. The plan is then implemented and put into actior as reflected through ordinance and/or laws. Sections of the zoning ordinance, guided by the General Plan, are presented to the public and to the Township Planning Commissioners at regularly held public meetings where input is gathered and adjustments are made. It is then sent on to the County Commissioners for further discussion and public input from public hearings. It is eventually adopted and incorporated into the Weber County Zoning Ordinance or the Subdivision Ordinance for implementation. Amendments can be made to zoning ordinances through initiation by the County Commissioners, Planning Commissioners, 01 planning staff. There is also an application process whereby private citizens can apply for ordinance amendments. Some regulations spelled out in the country ordinances are guided by citizen input from the communities, the Planning Commissions, and County Commissioners. However, many are mandated by federal law or state statute. An example is the subdivision of land. State statute requires that any division of land must be processed through the Planning Commission and County Commission following the recommendations of the many review agencies such as Environmental Health; County Surveyor: County Engineer; County Legal Department: Fire District; and utility companies, including gas, electric, water, and in some cases secondary water companies. The Subdivisior plat must then be approved by the County Q) F axaaaa MURRAY STATE REPRESENTATIVE DESIGN* CONSTRUCTION Legislative Service If you want to know who will put our children first, When you elected Joe Murray to represent you in the Utah House of Representatives, he promised to represent the people, not special interests. He has kept his promise. In Joe, you have an elected official who truly puts you and your family first. * just ask a teacher. Joe shows up to do the work you elected him to do. He continues to have the best voting attendance record in the Utah State House of Representatives. You will soon elect new leaders who will be Ft heey So who should you vote for? Ask a teacher. No one understands the needs of our children better than teachers and educators, and they know what kind of leader will meet those needs best. + responsible for Utah’s education system. *§ That’s why they endorse Jim Hasenyager. + | ow Jim will push for a comprehensive education plan that includes long-term funding, recruitment and retention of qualified teachers, increased accountability, local control, and parental involvement. Home: Community Service He has been e Joe received the Silver Beaver Award from the Boys Scouts of America. to summer camp with the boy scouts for 32 years. Joe worked as a firefighter for 37 years in this community. Along with their 6 children, Joe and Floy have cared for 3 foster children. these children was blind. He retired as fire chief. Joe and his wife Floy have worked many years as volunteer tutors at school in music, reading and fire safety. One of Please vote to give Joe another term as your Representative (801) 745-2048 hasenyager@justice.com Since Joe started campaigning, he has walked through every neighborhood in his district in an effort to better understand your needs. He looks forward to speaking with you. If you have any questions, please call 393-7062, or www. jimforsenatel 9.com Paid for by the Hasenyager for Senate Committee - Democrat People, Joe listens to the needs of people in his district. After many accidents at the busy intersection in front of the Harrisville City Hall, Joe worked hard to help get a traffic light installed. He saw how committed the young people, who lost one of their friends in an automobile accident, were in getting a traffic light. As chairman of the House Transportation Committee, Joe went to work, meeting with people at UDOT and talking with anyone who would listen, until they agreed to install the traffic light. + Follow their advice and vote for Jim Hasenyager. Joe is serving on the hazardous waste regulation task force. He worked and voted not to allow B and C radioactive waste disposal sites in the state of Utah. We are still striving to stop Hi-level radioactive waste from being stored on the Indian reservation in Tooele County. The federal government has spent millions of dollars for a disposal site in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. It looks like that may go through. t+ Every day you trust teachers to prepare your children for the future. Trust them to help you choose the best advocate for their education. Joe listens to the needs of people in his district. At a town meeting in Eden, people told him about a problem with tax evaluation on their personal homes in Weber County. Joe sponsored and passed a bill to help correct that inequity, thereby lowering their taxes. Not Politics write Joe Murray at 1030 Peach Drive, Ogden 84404. Paid for by People to Re-elect Joe Murray. |