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Show Volume V, Issue IX THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 3 February 15, 2002 Guest Commentary Commissioners Discount Long Term Effects of Planning Decisions The recent proposal that came before the Weber County Commission requesting approval of plans to build a hotel on the Scenic Byway prompted me to write this letter. I am not writing to protest the building of this one hotel. I suspect the developers in this particular case have neither the personal or financial resources to begin or complete the project, and in time the property— and liberal zoning—will be sold to another developer. This hotel is symbolic of larger changes that will occur in the community, and the process by which those changes occur. So I write this letter to reflect upon development in general in the Valley. For development surely will occur. The Valley has spectacular vistas. Wildlife is visible every day; usually in one’s own backyard. Traffic is minimal, neighbors know and care about one another, schools are good, and life is kind. There are unusual opportunities for recreation—boating, biking, skiing, fishing, hiking. Some people are going to want to move here, and some are going to want to profit through property sales, development and business. So what is wrong with this? Most of us would agree that there is noth- ing inherently wrong with this (particularly if it is we who will profit). At the same time, most of us wish to maintain some semblance of the quality of life that brought us to the Valley, and which keeps us here. How do we achieve both goals of keeping a community economically robust, without trading away the true value of the community for momentary profit? Ethnographers have compared a town to a work of art, in that it is a synthesis of nature and artifice. Those who settle in a place are influenced by the geography, climate, and the natural resources surrounding them. And those who create towns and cities are also created by them, in millions of unseen and silent ways; the distance of neighbors and market places, the location of gathering places available for work, worship and recreation. For example—what we create to support family and community life contributes to the makeup of who we are. We cannot separate ourselves from one another and from the earth we walk, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the landscapes we look upon. When we alter these, we should be very, very thoughtful about how and why we alter them. So when we consider development in the Valley, we must consider the basics. Do we have adequate water, sewer, access into and out of the Valley to support the development already approved? What do we wish to do with sewage, wastewater, garbage and recycleables that come with population growth? Will tax revenues from developed areas pay for the increased demand in education, police and fire protection, and other vital municipal services? Will buildings and businesses bring us closer together or drive us further apart? And will the Valley resemble anything like the place those who live here have loved? Consider a key issue related to building a hotel on a Scenic Byway. The notion of creating Scenic Byways was articulated nearly one hundred years ago by some of our country’s most brilliant planners, including Frederick Law Olmstead. When one creates a Scenic Byway, a greenway, or a pathway, they also create an edge effect that preserves open space in a long, linear fashion. This edge of natural beauty provides a community with more apparent open space than a consolidated parcel of land buried in a subdivision. It preserves the character of the natural geography and makes nature accessible to more citizens. A greenway, pathway or Scenic Byway edge also creates a buffer between development and wildlife habitat. As a community, we should think about this as seriously as the original planners of Scenic Byways thought about them. This is serious business. When someone wants to rezone open land on a Scenic Byway (across from a busy campground and a very beautiful body of water surrounded by majestic mountains), this action destroys the artfulness of the community. It destroys the aesthetics and the natural habitat. It sets a very dangerous precedent with respect to zoning. All of us are familiar with those tourist towns that are a long strip of highway lined by cheaply constructed and short-lived businesses aimed at generating quick profit rather than serving a community long-term. I honestly believe this is not what the majority of Valley citizens desire in our community in the way of planning. If we are to treat the land that supports our day-to-day living—and supports our very lives—as if it mattered, we must create our community as if it were the most precious piece of art. Because it is. Susan Summers, Ph.D. Huntsville, Utah Welcome Olympic Visitors |