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Show PAGE 24 THE ZEPHYR AUGUST 1994 have changed significantly in their attempt to manage the visitor increase. While this may be a boom for the commercial sector many members of five area have witnessed dramatic wintHfiraHona to the scenic and community values that attracted them to the place originally. By these four counties the nring a regional approach to allocate visitor demand and impacts among five environmental and economic growth that safeguards members could benefit from for planning policies at ecological resources that attract visitors. This rationale is also the basis the county and city levels. Other Views... A VIEW FROM THE RIDGE LINE paet o County Level By Hart McGuire A previous article in this paper identified a community process for managing growth and development in a rapidly changing environment The community process requires that a region agree upon a vision of itself at some time in the future. This public goal becomes the road map that influences and guides future development. This article describes how a community vision is implemented. However, the agreement on an overall goal for the future does not provide a region with set enough specific techniques to translate this larger goal into effective policy. A tools in of standards, procedures and analytical must be put place to oversee development and level. The Plan General a the vehicle to oversee community development and on is change daily Plan General to The allows communities growth. manage change on a continual basis. This article provides a perspective of the different levels of the planning process, how the activities at one level affects can impact work on another levels and describes some of the methods that a community can use to implement its General Plan. It should be noted at the outset that amending or modifying a General Plan to better serve overall community goals does not mean stopping or holding back development The goal is to incorporate and use policies that provides all property owners and developers with guidelines to assist them in formulating a specific development proposal. The General Plan should be flexible and designed to take into account a wide variety of general and factors. A of Plan and should the General is manage development that primary purpose contributes to both physical growth and positive social values for the community-at-largAt fiiis point in Grand County's development it is time to fine tune the planning procedures that oversee growth activities in the county. The pace of change and the direct impacts of these changes have created situations that may not be what the many residents really want. In order to update and revise a General Plan it is appropriate that the process be broken down into easily manageable tasks. These issues are examined at the regional, county and city levels. well-defin- ed Because of five rapid changes that have occurred in Grand County in five past few ymrs many of the present guideHnea for new development are in need of an overhaul These revisions are method to usually incorporated and mdifiad in the General Flan. The General Plan provides a arras classifies and Plan identifies according to their oversee a community's growth. The General natural features and designates the development potential for both specific areas and individual the parcels through land use and zoning classifications. The General Plan places emphasis on aawiawmant and riawrifiraHnn of private land holdings within its jurisdiction. Public lands usually have gpagr flexibility for development because they are limited in five types of development that and they undertake (usually public infrastructure like roads, waste management, sewer plants related governmental services). From a management perspective the General Plan's main function is human activities and their relationship to public support needs and services. The General Plan also allows for and efficient development review procedures. The review process examines numerous cost-effecti- ve site-specif- ic policy-orient- ed e. Reqonal Level Grand County should make every reasonable effort possible to plan for its future in a regional manner. County lines are arbitrary dividers of land and typically do not address issues according to natural system processes; for example, watersheds, soil types or plant and animal communities. Limiting visitors in one county along the Colorado River corridor may shift visitor demand to a nearby county with less stringent regulations. The other county's riparian areas may be affected by the increased demand. A concerted effort is the best policy. A pressing problem affecting the region is the overall cumulative environmental impacts generated by our visitor-base- d soil erosion problems economy on federal lands. We are all aware of the long-tervehicles. affecting cryptogamic soils and riparian habitat caused by bikers, hikers and m off-ro- ad The work of the Canyonlands Partnership (comprised of representatives of Carbon, Emery, cm federal and state lands Grand and San Juan Counties) is an attempt to manage from a regional perspective. This approach is encouraging and hopefully the results of the Partnership's work will serve as a model for future regional coordination. At issue here is how a region works together to equitably allocate visitor demand so that visitor impacts can be effectively managed. Perhaps the Partnership's recommendations will show that certain activities (e.g., mountain biking) should be concentrated around the Moab area because of the abundance of slick rock. Forest Service trails and established visitor management services. Perhaps vehicle activities should be centered in another area due to accessibility and a physical geography that does not contain more fragile natural systems. The Partnership is engaged in the process of both assessing file level of potential impacts that will result from these activities and determining the level of activities should be allowed. Perhaps one result will be the identification of daily visitor limits on federal lands and the tools to enforce these limits. This has happened in numerous locales with similar visitor-base- d economies (e.g., Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks). This type of work needs to be conducted if the region and the member counties are going to be able to offer these resources to future visitors. This process could be a case study of how the southeastern Utah area allocates and manages the demand for its resource base. If Grand County takes steps to unilaterally control visitor demand there is a strong chance that the adjacent counties will be required, whether they want to or not, to service this group. Problems are often transferred to the nearest county. This method is not the most effective way for a jurisdiction to oversee its economic base nor develop positive relationships with its neighbors. The region has been inundated with visitors in the last few years and the local communities visitor-impac- ts off-ro- ad on-goi- ng dam9 & TKwtqe, WE EARN MONEY THE OLD-FASHION- Printinq print it. Place 61 NORTH 100 WEST 259-816- 5 (FAX) 801-259-69- ED 18 issues including environmental factors; scenic and agricultural qualities; development issues including, soil stability, septic tank suitability, natural hazards, noise and public infrastructure requirements that may limit development. The practical side of the General Plan provides land owners with detailed guidelines when they formulate development applications for local approval. The County should initiate an update of its General Plan in order to select the best location e for new growth according to community development goals. Also, the land use assessment task conducted when updating the General Plan will influence file level of future growth based on local conditions. What is the most appropriate distribution of people and activities? Responsible development practice requires that we grow within our physical limits otherwise the costs to deliver and maintain essential services is unacceptably high. The General Plan should act as a business plan for the county because land use decisions affect the commercial activities that support ongoing activities. Good planning promotes good business. A primary management issue for the County's General Plan is determining the optimal settlement pattern for the next 15 years. Where new residential developments are placed will exert strong influence on the growth of a region. A topical example for Grand County is the issue of river corridor development. We have people wanting to develop large facilities in areas that have not been settled previously. It must be decided at the policy level if these developments will be allowed in these highly scenic public areas. A tool typically used for these situations are conservation easements similar to those employed by the Nature Conservancy here file land has a restriction attached to the deed that limits development in perpetuity. For the Nature Conservancy the deed restrictions are usually for open space or agricultural uses. Transfer of Development Credits (TDCs) a way to modify land use classifications to meet the specific needs of a General Plan. TDCs are used to equalize the windfallwipeout potential of rezoned land. Owners submitting development applications for parcels are offered the long-rang- up-zon- ed 1 |