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Show The Ogden Valley News May 15, 2021 Your Community Newspaper USPS MARKETING MAIL POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 11 EDEN UT POSTAL PATRON EDEN-LIBERTY-84310 HUNTSVILLE-84317 OGDEN CANYON- 84401 HCR 843AO S.R. 158 Improvement Project Restarts May The 10Utah Department Weber County Commissioners, from left to right, Gage Froerer, Scott Jenkins, and Jim Harvey served up hamburgers and hot dogs at Eden Park on May 1 to volunteers who helped with this year’s Weed Roundup Day. of Transportation (UDOT) will continue a project started last year to improve S.R. 158 in Weber County from Pineview Reservoir to Powder Mountain Resort. Starting Monday, May 10, crews will continue work replacing barriers along S.R. 158, widening the roadway near Pineview Reservoir, and asphalt paving. This work will require intermittent lane closures throughout the project corridor. SR-158 will be reduced to one-way traffic controlled by flaggers where work is taking place. Motorists can expect delays. Access limitations will occur as vehicles move through side-streets and driveways. Work will take place daily from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Drivers should also plan ahead for an eventual chip seal surface treatment that will be placed along the entire project corridor. The chip seal treatment is used to extend the life of the roadway. This work is scheduled to take place in early June. S.R. 158 will be reduced to one lane that will be controlled by a pilot car during that work. This project will include asphalt replacement in some areas, chip seal throughout the project corridor, guardrail replacement, and new culverts. Work will continue through 2021. Construction schedules may change due to weather or equipment issues. Check udottraffic.utah.gov for current road conditions. Those impacted by this project are encouraged to sign up for project email updates. Sign up by emailing <SR158@utah.gov> Drivers can also reach the project team at 888-556-0232 for questions about potential impacts. Gov. Cox Orders Water Conservation A Guide to Regulating Short-term Rentals Compiled by Shanna Francis liferation of STRs in local communities. Measures at all State Facilities The guide states, “In cities with high housLike many communities within Utah, Ogden Valley is currently undergoing a housing shortage. However, unlike many neighboring communities in Utah, the shortage in Ogden Valley is due, in large measure, due to the number of housing units that have become increasingly unavailable because of investment buying—investors using their properties as money-making short-term rentals (STRs). Where, traditionally, housing units were used as primary residents or long-term rentals, the revenue an investor earns renting out a home or condo over a long weekend can cover the cost of an entire month’s mortgage payment on a new investment property or incentivize flipping a permanent or long-term residence to a STR. The economic incentive towards STRs disincentivizes investments in permanent housing or long-term rental inventory, drying up the inventory for long-term housing. This also drives the cost up for what little inventory that may be found. The Sustainable Economies Law Center may be scheduled throughout the year. Applications may be picked up and published a guidebook, Regulating Short-term completed applications dropped off at the Rentals: A guidebook for equitable policy 2016), that addresses these issues, and Weber County Planning Division office, 2380 (March others, associated with the trend toward the proWashington Blvd., Suite 240, Ogden, Utah. Applications will be accepted until May 11, 2021. In response to ongoing con- tion companies to delay the start of the irrigation cerns about extremely dry con- season, and asks all Utahns to reduce water use ditions, on May 3, 2021, Gov. by taking shorter showers, converting turf to Spencer J. Cox issued an execu- waterwise landscaping, and replacing appliances tive order forbidding with water-efficient models. irrigation at state He urges cities, “Last year, Utah experienced facilities between 10 businesses and one of the driest and hottest years a.m. and 6 p.m., requiring that sprinon record and we anticipate another klers are shut off during rain storms all resident to do tough drought year ahead,” Gov. Cox the same. and making sure landscape watering said. “State government is committed systems are operating efficiently. to doing its part to conserve water and Executive Order 2021-10 also encourages we encourage all Utahns to use this most precious local governments to implement similar water resource wisely and sparingly.” restrictions on public landscaping, urges irrigaExecutive Order 2021-10 is effective immediately. Applicants Needed for Ogden Valley Planning Commission The Weber County Commissioners are taking applications to fill two seats on the Ogden Valley Planning Commission. The Ogden Valley Planning Commission meets on the 1st and 4th Tuesdays of each month at 4:30 p.m. Special meetings ing demand, the most contentious issue tends to be the impact of STRs on housing availability and affordability. Though STRs may help some hosts occasionally rent a portion of their primary residence, thus offsetting mortgages and rent with the added income, a significant number of hosts are using STR platforms to rent multiple homes or entire apartment complexes to transient occupants instead of housing local residents. In many cases, STRs create a monetary incentive to shift the use of housing from long-term residential use to transient use, and without appropriate regulation, STRs will continue to reduce the amount of housing available to long-term residents—thereby increasing the cost of owning or renting in any impacted area.” The study then encourages community leaders to adopt and implement equitable STR policy based on how STRs are impacting the supply and affordability of housing and affecting neighborhood quality. To address these issues, they recommend a number of measures be implemented: Weber County General Notice of Noxious Weeds Could A Ten-year-old Invent the Next Qualtrics? Could a ten-year old invent the next Qualtrics? Find out at this year’s first annual Valley Children’s Business Fair, showcasing kids’ entrepreneurial genius! On May 21 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., the Valley Children’s Business Fair will host young entrepreneurs, ages 5 to 16, at Eden Park. This event is FREE and open to the public. At the fair kids will create a product or service, develop a brand, build a marketing strategy, and then open their new business for customers at this one-day marketplace. The children are responsible for the setup, sales, and interaction with customers. This event is being sponsored by Valley Market, EmieJames, URBN Pools, Valley RENTALS cont. on page 8 Dance Studio, Acton Academy, the Acton School of Business, and the generous support of our donors and volunteers who all believe that principled entrepreneurs are heroes and role models for the next generation. Whether an entrepreneur is well known, like Ryan Smith or Larry Miller, or one of the thousands of unsung business owners across this country, these entrepreneurs are the people who make sacrifices to innovate, create jobs, and serve their communities. We can’t wait to see what our young people in Ogden Valley come up with, and we hope, as a community, we can all come out and support these budding entrepreneurs on May 21! Learn more and register by May 14 at <ChildrensBizFair.com> Yellow Starthistle Scotch Thistle Whitetop Common Burdock Notice of noxious weeds in Weber County is hereby given pursuant to the Utah Noxious Weed Act, Utah Code Annotated Chapter 4-17. The noxious weeds with the greatest impact in our area are yellow starthistle, Scotch thistle, purple loosestrife, phragmites, dyer’s woad, puncturevine, Dalmatian toadflax, myrtle spurge, leafy spurge, whitetop, burdock, and houndstongue. Additional noxious weeds with potential to impact our area can be found at <tinyurl.com/ webernoxiousweeds> Additional information for controlling weeds can be found at <tinyurl.com/usuweedcontrol> WEEDS cont. on page 4 Monte Cristo Highway May Open Later Than in Past Years The Utah Department Huntsville, to milepost 56, near Woodruff in of Transportation (UDOT) advises motorists and outdoor recreation enthusiasts that state Road 39, the Monte Cristo Highway, may open to all traffic for the spring and summer season at a date later than in past years, according to Zach Whitney, UDOT Communications Manager. The delay in opening is due to UDOT budget constraints. Whitney explained, “Our snow removal activities are reduced this year. We have made a pass over Monte Cristo with our equipment to clear part of the roadway. We plan to then allow the snow to melt and will be monitoring the area weekly. Our hope is that with the warmer temperatures and part of the roadway cleared, the snow will melt enough to open the road without further active removal operations. This means the road may open later than it has in the past. We understand that drivers are anxious to have the road open and will work as quickly as possible to get it open once the snow has melted.” Once open, SR-39 will remain open from milepost 37, the Ant Flat parking lot east of Rich County. Once the gates are opened, the roadway between these two points will remain open until late next fall. The remainder of this route is open year around. Off of the roadway in early June, snow may still be deep and many campgrounds still snowbound. Motorists and recreationalists are urged to use caution when leaving SR-39. The Monte Cristo Highway section is closed for the winter months between these points each season due to motorist safety concerns, and the prohibitive cost of keeping it open to winter traffic. The roadway is opened each spring once winter weather conditions have generally subsided. Motorists are advised, however, that winter storms may still occur at the highest elevations on this highway well into the summer months, so they should always be prepared for this when traveling this route. For information about Utah road conditions 24-hours per day, visit the UDOT Traffic Website at http://udottraffic.utah.gov, or download the free Utah Traffic App, available for Pictured above, from left to right, William Dowell, Beverly Olson, and Kathy Dowell dig up dyer’s woad in Eden on Weed Roundup Day May1. download by most mobile devices. |