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Show Volume XXIX Issue XIV The Ogden Valley News Page 3 June 1, 2022 Guest Commentary Legislative Efforts at State, Federal Levels Working to Promote Cleaner Air for Utah By Representative Steve Waldrip Utah continues to advance a range of energy efficiency initiatives and clean energy technology solutions that are helping to improve air quality in our state and protect the long-term health and vitality of our residents and communities. Importantly, this has been an effort that has unfolded at both the state and federal levels— with the work we are doing in the state legislature both complementing and enhancing the important efforts that Senator Mitt Romney has helped lead in Congress. In the last legislative session, Utah Senate Majority Whip Kirk Cullimore and I sponsored S.B. 188, energy-efficiency and clean-fuel legislation. The bill, which passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law by Governor Cox in late March, will expand Utah’s access to federal competitive grants and incentives that will help people implement clean energy and energy efficiency upgrades and improvements in their homes more affordably. This legislation will make it possible for Utah to accept federal funds—such as the ones that have just recently been made available through passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in Congress—in order to continue addressing our air quality concerns by reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency. These efforts include funding for businesses to invest in lower-emissions vehicles or vehicle fleets as well as for households to install energy-efficient improvements like spray foam insulation to reduce energy waste and lower costs. Additionally, S.B. 188 expands opportunities for low-income Utah individuals and families to qualify for and receive grants that will help cover the cost of replacing their old, wood-burning fireplaces and appliances with more energyefficient, cleaner ones. The legislation also creates a revolving loan fund so the money doesn’t dry up quickly. All of these initiatives will enable us to further reduce emissions in order to continue building on the clean air momentum we have experienced in recent years. Importantly, this has been a collaborative effort of not just Republicans and Democrats in the state legislature, but also a broad range of stakeholder groups, clean air advocates, and industry associations. These include the Utah Clean Air Partnership and o2 Utah; tech companies DOMO and Lumio from Utah’s Silicon Slopes; and the major trade associations representing Utah’s mining, petroleum, and manufacturing industries. Our work to get this legislation across the finish line reflects the very real concerns Utahns have when it comes to the importance and value of clean air. S.B. 188 clears the way for Utah to accept federal funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and apply them to the clean air and energy efficiency priorities that will help us address those concerns and ensure we are leaving behind cleaner air—not to mention water and land—for future generations of Utahns to enjoy. Of course, that’s only half the picture. Last year’s passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is the other half. That historic, bipartisan bill helped pave the way (pun intended) for much-needed investments in repairing, maintaining, and upgrading America’s roads, bridges, and highways, as well as addressing a range of infrastructure priorities, from expanding broadband to ensuring clean drinking water to modernizing our entire energy infrastructure. The investments that the federal bill makes in expanding clean energy and energy efficiency are particularly critical for Utah as we continue to prioritize and work to put an economic value on air quality. As a legislator in his last year of service, I am grateful to Senator Romney for continuing to work across the aisle in order to ensure Utah has the tools it needs to address some of our most pressing issues. His work on infrastructure, in combination with our efforts in the state legislature, is helping to secure a brighter, cleaner future for Utah communities. POSTAL INCREASE cont. from page 1 sale of postage, products, and services to fund its operations. For U.S. Postal Service media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube channel, like us on Facebook and enjoy our Postal Posts blog. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts. usps.com. Service price filing with prices for all products can be found on the PRC site under the Daily Listings section at prc.gov/dockets/daily. The Mailing Services filing is Docket No. R2022-1. The price change tables are also available on the Postal Service’s Postal Explorer website at pe. usps.com/PriceChange/Index. The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the Ogden Valley Short Term Rentals (STRs) – Some Facts Why STRs Are a Threat to Ogden Valley By Jan Fullmer Short term rentals (STRs) in Ogden Valley continue to present critical issues to valley residents. STRs are defined as rentals for less than 30 days. These STR dwelling units are comprised of condominiums, town homes, and single-family homes with anywhere from 1 to 8 bedrooms. The popularity of the Valley and the ease of renting out property as an STR via a variety of online sites (VRBO, Airbnb, etc.) have dramatically expanded illegal STRs in the Valley. Absentee owners have swept up properties to profit from the Ogden Valley STR boom. Despite this growing threat, Weber County has yet to develop an ordinance to effectively control and regulate these rentals. In the meantime, the County has failed to effectively enforce those weak STR regulations already on the books, claiming that they do not have the resources for enforcement. Improved STR Regulation and Enforcement Repeatedly Delayed - The Weber County Planning staff had an excellent start on developing this ordinance in the spring of 2021. However, at a Weber County Commission work session held April 19, 2021, Commissioner Gage Froerer urged that STR reform be placed “on-hold” due to “misinformation” regarding STRs and unpleasant calls he had received from residents. The “misinformation” seemed to point to Weber County wanting to expand STRs. But Commissioner Froerer clearly stated at this meeting that the County’s work on STR reform had “never been about expanding STRs; but rather, to enforce them.” More than a year later, at another County Commission work session in May 2022, Commissioner Froerer again moved to delay any action on STR reform until “after the first of the year [2023].” There was no explanation offered for why work on this critical problem should be delayed once again. And the priorities of the Weber County Planning staff were once again realigned, prioritizing development, with emphasis on the Snowbasin and Nordic Valley ski area development plans. At this rate, the Valley cannot expect effective enforcement of existing regulations or reform of those regulations for at least another year… if at all. What Properties Allow STRs? Under current county zoning regulations for Ogden Valley, STRs are allowed in the following zones: DDR1, CVR-1, and FR-3. However, STRs are also allowed in a PRUD (Planned Residential Unit Development) within a forest, agricultural, or residential zone—only if the PRUD is approved for STRs at the time Weber County reviews and approves the initial development plans. A few examples of PRUDs in Ogden Valley that were approved for STRs are the single-family home communities of Eden Escapes, The Bridges, Trappers, and The Fairways—all in the Wolf Creek area. By county regulations, all dwelling unit owners offering STRs must obtain a STR license annually from Weber County— regardless of the zone/land use code where the dwelling is located. In addition, a conditional use permit (CUP) must also be obtained by dwelling unit owners offering STRs in CVR-1 and FR-3 planning zones. Current STRs in Ogden Valley - In Ogden Valley, there are at least 1,017 dwelling units in communities identified as offering STRs. This does not even include many lock-out units that can be rented separately or an additional 48 units that are currently under construction and advertised as “zoned for nightly rentals.” Although an annual county license is required for all STRs, a request for information to the county revealed that only 32 licenses had been granted for the entire county as of the end of March 2022 (GRAMA Request #22-226). Based on just the Ogden Valley STR data, it is apparent that Weber County does not have effective control of STRs and even those inadequate regulations on the books are not enforced. STR issues simply do not have any priority for corrective action by our current Weber County Commissioners. Why? - The number of STRs in Ogden Valley has led to an increase in the valley’s transient population, leaving businesses like our Valley Market and restaurants with staff shortages. STRs are also contributing to the dramatic increase in the cost of valley homes, making it unaffordable for many families to remain in or move to Ogden Valley. Higher home prices also means higher property taxes. There are many other municipalities that have suffered from the increase in STRs. Related towns, cities and counties have lost their essential workers (e.g., police, fire, education, medical, and service personnel) since these workers can no longer afford to live in the area due to the escalated cost of homes. But other communities have acted. The governing bodies of some of these municipalities (e.g., Aspen, CO; Moab, UT; Springdale, UT; Park City, UT; Crested Butte, CO; Bozeman, MN) were smart enough to realize what was happening to their communities and took action to start controlling and enforcing STRs. Some communities, such as Sandy, have placed caps on the percentage of housing in a community that can be used as STRs, limiting the number of STRs to little over 1% of the housing stock. Much of this information on the actions taken by these municipalities was forwarded to Weber County Planning months ago to help in developing a more effective STR ordinance. On May 25, The Salt Lake Tribune ran an article titled “Gov. Spencer Cox points to two problems in Utah’s housing crisis: Airbnb and Vrbo” (sltrib.com/news/2022/05/25/gov-spencercox-points/). He stated that nearly 20,000 shortterm rentals are making a bad situation worse in Utah. He added, “We’re taking houses, and we’re turning them into hotels… That’s housing stock that now isn’t being rented to families or available for purchase by first-time homeowners or others.” If you have examples of where a municipality or county has stepped up to take action on STRs, you should feel free to send this information directly to Scott Perkes in the Weber County Planning office (sperkes@co.weber.ut.us), who has studied approaches to STR regulation in depth; and directly to Weber County Commissioners Gage Froerer (gfroerer@co.weber.ut.us), Scott Jenkins (sjenkins@co.weber.ut.us), and James Harvey (jharvey@co.weber.ut.us). More STR Requests in the Future? There will be rezoning requests coming up for review and approval at upcoming Ogden Valley Planning Commission meetings as well as new PRUDs wanting permission to provide STRs. There is no doubt that some of the rezone requests will be for zones that allow STRs. And it is likely that these future rezoning requests would include parcels currently zoned as precious open space. If the rezones or PRUD requests for STRs are approved, this is indeed expanding STRs in Ogden Valley. When these requests come forward, it will be important for Ogden Valley residents to attend the related meetings and let their voices be heard. It may be necessary to remind Weber County Commissioners and members on the Ogden Valley Planning Commission what was proclaimed at the work session of April 19, 2021: The County did not intend to expand STRs, and instead wanted to focus on enforcement of the law on STR violations. For now, enforcement of STRs is only considered on a complaint basis. This means that Weber County is looking to residents of Weber County to provide STR enforcement! Now, as a resident of Ogden Valley, do you really want to take on the role of enforcement? Do you want to take on the risk of a potential conflict situation? If you know that someone is illegally providing a STR, or you experience inappropriate and disturbing behaviors from a STR home, you need to report the incident to Iris Hennon, Weber County Code Enforcement Official, at ihennon@co.weber. ut.us or call her at 801-399-8762. It is not clear that County “leaders” will take any meaningful action, but reporting violations is the first step in calling out this mounting threat to Ogden Valley. |
