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Show Page 10 The Ogden Valley News Volume XXX Issue VII November 15, 2023 USDA Forest Service Outlines Electronic Bicycle Use on Forest Trails Emerging technologies such as e-bikes are changing the way people enjoy their visits to national forests and grasslands. Today, more than 60,000 miles of trails and thousands of miles of roads on national forests and grasslands are currently open to e-bike use. As use trends change with time and new technologies, the way we manage lands to ensure their long-term health and resilience must change as well. This is why we have clarified our policy on e-bikes and are encouraging local Forest Service decision makers to expand access to recreation opportunities on our forests and grasslands in ways that meet user needs while continuing to protect forest resources. Did the Forest Service Change Its Policy Related to E-Bikes? The Forest Service recently finalized its directives that clarify how e-bikes are managed on national forests and grasslands. The directives clarify the definition of an e-bike and identifies e-bikes under three classes of motor vehicles. They also provide needed guidance to field units under existing Travel Management Rule definitions, and reinforce criteria needed to designate roads, trails, and areas for e-bikes use. Before a decision to expand use of e-bikes on specific national forests and grasslands, the unit must first conduct the appropriate environmental analysis and public engagement, just like any other project that alters the use of the land. Where Are E-Bikes Currently Allowed on National Forests & Grasslands? Class 1, 2, and 3 e-bikes are allowed on motorized trails and roads on national forests and grasslands. Additionally, several year-round resorts operating under a special use permit have established e-bike use within their permit boundary. Local Forest Service officials may consider new opportunities for e-bike use on non-motorized trails and in non-motorized areas by utilizing a designation process in accordance with the Travel Management Rule (36 CFR Part 212, Subpart B). Designations involve appropriate environmental analysis, public involvement, and local decision-making. Did the Forest Service Use Scientific Evidence & Receive Public Input When Updating Its Directives on E-Bike Use? Yes! The e-bike directives incorporate new trends in recreation on public lands and provide forest officials opportunities to expand e-bike use in areas other than those currently open to e-bikes. The agency has used best-available science, public input, use trends, and other information in developing the directives. As part of this process, the Forest Service has reviewed Interior Department’s e-bike direction and continues to monitor how they implement this direction. The Forest Service is managing e-bikes with the goal of allowing a variety of recreation opportunities while protecting natural and cultural resources and other forest uses. We understand the challenging management situation this can pose in areas of adjoining/shared boundaries. The Forest Service is committed to listening to the people we serve to better understand their needs as well as providing them seamless experiences across boundaries as allowed by law. How Will Expanding E-Bike Use on National Forests & Grasslands Improve Access for More Americans? The Forest Service has a long tradition of multiple uses and supporting access to the public land the agency manages. Simply put, e-bikes allow more people to enjoy their national forests and grasslands. The technology has the potential to include older Americans and attract more diverse users to explore their public land in a socially and ecologically responsible way. At the end of September, these two planes, belonging to Morgan and Mountain Green residents, participated in a test event to demonstrate the viability of landing in an open alfalfa 昀椀eld in Eden if the need arose in an emergency situation. AIR FORCE cont. from page 1 But in a large earthquake event, who knows what condition the roads will be in. And the likelihood of them remaining open—especially those traversing Ogden Canyon and the North Ogden Divide—could be very low. But a large farm field off the beaten path could easily be modified with a farm tractor for use as a landing strip for small airplanes, all the way to some pretty large ones. Should an emergency event happen in winter, we could even use skis on these airplanes; so, this opens up even more places to land this kind of support. Even Pineview Reservoir’s surface could be used if it had been frozen long enough; it could become more than adequate as a landing strip.” Beck added, “All that being said, the airplanes pictured above belong to people in Morgan and Mountain Green. If an event, as described were to occur, these will likely be tasked there, if they even survive the earthquake. Therefore, I am not in a position to start an ad hoc air force here. But I am of the opinion that if an emergency of this size occurs, pilots with capable airplanes would come forward with their skills and equipment, which would be welcomed. These airplanes here were merely staged as a demonstration of what might be available to us in a time of need. All that would be necessitated, then, would be coordination and a chosen suitable place to land and take off.” With the understanding that Ogden Valley could be left vulnerable in the event of a major catastrophic event, an Eden resident, working with others involved with emergency preparedness concerns, has volunteered the use of his large, open field for emergency flights in and out of the valley, should the need arise,to transport life-saving pharmaceuticals and equipment into Ogden Valley. Any valley pilots with airplanes capable and willing to be of assistance during an emergency situation similar to that described above are asked to contact Lew Beck via this newspaper. LETTER TO EDITOR cont. from page 2 This is not a blanket critique. I am grateful for those who work and serve, and perhaps even volunteer, and spend their time wrestling with these considerations and making these difficult decisions. Planning and zoning entities and personnel have the difficult burden of balancing many interests, but the perception, currently, especially at the larger county level, is that there may be less balance and that the citizens are not being heard. Instead, many feel they are only being tolerated and treated as a mere roadblock to the grand design of the Ogden Valley makeover, undertaken by, what seems to be, a small minority. Total consensus on everything is not possible, but not erring on the side of trying to seek a balance and compromise carries the risk of doing all of this to the residents, instead of with them. In my view, as we grow and attempt to live with each other, we should not live only by what we can do or by what is merely permitted, but instead should endeavor to live by what we should do, as we make decisions and take actions that impact others. I invite those who seek the many changes they are proposing for the Valley at all levels, whether directly or indirectly, to focus on the second question. I believe the aforementioned competing interests can co-exist, but it takes a lot of good-faith listening, understanding, and compromise (from both sides). My fear is that these virtues may be unpopular in today’s world, but I remain optimistic, and I commit to working toward them. well after informal processes have taken place between county staff, elected officials, and the developer. Even though final recommendation and approval must be achieved, at this point the proposal often comes with the county’s backing, and, in some instances, it is the county that wants it. The result, once the matter is finally put to a public hearing and then a vote, puts the citizens behind the Eight Ball, where they don’t have the time or the money to hire experts or to conduct studies to check or counter what is being proposed. As such, it is the people’s government that must step in where the citizen cannot in order to balance what can often be an unequal equation. As to matters so clearly impactful to the Valley, discussion and collaboration should not be limited to only the minimum public meetings and, certainly, should not be scheduled during the workday in Ogden. Last minute changes to agendas might be minimized, and if a recommendation from the planning commission is expanded or changed by the county, I suggest it should go back to the planning commission for review and public comment before being voted on. Regarding such drastic changes, I believe we should strive to err on the side of more notice, more meetings, more discussion—no matter how difficult or unwanted and even if not minimally required—and more inclusion and input from residents who have to live with the resulting outcomes. This is good government. It may take longer and cost a little more, Stephen Noel, but it works much better. Eden THEFT cont. from page 1 According to the law, before a street-regulating plan—a zoning change—is approved by the county commission, the planning commission must first hold a publicly noticed public hearing on the matter, then make a recommendation to the county commissioners. This never occurred. Neighboring property owners purchased printed signs that share several messages to the developer of the proposed Eden Crossing city center: 1. “Hey John! What about more PARK and less City!” which refers to John Lewis, the predominant developer in Ogden Valley who is tied into the proposed Eden Crossing Development (Eden), the new Osprey Ranch (Eden) and Cobabe developments (Eden), Legacy Mountain Estates (Huntsville), The Pointe at Wolf Creek (Eden), the Bridges (Eden), several condo units below World Mark/Trendwest Resort (Eden), Moose Hollow (Eden), and many, many others developments now pockmarking the valley. 2. “Keep the Roads the Same,” meaning, don’t change zoning using the new form-based zoning system that provides a green light for upzoning properties, sometimes hundreds of acres, according to color-coded street-regulating plans. Also, the newly proposed Eden Crossing development may necessitate altering current neighboring street patterns. 3. “Say No!!!! [to a] 100 Room HOTEL, 192 CONDOS, 58 TOWNHOMES, & SHOPPING PLAZA? SAY NO TO EDEN CROSSING.” Abutting neighbors living in single-family home on agriculturally zoned property don’t want to live next door to a new high-density city center that isn’t called out in Ogden Valley’s general plan. In addition, standard planning practices place high-density zoning in the middle of large commercial centers with density and commercial activity diminishing as it spreads outward closer and closer toward already-established large-lot, single-family residential and farmland properties. Approval of this development would place it smackdab in the middle of pastureland and rural neighborhoods. The alleged thief, who admitted to the officer that he had taken the signs, was caught with a truck bed filled with a number of the protest signs. He had parked in the driveway of an Eden resident who lives along Wolf Creek Drive where he had just taken this homeowner’s two signs from his front yard. The alleged thief was delayed long enough for an officer with the Weber Couty Sheriff’s office to arrive and charge the stranger with theft. He has been identified as Travis Brian Kurtz, according to the sheriff’s report, who lives in Eden’s Eagle Ridge subdivision. Neighbors living on the road leading out of the Eagle Ridge subdivision and onto Wolf Creek Drive, which leads down to Valley Market, also had all their signs stolen. Another of these theft victims also pressed charges against Kurtz. Kurtz’s wife or partner, who lives at the same address as Kurtz and goes by the names Candyce Smith or Candyce Schiers, works for John Lewis. A Wolf Creek website, https://worlfcreekresort.com/about-us/ calls her part of the “Wolf Pack,” and identifies her as the company’s “Controller.” At https://drive.google.com/ file/d/1ULaxIAOdTb4gUrVCSZ3tZmCFXdmq9Kd/view?usp=sharing she is also listed as a registered principal of The Bridges Holding Company LLC of which John Lewis is the registered agent and managing member. The case with the Weber County Sheriff’s office is listed as Incident #23WC39181. The Ogden Valley Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed Eden Crossing development November 14 at 5:00 p.m., with a pre-meeting beginning at 4:30 p.m., on the first (ground) floor of the Weber Center in the commission chambers near the building’s front doors, 2380 Washington Blvd., Ogden. The agenda item, ZMA2023-09, is for the public hearing by the planning commission to discuss and take action on the application, to change 20 acres of land (proposed Eden Crossing development) located at approximately 5204 E., Highway 166, from the valley’s agricultural zone, which requires three acres per residence, to the high-density commercial form-based zone. Concerned members of the community are encouraged to attend the meeting and share their views with the Ogden Valley planning commission who are then tasked with making a recommendation to our elected three-member county commission. |