Ogden Valley Planning Commission wants more time to get it right.
After a lengthy meeting tonight with some 20 or so comments from concerned citizens and neighbors of the Proposed Green Valley Academy, the planning commissioners voted to send the issue back to the planning staff.
Since there are very few zones within Ogden Valley that accept this type of facility, the Commissioners unanimously agreed to spend the time to decide upon an appropriate zone for such a facility.
It was suggested that the commercial zone would be ideal, but those present were informed that the use would not be permitted in the commercial zone either.
In the end, commissioners opted to take their time and not be rushed into a decision.
More details will follow in coming days.
One thing we wish to clarify were several comments by petitioner Balmer regarding comments he has read on our very own Ogden Valley Forum. He went so far as to read comments that he attributed to the forum in an apparent effort to garner sympathy to his cause.
While some of the comments he mentioned certainly were posted by readers of this site, there were two that we take exception to. They in fact were not on this forum at all, but instead listed on the petition to Stop the academy. The petition is an entirely different, stand alone web site. We do, however, include links to the petition from our site.
On the petition, signees 213 and 214 made threats with regards to the potential students. We would not have allowed those comments on our site. While our "Comments Policy" is quite loose, those posts would have been removed. We might add that the author's zip codes were listed as 84404 and 84405 (Ogden).
Thank you to all that attended last night and spoke up for the Valley and it's right to maintain its current zoning.
ReplyDeleteI received feedback from more than one person that this treatment center plan is NOT going away and they (GVA) staff will continue their plight until they get the conditional use permit. I respectfully ask you to keep yourself informed and don't count on others do all of our jobs! That is, staying on top of this and continuing your involvement and proactiveness.
Just a word of caution. This is a public site. Keep your comments informed, articulate and refrain from making the citizens of the Valley appear ignorant by posting outlandish comments!
And finially, my hats are off to the people who have sincerely put their hearts, efforts, time and money into the cause to STOP the change of zoning. It can't be easy, especially when they attend religious services and community activities with some folks who are on the side of the zoning change. This is just what I am seeing and I thank them for standing up for what they believe is right for their family AND their Valley, even if it causes disturbance in their relationships.
Perhaps there might be some kind of a group started (like a steering committee) that would be willing to assist these GVA folks in obtaining a spot somewhere in the County (and perhaps the Valley?) that could be used for a treatment center. I know I would be willing to give my time and energy to this cause. Just a thought, thanks for reading.