Weber County Commissioners Vote Unanimously for New Ordinances re Heliports

Hooray!!

Weber County Commissioners Vote Unanimously for New Ordinances re Heliports

Guest Post by Lee Schussman, Eden, UT                                                    Jan 4, 2012

On Tuesday, January 3, 2012, the three Weber County Commissioners voted unanimously to codify changes in the Weber County Zoning Ordinances that govern the siting of Heliports in the Ogden Valley.

These new ordinances will help to protect the life style of Ogden Valley residents while simultaneously maintaining the opportunity of helicopter-based businesses to be established and to grow in the Ogden Valley.

Please see previous postings here on this web site for details of the processes over the last 18 months and for more details of the changes. (Or, soon these new ordinances should be posted on the Weber County web sites.) These are some of the main points of the new laws:

“Heliport” has been removed from CV-2 Zones in Ogden Valley.

Heliports may operate only as private commercial facilities, not for use as general public-access heliports.

Heliports will be conditionally permitted only above 6200 feet elevation.

Heliports will be conditionally permitted only in DRR-1 (resort) Zones or F-40 (forest) Zones.

All Heliports will need to have set backs from property lines, appropriate surfaces, and necessary FAA approvals.

The establishment of these ordinances is a HUGE deal. There are many areas of the country where the use of commercial helicopters in residential or business areas has become very problematic. Safety, noise, lighting, dust control, and other issues are often extremely hard to mitigate while preserving businesses’ private property rights and the rights of businesses to successfully operate. Thanks to much work and long efforts on the parts of our Ogden Valley Planning Commission, Sean Wilkinson in the County Planning Office, and many dedicated Ogden Valley residents, and thanks to the recent vote of the Weber County Commissioners, we now have in place a set of ordinances that go a long way toward balancing the needs of Ogden Valley residents and the needs of potential Ogden Valley helicopter-based businesses.

Ogden Valley Residents Urged To Wave Flags In Honor of Officer Jared Francom

It's been a tough week for our neighbors in Ogden in the wake of the tragic shooting last week.  The impact has spread well beyond the city's borders to the rest of Weber County, the State of Utah and across America.  Our friends at the Weber County Forum have done a masterful job (as always) of reporting on all aspects of the case, so we urge you to snoop around and get up to date by clicking below:

Ogden Shootings Story Update: The Latest From the Northern Utah Print Media

Today marks the funeral and memorial service for Officer Jared Francom and Ogden Valley residents have been asked to help honor Officer Francom by waving flags during the funeral procession.  The flag waving has been organized, and as we understand it, Ogden Valley-ites are asked to line Harrison Boulevard along the route between the Dee Events Center (about 4400 Harrison Blvd.) and 30th Street.  Bring flags if you have them.  The Trapper Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America will also be handing out miniature flags at various locations along the route.

The funeral procession is expected to begin at about 12:30 PM and will run North on Harrison to 30th Street, then turn west to Washington Boulevard.  From there it will turn right (north) and proceed to 12th Street, then will make a right turn eastbound to Monroe before finally turning South on Monroe for Officer Francom's final resting place at the Ogden City Cemetary.  A map of the route can be found by clicking here.

It is difficult to find good out of such a tragedy, but the events have brought the community together and have strengthened bonds.  Today we honor those law enforcement officers who routinely put themselves in harms way to keep the streets safe.  From a simple traffic stop to a complicated drug bust, cops have to constantly be wary of bad guys.  Today we thank, salute and honor you.

Rest in peace Officer/Agent Jared Francom.

Breaking News: It Appears That The Infamous Snowbasin Ski Patrolman Has Been Reassigned

This breaking news just in.  Enjoy and Have a Happy New Year from the Ogden Valley Forum.

Via Adv365 from the Standard comments section:

Ski patrolman, Tim Taylor, has since been reassigned to another Earl Holding property and is now a lifeguard at the jacuzzi at the Grand America in SLC.

Snowbasin Video Goes Viral

Not the PR they would hope for.

We hope your Christmas was Merry and we at the Ogden Valley Forum wish you and yours a Happy and prosperous 2012.  We have been taking a well deserved literary break for the holidays, but could not pass up on a video that has been making the rounds in the backrooms of Facebook and beyond.

Harassment at Snowbasin from Garden Stories. on Vimeo.

To set up the video, a local Snowboarder from Layton is stopped by a Snowbasin Instructor and Pro Patroller on what appears to be the speed trap known as Bear Hollow.  Without so much as a warning, the patroller pulls the season pass of a teen who, to us, didn't seem to be going all that fast or out of control.  In fact, he was able to stop abeam the Instructor with ease.

The teens politely queries the patroller, who at one points tells the second teen to "Shut the F--- Up."  He then threatened the second teen would lose his pass too if he didn't shut up.  

Of course, Barney Fife didn't know that the local kids were wearing a Go Pro and that they had captured the entire exchange on video.

We are guessing Barney should be walking the unemployment line.  What is your take? 

UPDATE: 12/28/11 @ 9:44 PM 
Fox !3 is running the story tonight. 
And from KSL.com 

And The Standard Examiner has this story.

European Experience Trip with Ralph Rowley Pre-Trip Seminar December 14

A pre-trip seminar for the "European Experience" trip escorted by Ralph Rowley is planned for December 14th.  The seminar will be held at the Roy City Weber County Library located at 1950 W. 4800 S. in Roy (just west of 1900 W. on the north side).  The seminar will begin promptly at 6:30 pm in the auditorium and anyone who would like to learn more about this trip of a lifetime is invited to attend.

The trip will be in June 2012 for a duration of 2-4 weeks, depending on your chosen trip options.

Ralph Rowley is a retired Weber High School German teacher who has taken thousands of guests on this fabulous trip over the years.  This is his 40th and final year.

The minimum enrollment of 45 has been met and a limited number of openings remain.   The early enrollment discounts have been extended for those who enroll soon.  This means substantial discounts. 

To ensure adequate seating at the seminar, please RSVP by leaving a message at 801-458-0945.  You may also send an email to rsor@msn.com  Be sure to include "Europe Trip" in the subject line and list your name and number of attendees in the message.  If you would like more information or a brochure, then please include your mailing and email addresses.

Elk Processing Facility Land Use Permit Rescinded

Weber County Planners decide to "comport with the Ombudsman's opinion

In a surprise move, the Weber County Planning Department has rescinded the Land Use permit that allowed the Elk Cutting Facility to operate in Liberty.  The permit is rescinded effective December 6, 2011.

Click here to view the letter from Weber County to the petitioners.

What say ye humble readers about the county's decision to head the Ombudsman's recommendation?

OGDEN VALLEY Planning Commission Meeting Tonight @ 5 PM

Their are a few of items of interest on tonight's agenda of the Ogden Valley Planning Commission:

1. STA 2011-02 Discussion and action on an amendment to Chapter 4 (Subdivision Improvements Required) of the Weber County Subdivision Ordinance
2. Policy Discussion and action on Submitting Information to a Planning Commission Policy 

Later:

5-2. Legal Counsel’s Remarks: Therapeutic Schools

The meeting begins at 5:00 and will be held in the Weber County Commission Chambers, Weber Center (2380 Washington Blvd)

Click here to view the agenda 
Download a full copy of the Ogden Valley December 06, 2011 packet, in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), here. Packets are available only for the current agenda and approximately thirty days after that date.

We invite our expert readers to review the packet and comment on the proposed improvements.  Are they truly improvements or changes meant to make it more developer friendly?  That is the $100 question.

OGDEN VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION VOTES ON HELIPORT ISSUES

A Final Resolution of The Heliport Issue Should Be Near

Guest Post by Lee Schussman, Eden

On Tuesday, November 22, 2011, the Ogden Valley Planning Commission (OVPC) met and voted unanimously on a number of changes in the Weber County zoning ordinances. These changes will have a dramatic, positive effect in helping to maintain the life style that we enjoy in the Ogden Valley while at the same time providing for the proper siting of commercial heliports in the Valley.

The OVPC voted unanimously to:

1- Remove “heliport” from the CV-2 zoning areas. (All CV-2 areas are on the Valley floor.)

2- Place “heliport” in the zoning ordinances in F-40 (40 acre “forest” areas) and DRR-1 (ski resort) zones.

3- Stipulate that, in those F-40 and DRR zones, all heliports must be located above 6200 feet elevation.

3- Establish setback and building conditions to help mitigate the noise and dust problems and to improve safety issues when CUPs are granted for commercial heliports in those F-40 and DRR-1 zones.

These changes will remove all commercial heliports from the Ogden Valley floor, place them in the most appropriate places (forest or resort areas), and do what is reasonably possible to mitigate the negative effects of their use on the surrounding areas.

The processes for these zoning changes began over 18 months ago. There were, at first, contentious, emotional, and even angry public comments and debates. These were followed by many months of hard work on the part of our OVPC, Mr. Sean Wilkinson, Planner in the Weber County Planning Office, and Ogden Valley residents. This work resulted in a number of well-thought-out compromises and policies.

Ogden Valley residents owe our OVPC (Commissioner Kevin Parson, Chair; Commissioners Laura Warburton, John Howell, Penton Hollist, Dennis Montgomery, Ann Miller, Greg Graves-–all of whom serve voluntarily) and Mr. Sean Wilkinson of the Planning Office our sincere thanks and appreciation for tackling and solving this very complicated issue.

In the near future, the Weber County Commissioners will need to consider, hopefully accept, and then vote these changes into the zoning laws. When they do, it will complete a process that will allow the legitimate use of commercial heliports while balancing that use with the good of the community.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Ogden Valley Friends, 

Happy Thanksgiving from the Ogden Valley Forum!

This holiday season, we are thankful for YOU and your support of responsible development and the sustainable use of natural resources (water, land, wildlife and air) in Ogden Valley.

Ombudsman sides with Liberty Neighbors

In the case of the Liberty neighbors vs. the Elk processing plant, the Property Rights Ombudsman has rendered his opinion in favor of the neighbors.

The Ombudsman was asked tasked with two issues:

1)  Is a custom butchering and meat packing business a prohibited use in the county's AV-3 Zone? and
2)  Does the Weber County code authorize the planning staff to serve as the land use authority in this matter?

Click here to read the document: Office of the Property Rights Ombudsman Opinion

The eleven page document is an interesting read while sipping your cappuccino during commercials of X-Factor, but it boils down to the issue of who is authorized under county ordinances to decide if a use is permitted: planning staff or the planning commission.

We think the planning department should always err on the conservative side by sending any questionable use to the planning commission for review, and the ombudsman apparently agrees.

The Ombudsman concludes:

The County Ordinance language, as it presently stands, prohibits certain agricultural industry or business in the AV-3 Zone.  The business undertaken by the landowners, guided hunting with cutting and processing wild elk off the lot, is inescapably of that type and prohibited in that zone.

It now appears that the ball is in the County's court.

The Future Is Now!

The Future is Now!

If you feel a little tremor once in a while, it is the development engine starting up again in Ogden Valley.

The citizens of Ogden Valley should be aware and prepared to respond

to the development forces that are always at work to use the land

and water in our Valley to further their view of progress.

The Valley Citizens for Responsible Development (VCRD) does not view all growth or development as negative. However, we do believe it should be accomplished within the guidelines set forth by the existing zoning and subdivision ordinance guidelines in place to protect the ambiance and unique qualities of Ogden Valley.

On November 22, 2011 both the Weber County Commission and the Ogden Valley Planning Commission (OVPC) will review several issues that may have serious impacts on how developers operate within Ogden Valley, and how well developers and the two Commissions communicate with the residents about proposed development plans.

It appears the OVPC may be intent on taking some “short cuts” by recommending changes to provisions of the subdivision approval process that may not be in the best interests of the citizens of Ogden Valley.

It is our understanding from the most recent GEM committee minutes that the OVPC is considering a change in the review process that would move the requirement for the OVPC and Weber County Commissioners review/approval from 3 units to 10 units in a subdivision, and also eliminate the notification to nearby landowners of such developments. While this would probably speed up the approval process, it will exclude the impacted neighbors from providing public input, eliminate the critical review process of both commissions and may erode the respect that citizens should have for our elected or appointed representatives.

We suggest to you, the Valley citizens, that the most effective way to engage and influence the decision makers on the OVPC and the Weber County Commission is to have a strong, effective participation by the residents in Ogden Valley. We ask that you contact these decision makers and let them know how you feel about the impact of accelerated growth in the Valley. All contact information for both the OVPC and the County Commissioners is available on the VCRD web site at www.vcrdutah.org

We also ask that you join the VCRD to receive e-mail and blog updates to keep your informed on the development activities of the Weber County Planning department and our elected or appointed officials.

The motto of the VCRD says it all:

“Speak up for what you want, or take what you get”.

Join the VCRD or renew your membership for a $10 yearly individual fee. The VCRD web site has been updated.

Send your membership fees to:

VCRD

PO Box 115

Huntsville, UT 84317

The VCRD is a nonprofit Corporation and your dues and any contributions are tax deductible.

Let’s stay ahead of the development surge and try to maintain our

Valley’s charm and beauty as much as we can.

Your VCRD Staff

Weber County Planning Unveils New Tracking System Called Miradi

Guest Post by Ron Gleason

Wanted to make sure valley residents are aware of a new facility on the Weber County Planning web site.  The planning group has implemented a system called 'Miradi' and the home page for the system describes it this way:

Miradi is a collaborative electronic reviewing and project tracking solution for Weber County which means 'project' in Swahili. Miradi treats everything as a project. An ordinance amendment, building permit, subdivision, board of adjustment appeal, and business license are all examples of different types of land use activities and permits. At an abstract level, each example is a project involving many unique properties, aspects, people, and reviewing agencies.

Interested residents can access the system off the plannings group home page at  http://www.co.weber.ut.us/mediawiki/index.php/Planning or directly at http://miradi.co.weber.ut.us/

.   To get maximum benefit folks should establish a userid.

I believe this is a great facility and will allow Weber County residents to stay abreast of activity within the planning, engineering and compliance groups. 

Bravo to the planning group for getting this done.