Heber City councilors decided Tuesday to support Wasatch County’s endeavor for conservation easements in Heber Valley’s North Fields even as the Utah Department of Transportation considers the land in potential bypass routes.
After debating whether a county easement in the North Fields among the areas UDOT is considering as a possible route to divert traffic off of Heber City’s Main Street and provide truckers a bypass through the valley, councilors decided to up their effort to communicate with the county as well as UDOT to ensure no one feels blindsided.
The conversation came less than a week after the Wasatch County Open Lands Committee recommended the County Council approve spending a few million dollars to preserve land in the North Fields where UDOT is considering five options for the bypass.
“I don’t think we need to ask the county to defer moving forward with conservation easements,” Councilor Mike Johnston said.
He discussed with Mayor Heidi Franco — who is also the chair of the Open Land Board — how much money the county could receive through government grants for the $13 million project.
In the Open Lands Board’s Feb. 12 meeting, Utah Open Lands Director Wendy Fisher explained that with available government grants and a contribution from property owner Laren Gertsch, the county is in a position to pay only a few million for the much more expensive project.
Johnston said he believes it’s important to enact conservation easements on either side of the corridor.
“What concerns me,” he said. “This cannot become a stumbling block, a roadblock, something thrown up to stop the process.”
If the conservation easement were planned to prevent UDOT from putting a road in the North Fields, he said, he would not support it.
“I’m hoping we can work with the county,” he said. “I’m willing to go forward.”
Councilor Aaron Cheatwood also spoke in support of the easement, stressing that if the county doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity now, it could disappear.
“I don’t want to tell you to defer,” he said.
Like Johnston, he emphasized the importance of continuing conversations with UDOT and making sure people are not blocking their possible routes.
Community leaders, Franco said, need to be just as supportive of those trying to conserve their property as they are of those trying to develop it.
Councilor Sid Ostergaard emphasized the city’s need for the Heber Valley Corridor and said it would take open communication between the county and municipalities.
“Whatever we can do to facilitate that, we need to,” he said.
“The last thing we want to do is blindside UDOT,” City Manager Matt Brower added. “They are a partner.”
Franco suggested such tiptoeing around UDOT might not be necessary.
“UDOT’s not going to say this will never happen because this farmer wants to conserve his land,” Franco said. “They know this is part of the process.”
Still, Brower said an interlocal meeting would be valuable to make sure the community is approaching the corridor with a united front.
Johnston said he wanted to support the county in their deferment in conjunction with maintaining a strong line of communication with UDOT to ensure that conservation does not become a roadblock.
He specified that it would be “completely stupid” to move forward in a way that could be interpreted by UDOT as a middle finger toward their route considerations through the North Fields.
“I want to come forward with cooperation,” he said.
He suggested moving forward with the easement with the legal and written understanding that UDOT might use some of the property.
The mayor argued that such a caveat might disqualify the project from grant funding, and city staff said it could be an easier process for UDOT if they just condemned preserved land for the corridor.
At the behest of Brower, council members decided to move forward not with a resolution but by trying to facilitate a meeting with Wasatch County Council and by ensuring UDOT is kept up to date.