Ensuring that almost 2,200 acres of the 8,000-acre, master-planned Jordanelle Ridge community remain open space in perpetuity has been an ongoing negotiation between developer Mike Bradshaw, Heber City and Wasatch County for the past several months. But the discussion now seems to be making some headway after a standstill since September.
At that time, the Heber City Council approved a conservation easement that would allow the Jordanelle Ridge Homeowners Association to own and maintain the open space, with Heber City and Wasatch County having step-in rights to ensure the terms of the easement were being met.
Critics, including Heber City Mayor Heidi Franco and Summit Land Conservancy CEO Cheryl Fox, argued this was not a true conservation easement because a third-party land trust did not hold it. They added that placing the easement in the HOA’s hands gave it the power to close the open space off from the public if it wished.
The City Council sent the conservation easement to the Wasatch County Council for final approval, but it has instead gone through rounds of revisions in council subcommittees.
The developer provided a list of conditions on Jan. 6 if it entered into a conservation easement overseen by a land trust, which were then discussed by the city and county councils.
Bradshaw’s conditions include that Wasatch County and/or the Wasatch Open Lands Board pay for all costs associated with establishing the land trust and that Wasatch County and/or a land trust be responsible, including fiscally, for the maintenance, management and care of the trails on the open space.
While Summit Land Conservancy is currently only acting as an advisor on the easement, Fox shared the nonprofit’s annual budget is north of $30 million and that it was “prepared to put our fundraising efforts (toward helping) with this project.”
The developer also insists that Jordanelle Ridge retain the right to install “any and all necessary infrastructure for development,” such as water tanks, storm flow basins, underground utility transmission lines and access roads, with only the approval of Heber City, not the county or land trust.
That point raised some eyebrows on the County Council. But Kate Sattelmeier, vice president of conservation and counsel for Summit Land Conservancy, reassured councilors that it was a condition that could be worked with.
She advised adding a provision to the terms sheet requiring Jordanelle Ridge to notify the land trust of major infrastructure projects in the open space area, which would allow the county or land trust to reroute any affected trails, for example.
“We hold easements over several public recreational places where there’s been significant construction work,” she added. “It takes some flexibility on both sides. It takes some communication on both sides. But I don’t think it should be a barrier.”
County Deputy Attorney Jon Woodard pointed out the term sheet points to the sole purpose of the conservation easement as maintaining access to recreation, a much different intent than what the county had in mind.
“The draft agreement that we’ve been working on says that the purposes of the easement (are) to protect wildlife, habitat, natural vegetation, maintain the scenic quality of the mountainside as undeveloped, natural open space and provide public recreation and public access for enjoyment of the property. So, that all is gone and replaced by ‘recreational purpose,’” he said.
The purpose of the easement was further muddied when City Councilor Aaron Cheatwood asked for a definition of recreational purposes that would hold up in perpetuity. He listed mountain bikes and e-bikes as examples of how recreation has changed over time and pointed to motorcycles as a hypothetical favored outdoor activity of the future.
While Fox clarified that many of Summit Land Conservancy’s conservation easements specify vehicles used on trails must be human-powered, Sattlemeier acknowledged that Cheatwood’s question was difficult to answer.
“One hundred years from now, if nobody’s walking around anymore and everybody’s on motorcycles, maybe then, it’s different,” she said.
“And in that case, you’re saying that there is an opportunity for everybody to come to the table and say, ‘Listen. We’ve all atrophied. Our legs don’t work anymore. We can’t get out of our chairs anymore,’” Cheatwood jested.
Franco, who serves as chair of the Wasatch Open Lands Board, said these kinds of roundabout conversations are typical when negotiating conservation easements.
“These are the years of discussions that happen to get that easement to where the property owner says, ‘Yes, I’m good with that,’ and the conservation values are protected. Everybody’s on board with what’s in the final document before it’s signed, sealed and delivered,” she said.
While Woodard mentioned that Bradshaw was worried about getting “mired in bureaucracy,” the Jordanelle Ridge conservation easement will take further dialogue.
Although the City Council did not take a vote, all members except Mike Johnston supported going forward in further discussion with the developer and the county.
Johnston was concerned that the easement could place a fiscal burden on Wasatch County and Heber City that could have been borne by the Jordanelle Ridge HOA. He added that the desire to involve a third-party land trust came down to a lack of trust in elected officials.
“We have two parents, Wasatch County and Heber City, who generally work together,” Johnston said. “And I’m not really sure I want to give my parental rights to a babysitter.”