The Utah Department of Transportation will delay its decision on the Heber Valley bypass route until the spring of 2027, representatives from the state agency told the Heber City Council on Tuesday.

UDOT had formerly anticipated publishing its final environmental impact statement for the new highway, which will divert through traffic off of Heber City’s Main Street, by the end of this year. It published the draft environmental impact statement in January. That document included a preferred route that cut through the North Fields, a freshwater wetland habitat that has seen agricultural use for generations.

The announcement about the proposed route provoked months of pushback, public comment and protest by residents, farmers and elected officials.

Numerous local and state elected officials jointly signed a letter to UDOT in March rejecting the proposed route. The letter requested the bypass be shifted further east, as close to existing U.S. 40 as possible, to avoid bisecting existing farmlands, protect groundwater quality and preserve open space and conservation easements. 

UDOT is considering shifting the bypass east, but exactly how far is to be determined. That’s one reason why the state delayed publishing the final environmental impact statement.

UDOT is also considering other amendments suggested by the City Council, like moving a section that runs along 1300 South into undeveloped land to minimize impacts to existing homes and businesses, and redesigning an interchange at Midway Lane to be more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly.

UDOT Project Manager Craig Hancock said the group secured $1 million in funding from the Utah Transportation Commission to consider these changes and conduct additional traffic and wetlands analysis.

“We have our wetland experts who are actually on the ground doing the wetland delineations. So, it’s a much more granular look than the general wetland data that’s available (from state and federal agencies),” Hancock said.

UDOT is also collaborating with stakeholders like the North Fields Irrigation Company, which has controlled water use in the area since 1860, to better understand the potential impacts the bypass could have on the North Fields.

This information will help UDOT formulate a plan to preserve at least 2 acres of wetlands, canals, ditches and perennial streams for every acre impacted by the bypass. That’s 54 acres affected by the route UDOT proposed in January. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will approve or deny UDOT’s mitigation plan.

UDOT, in the final environmental impact statement, will also respond to the over 700 comments received during the public comment period between January and March. 

“There were a lot of comments that were very similar, so there will be some aggregation,” Hancock said. “What we’ll be doing is developing a response that could go to several comments. So, when we respond to those comments, it may (refer) back to a similar comment.”

After publishing the final environmental impact statement, UDOT will submit its record of decision to the Federal Highway Administration. Then, it will determine funding sources for the project.

The alignment proposed in January was estimated to cost $760.5 million. UDOT representatives have acknowledged that costs will likely increase by the project’s horizon year of 2050.

Hancock and other UDOT representatives plan to return to the Heber City Council with another update sometime next month.

The post UDOT delays Heber Valley bypass route decision to 2027 appeared first on Park Record.

The Utah Department of Transportation is currently refining its environmental impact study for the controversial Heber Valley bypass to have a lesser impact on the North Fields where the new highway is planned.

The North Fields is a freshwater wetland area northwest of Heber City’s downtown that has seen agricultural use for generations.

Project Manager Craig Hancock told the Wasatch County Council on Wednesday that UDOT representatives visited the North Fields last month for a site visit with members of the North Fields Irrigation Company, which has controlled farmers’ water use in the area since 1860.

“Some of our team members met with them in the field, spent the morning going over some of the key historical features that they wanted to point out to us, focused primarily around historic ditches,” Hancock said. “We thought it was a very productive meeting, and we’re continuing to coordinate with them.”

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 requires UDOT to review the adverse effects the Heber Valley bypass could have on historic properties and collaborate with stakeholders to minimize them. 

Despite having infrastructure dating back to 1860, the North Fields Irrigation Company was not invited to participate in the Section 106 analysis for the draft environmental impact statement UDOT published six months ago. The irrigation company identified this as one of 99 deficiencies with the study in a press release published in February. Now, the irrigation company is a Section 106 consulting party for the final environmental impact statement.

Hancock said that UDOT may have had “some incomplete data” about ditches in the North Fields and that the North Fields Irrigation Company plans to share “a more complete map” that UDOT can compare with its own information. 

Time will tell how collaboration with the North Fields Irrigation Company informs UDOT’s engineering and alignment of the bypass. Beyond the ditches’ historical significance, the irrigation company was also concerned that the ditches could become polluted through stormwater runoff from the bypass.

UDOT expects that mitigation measures will prevent any pollutant discharge that would significantly degrade water quality in the area. UDOT will create a mitigation plan that will be reviewed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. However, that plan will not be created until the design stage, after a final decision has been made about the highway’s alignment.

Hancock also reminded the County Council that UDOT is considering a shift in the bypass alignment further east in the North Fields. He added that UDOT recently received additional funding through the Utah Transportation Commission for further analysis, including field work and a traffic analysis.

Numerous local and state elected officials made the request to shift the bypass east in a letter they sent to UDOT in March. The letter, drafted by County Councilor Erik Rowland, argued that a re-alignment closer to U.S. 40 would avoid bisecting existing farmlands, better align with the county’s goals of establishing open space and conservation easements in the North Fields and more effectively prevent groundwater contamination. UDOT in May agreed to consider a re-alignment east.

County Councilor Luke Searle was excited to hear that UDOT is addressing the concerns of local farmers and elected officials.

“It sounds like, based on the letter we wrote, you’re hearing us,” he said. “This process is going in the right direction.”

UDOT will begin mapping wetlands in the North Fields in the next few months, Hancock said. That analysis will inform UDOT’s plan to protect at least 2 acres of wetlands, canals, ditches and perennial streams for every acre impacted, which is 54 in the current alignment. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will approve or deny that plan.

Hancock said he was unsure at this point whether UDOT will delay publishing its final environmental impact statement, which has been expected by the end of the year.

UDOT will begin determining funding sources for the bypass only after the final environmental impact statement is published and a record of decision has been made with the Federal Highway Administration. The current bypass route has an estimated price tag of $760.5 million, but that will likely change with the re-alignment. UDOT representatives have said that costs are bound to increase by the project’s horizon year of 2050.

The post UDOT working to mitigate Heber Valley bypass impacts on North Fields appeared first on Park Record.

The Wasatch County and Heber City councils are working to prevent future development in the North Fields wetlands, which have primarily been used for agriculture for generations. The collaboration is a response to the Utah Department of Transportation’s plans to build a new highway in the area to divert through traffic off of Main Street.

The councils are seeking to strengthen a 2019 memorandum stating that zone changes, municipal annexation and extension of urban services into the North Fields “should be avoided” to preserve the wetland area for agricultural use.

“I think ‘avoided’ is not a strong enough word,” said County Councilor Luke Searle at a joint meeting in February.

Since then, officials have added other strategies to preserve the North Fields to the memorandum. The updated language would create more stringent protections by restricting Heber City from expanding into the North Fields, particularly past 900 North on the west side of U.S. 40.

The current draft asks the county to zone the North Fields only for agricultural purposes, allowing only one residential unit per 20 acres. 

Additionally, the memorandum reaffirms Heber City’s commitment to preserving the land by purchasing land and conservation easements in the North Fields. 

These will be funded from the North Fields preservation fee, a one-time charge of $2,500 per unit paid by developers building in the North Village Overlay Zone. 

The zone encompasses about 95 acres at the intersection of River Road and U.S. 40, which were annexed into Heber City in December 2024. The zone and the North Fields preservation fee were established in January 2025, when the City Council approved development agreements for The Crossings and The Slope developments, the latter of which broke ground last week. 

The councils have not yet decided what portion of the North Fields to preserve. An initial map by the County Council targeted almost the entire North Fields. The City Council is more interested in preserving a slice of land between existing U.S. 40 and the bypass route, north of 900 North and south of College Way.

“I don’t intend our preservation to be little plots of land in the middle of nowhere,” City Councilor Aaron Cheatwood said during Tuesday’s meeting. “I’m really worried about everything that comes next to the highway. … I’m trying to have a developer mindset and saying, ‘If there’s a brand new road, there’s a lot of incentive to build something.’”

Cheatwood compared the conservation plan to the establishment of Central Park in New York City in that it gets ahead of future population growth and development. 

But Mayor Heidi Franco pointed out that purchasing land and establishing conservation easements in the North Fields would be a “ginormous project.” 

She estimated the land between the existing U.S. 40 and the bypass route would be valued at close to $100 million. 

“Conservation easements are usually half the value of that,” she said, pulling from her experience on the Wasatch Open Lands Board. “Of course, there’s a lot of existing residences there, too, where it could increase the costs for any conservation easements.”

The high cost of the project is why the City Council wants financial participation from the county and possibly other municipalities like Midway, Daniel and Charleston.

“If we’re going to commit in a contract, ‘This is where we’re putting our preservation fees,’ I would like the rest of the county to also participate,” said City Councilor Mike Johnston. “Of course, the county is half of Heber City, so we’re really going to give three-quarters of this.”

In recent discussions, many elected officials have questioned whether updating the memorandum will serve its intended purpose.

During the County Council’s discussion on April 1, resident Pam Patrick commented that a memorandum of understanding “does not mean a whole lot” unless it has “teeth.”

County Councilor Mark Nelson reassured her that “the county and Heber City have never been more aligned or worked more closely together.”

But as Heber City Attorney Jeremy Cook pointed out, it could be difficult to force future elected officials to honor the memorandum.

“Certainly, there are issues that we agree to, development agreements, where we do bind future city councils. But that gets very questionable with binding future city councils to policy decisions, such as, ‘We will never annex this,’” he said. 

Cook continued, “I think there are certain things that we could have in a binding agreement, like, ‘We agree that we’ll put our money in here if you guys will match it.’ And if we didn’t, then that agreement would just terminate. But we’re going to have to think seriously about whether or not we have certain language in here that binds future city councils indefinitely to a policy decision.”

Franco suggested that preventing Heber City’s annexation into the North Fields may be most effective if it is officially implemented in the city’s annexation policy. 

“(Memorandums of understanding) are like pie crust promises,” she said. “They can easily be broken.”

The memorandum of understanding will continue to be negotiated by the county and city before adoption at a later date.

The post Wasatch County, Heber City negotiate North Fields protections ahead of bypass construction appeared first on Park Record.

Neil Goldman of Angstrom Development Group celebrated the groundbreaking of The Slope, a mixed-use community in the North Village in Heber City, on Thursday by recalling his childhood.

“When we were all kids, we built with LEGOs. We played with Barbies. We created a world that we wanted to see in our own minds. And we’re building that right now,” he said.

The project has been in the works for the past three years. It will be constructed in eight- to 10-month phases, with a full buildout anticipated in 2029.

It will feature 100,000 square feet of retail space, including “a hell of a lot of good restaurants,” Goldman said. During an open house in October, he and his development partners had estimated eight to 10 restaurants that would strike a balance between approachable and fine dining. 

One of these restaurants will be situated in a hotel developed by Hyatt Hotels Corporation. The Andaz Heber Valley hotel will have 85 guest rooms and 62 private condominium units.

Hyatt will also develop 140 four-bedroom villas starting at 2,900 square feet as part of the project.

The overall design of Andaz Heber Valley is inspired by the aesthetics of mountain lodges in Japan and Italy, according to designer Piotr Wiśniewski. 

The villas are geared toward wellness and families, said Tina Necrason, global head of Branded Residential at Hyatt. Each features a sauna and hot tub facing Mount Timpanogos. 

“We’re seeing a lot of younger families, I think everything from the generational wealth that’s transferring, to those who are looking for second homes. The market keeps expanding. So, we’re going to see families from everywhere, I think, not just in the U.S., but international,” Necrason said.

Angstrom Development Group previously estimated that 75-80% of the villa owners would use them as second homes. 

Necrason said the prices of the villas, condos and hotel rooms will be announced in the next three to four weeks. The permanent residences will be priced in the millions, if the estimates Angstrom Development Group provided before the Hyatt partnership was announced hold.

Angstrom Development Group estimates that The Slope will generate $4.45 million in tax revenue annually from the Andaz Heber Valley residences and hotel alone.

The group also plans to develop 130 multi-family affordable workforce housing units for employees who work on the development.

The central plaza is designed with event programming in mind for the broader Heber Valley community, not just community members who live in the development. 

And if Goldman’s childhood dreaming wasn’t evident enough, Angstrom Development Group has also planned to build a 200-foot-long tubing hill descending 45 feet from the roof of one of the buildings.

At the snowy groundbreaking, Goldman and his development partners used golden shovels to fling dirt with the help of their young children. Goldman said the five members of his development group are building the project for their children.

“This project started with (Goldman) and I dreaming about building something that we thought would be cool, that we thought we would want to bring our families to and enjoy together,” said developer Andy Dorobek. “And we knew if we did something that we liked, that there would be a lot of other people who would like it, too.”

Of the five developers, one, Ryan Miller, lives in Utah. The other four are from California and Texas, though Goldman has a second home in Utah. Miller has been developing “golf course communities,” hotels and resorts for the past 25 years. He moved to Park City eight years ago. 

The Slope will be the first development Miller has worked on in Utah. For years, he had been eyeing the nearly 40-acre parcel of land in the North Fields for development. When Goldman and Dorobek entitled the land, Miller introduced himself on LinkedIn, and they became fast friends and business partners. 

The Slope’s positioning in the North Fields has garnered backlash from some residents. The North Fields is a wetland area that has been used primarily for farming for generations. 

The controversial Utah Department of Transportation’s Heber Valley bypass, which will divert traffic off Main Street, is also planned in the area. The Slope will not be affected by its proximity to the bypass.

The foremost concern residents have about development in the North Fields is potential pollution of the pristine aquifer that lies underneath the area and much of Heber City, feeding into the Provo River.

The Heber City Planning Commission’s approval of a preliminary site plan for The Slope in December was delayed nearly two months by one resident’s concerns about the groundwater. 

Dan Simmons, a farmer and landowner neighboring The Slope, and Greg Poole, a civil engineer with Hansen, Allen & Luce, argued the methods used in The Slope’s third-party groundwater study were misleading because groundwater levels had only been measured once in August 2025 instead of being continually evaluated for seasonal fluctuations.

Simmons said he had observed groundwater rise above ground on his own property in particularly wet seasons. 

Heber City engineer Russ Funk hired another third-party engineer to review the groundwater study, who found no issues with how the study was conducted.

The groundwater study is intended to prevent pollution and ensure the development has stable foundations. The findings of the study required Angstrom Development Group to rework the civil engineering of The Slope. During the first phase of construction, the developers will also install a layer of dirt to ensure a minimum of 4 feet of dirt above historic groundwater levels per Heber City code.

Goldman and Dorobek have both called Heber City’s groundwater code more “stringent” than other municipalities. Funk said the same before the Planning Commission approved the preliminary site plan in December.

The developers are well aware of the concerns residents have about The Slope, but insist on an ethos of “conscious capitalism” — putting stakeholders, residents and the land above making a quick buck.

“This land, over 150 years ago, was first inhabited by the Mormon Battalion. … And ever since there, it’s been inhabited, and it’s been looked after, and it’s going to continue to get looked after,” Goldman said during his groundbreaking speech. “We’re going to make sure that we protect the aquifer underneath us. We’re going to make sure we protect the Provo River to our west. We’re going to make sure we protect the North Fields. And we’re going to make sure that each of you has a place where you can go and create memories and come back year after year.”

Dorobek’s response to why Angstrom Development Group had targeted Heber City for The Slope was, “Look at it.” 

“We’re nestled in this valley between all these beautiful mountains with a river right next door to us. We have lakes on both sides of us,” he said. “It’s a phenomenal place in this state, in this country, in the entire planet Earth. It’s beautiful here.”

The post Developers promise North Fields protections as mixed-use development in area breaks ground  appeared first on Park Record.

Before the Utah Department of Transportation’s public comment period for the Heber Valley bypass ends on March 9, Heber City Councilors Yvonne Barney and Aaron Cheatwood and Mayor Heidi Franco will be signing the Wasatch County Council’s letter to UDOT rejecting its preferred route.

That route, Alternative B, cuts through the North Fields between Potters Lane and 900 North instead of keeping traffic on U.S. 40 between those two roads, as Alternative A does. The letter asks that Alternative B be shifted east, running as close to U.S. 40 as possible.

That’s similar to North Fields Irrigation Company’s request. It has controlled water use in the North Fields since 1860. 

Since 2022, board members have met privately with UDOT representatives and urged them not to build the bypass in the North Fields. But UDOT identified Alternative B as its preferred route in January.

In response, North Fields Irrigation Company submitted a public comment outlining 99 deficiencies with the route and asked UDOT to choose Alternative A or to realign Alternative B as close to U.S. 40 as possible.

North Fields Irrigation Company Vice President Ed Clyde owns about 75 acres in the North Fields that have been in his family for seven generations. During last Saturday’s protest against the bypass, Clyde explained that realigning Alternative B closer to U.S. 40 would likely result in the highway cutting straight through a small piece of his property. 

“But I don’t care,” he said. “I want to help with that if it’ll save the North Fields.”

Wasatch County’s letter, drafted by Wasatch County Councilor Erik Rowland, shares Clyde’s mission.

The letter argues that the North Fields deserve protection for their historical significance, pointing to Heber City and Wasatch County actions, municipal planning and voter initiatives as evidence. 

One of these pieces of evidence was a joint comment submitted by Heber City and Wasatch County in July 2022 urging UDOT not to build the bypass in the North Fields.

“(The North Fields) represents the broad patterns of Wasatch County’s agricultural heritage and rural character; properties included in the North Fields include those of locally significant historical persons; and the North Fields represents a collectively distinguishable entity valued by the public as being of locally significant historical value,” the 2022 letter says.

Rowland’s letter also argues that the realignment of Alternative B would be more compatible with Wasatch County’s goals of protecting open space and establishing conservation easements while also protecting water quality.

In both alternatives A and B, the entire project area of the Heber Valley bypass lies within the contributing area to the Heber Valley Aquifer, which belongs to the most protected aquifer class in Utah because of its pristine water quality.

The Wasatch County Council’s letter argues the bypass would threaten groundwater through several ways: highway stormwater infiltration, de-icing chemicals, long-term pollutant migration and spill risks. It argues that realigning Alternative B closer to U.S. 40 poses the least risk to the aquifer because U.S. 40 already has mitigation measures in place.

But realigning Alternative B closer to U.S. 40 could result in the sacrifice of existing properties along the highway.

“This is a hard solution … because it does directly affect people on Highway 40. I haven’t had the chance to talk with all those property owners. I’ll do that personally, and I’m hoping to in the coming months,” Rowland said. “Some have proactively approached me and said, ‘We understand that, yes, our home will be targeted, but we also understand … that we’re taking one for the team. We don’t want the North Fields to be affected.’”

The idea of sacrificing existing properties to preserve the North Fields received mixed responses from public commenters.

“Is this representative government? You don’t talk to the people that you impact? It galls me to think that’s what we’ve turned into,” said Neil Richardson, a North Fields landowner.

Meanwhile, Kevin Connelly, who has lived in Heber City for 48 years, was in favor of the realignment.

“No matter what route this takes, somebody is going to be affected by it. That’s an unfortunate reality when you build a highway,” he said. “Preserve those beautiful North Fields because once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.”

Rowland’s letter was controversial among the City Council, city staff and the public.

Rowland said that he used AI to analyze UDOT’s draft environmental impact study before he wrote the letter, and he encouraged others to do the same. Former Heber City Council candidate Corey Noyes called this confirmation bias based on the premise that Alternative B is the wrong choice. He referred to the Wasatch County Council’s letter as “a small group of non-experts using artificial intelligence to poke holes through (the study).”

Many who spoke out against the realignment did so out of fear that it could further delay the bypass, which has been the talk of the town for decades and became an official project in 2019.

“This community sometimes has a tendency to push back on things until we don’t get what is actually needed,” said City Engineer Russ Funk. “Main Street traffic is terrible. … It is a blight on our community, and it does need to be fixed.”

He added that he believed Alternative B was a longer-term traffic solution than Alternative A and that he was not concerned about the degradation of water quality in the Heber Valley Aquifer.

“I do not see a difference (between) moving the road over by Highway 40 or moving the road out in the middle (of the North Fields). You are going to have the same impacts with the water,” he said. “And to be fully honest with you, the biggest threat(s) to water quality in the North Fields (are) cows and agriculture.”

Heber City resident Linda Middleton pushed back, asking if agriculture was Funk’s “speciality,” and he admitted it was not.

City Councilor Mike Johnston agreed that cattle posed a greater threat to water quality in the North Fields than the bypass, along with the rest of Funk’s comments. 

“I’m not worried about many of the things that (Rowland) listed in here,” he said. “(UDOT had) six years to do it, and I think they’ve done a pretty thorough job.”

City Councilor Sid Ostergaard agreed that the project needed to “stay the course.” He was not concerned about environmental impacts and believed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would hold UDOT to a sufficient standard for environmental protections.

Johnston and Ostergaard’s refusal to sign the letter led to a motion by City Councilor Yvonne Barney to allow elected officials to sign the letter as individuals instead of signing it as a governing body. Her motion passed unanimously. 

Barney and Franco will sign the letter. Both were reelected in November and ran on campaigns that emphasized protecting open space and water quality. They also were the only members of the Heber City Council to join the protest against the bypass last Saturday.

Cheatwood will also sign the letter.

“One of the things that I was asked when I was running for this office was, do I support a bypass through the North Fields? And my answer then was no, but if it was the best route, I would support it because the best route, the thing that impacts the most citizens, is important to me,” he said. “I still feel that way. I look at that map, and I just can’t imagine why the option we got as option B went right through the middle (of the North Fields).”

Cheatwood cited the bisecting of farms and potential decline of agriculture in the North Fields as reasons he was against Alternative B. He added that realigning the route closer to U.S. 40 could mitigate development pressure in the North Fields.

UDOT has promised to prevent any transportation access in the North Fields other than the bypass, but many opponents of Alternative B have doubted that UDOT and the Wasatch County and Heber City councils could resist developing in the North Fields in perpetuity if a highway were built there.

City Councilor Morgan Murdock, who was elected in November, has not yet made a decision as to whether to sign the letter. He said his biggest reservation was potentially delaying the project.

He said after the meeting that he would be doing more research into UDOT’s draft environmental impact study and asking Rowland further questions. 

During the 2025 municipal election, Murdock was the only one of the six candidates for mayor or City Council on the November ballot who did not publicly identify whether he preferred Alternative A or B for the bypass. He maintained the position that he was continuing to research the issue.

The post Some Heber City officials will sign letter to UDOT proposing a new bypass route appeared first on Park Record.

Horses clip-clop as they approach an equine visitor. A metallic clanging rings out as an employee adjusts horseshoes. A whistle cuts through the air as stable owner Margaret France-Culley reins in her rambunctious dogs. 

These noises break the silence at Northfield Stables, a business about three-quarters of a mile west of the Utah Department of Transportation’s preferred route for the Heber Valley bypass. This new highway would divert traffic from U.S. 40 off Heber City’s bustling Main Street. 

France-Culley purchased her 20 acres of “plain field with barbed wire and cow patties” in the North Fields in 2000. She was 30 at the time, transitioning from a career as a massage therapist after buying her first horse at 20 and studying with horse trainer Pat Parelli every summer since she was 25.

“I loved horses so much, I’d buy every horse magazine and read everything from cover to cover,” she said. 

These days, Northfield Stables is almost always full. Boarders come not just for France-Culley’s teaching, but to enjoy the serenity of nature.

If UDOT sticks with its preferred bypass route through the North Fields, a highway would be visible on the horizon once it’s built.

One of France-Culley’s greatest concerns is the noise. She said the area is usually so silent she can hear the Provo River and occasional traffic from River Road and Midway Lane. 

“For some of the horses, some aren’t going to mind the noise, but others are,” she said. “They’ll just balk and not want to go forward, get scared if you try to push them, and you can kind of push them into being more frightened. … We can train them out of it. But the joy of coming riding out here is enjoying the silence and the sounds of nature and the birds instead of listening to semitrucks.”

UDOT senior communications manager Wyatt Woolley said noise will be minimal at the stable.

“I’ll be frank, (it) is nowhere near Route B in the North Fields,” he said. “You’d be hard-pressed to say you could hear the traffic. I’m sure you could hear, like, cars honking their horns or super loud trucks with engine brakes from a distance, but you probably could in lots of places in the valley.”

Analyzing noise

Although Northfield Stables was not in the area of study, UDOT has analyzed the noise impacts of the Heber Valley bypass.

For a project that builds a new road, such as the bypass, UDOT categorizes land uses in the project area into seven categories created by the Federal Highway Administration to determine whether noise analysis is needed next to the corridor.

Northfield Stables is classified as category B, or residential, as are a few other homes in the North Fields. 

But the majority of the marshland area is classified as category F, which includes agricultural lands. The Federal Highway Administration classifies category F as not sensitive to traffic noise, meaning an analysis of noise is not required for land in that category.

“There’s nothing out there. It’s so far away from most businesses, residences and people that (analysis) just isn’t warranted currently,” Woolley said.

The Federal Highway Administration has determined a noise level for each land use category, measured in A-weighted decibels, or dBA, at which noise abatement must be considered. 

UDOT would have to consider noise abatement for the bypass if the future worst-case noise level is equal to or greater than the noise-abatement criterion for a land use category, or if the bypass would raise the noise level in an area at least 10 dBA over the current noise level.

Using a Larson Davis sound level meter, UDOT measured existing noise levels at 24 locations along the bypass route over four days in July 2022. Each location was monitored for 20 minutes. 

Using the Federal Highway Administration’s Traffic Noise Model, UDOT then projected traffic noise levels for both bypass alternatives: its preferred Alternative B, which would cut through the North Fields between Potters Lane and 900 North; and Alternative A, which would keep traffic on U.S. 40 between those two roads.

Of the noise-sensitive areas next to the bypass, referred to as receptors, UDOT predicted that 277 of 1,417 receptors would experience noise impacts if Alternative B was built. Alternative A would have about 5% fewer noise impacts, impacting 230 of 1,480 receptors. 

For both alternatives, nearly all noise impacts are to residential areas. 

Noise walls

Noise abatement must be feasible and reasonable for UDOT to consider implementing a noise barrier. 

UDOT defines feasibility and reasonability through a variety of factors, including cost-effectiveness and effectiveness at noise reduction. UDOT outlines how it measures those factors in the Heber Valley bypass draft environmental impact statement.

For both routes, UDOT considered 24 noise barriers. Of those barriers, UDOT classified three as feasible and reasonable for both routes. 

The first could be 383 feet long and 11 feet tall, located on the east side of the U.S. 40 frontage road near 3390 North. It could cost $84,260 and benefit eight receptors.

The second could be 1,499 feet long and 13 feet tall, located between 1000 West and Industrial Parkway. It could cost $389,740 and benefit 14 receptors.

The third could be 853 feet long and 9 feet tall, located between Industrial Parkway and 300 West. It could cost $153,540 and benefit 13 receptors.

UDOT recommends a fourth noise barrier if Alternative A is built. It could be 1,600 feet long and 17 feet tall, located between 250 and U.S. 40. It could cost $544,000 and benefit 26 receptors.

In other words, if Alternative B is built, 35 of 277 receptors that have anticipated noise impacts could receive noise mitigation. That’s 12.6%. 

If Alternative A is built, 61 of 230 receptors that have anticipated noise impacts could receive noise mitigation. That’s 26.5%.

While UDOT recommends these noise walls, it does not guarantee they will be built.

Woolley explained that in considering the barriers, UDOT would mail ballots to existing and planned property owners and residents who would benefit from the noise wall to ask whether they want to see it built.

He said that 70% of those ballots must be mailed back to UDOT, and of those ballots, another 70% must be in favor of the noise wall for it to be built.

“We’ve got to take into account that not everyone likes noise walls, because they can be quite high, … and depending on where they’re put, it kind of blocks your view. And some people don’t want their view blocked,” he said. “If enough people say no, or if not enough people respond, then we simply won’t do it.”

Woolley said the noise impact study in the draft environmental impact statement is preliminary, and another study would be performed as the bypass becomes an “actual project,” which Woolley doesn’t see happening until 2032 at the earliest.

Northfield Stables looks forward

Although UDOT does not classify Northfield Stables as experiencing noise impacts, Frances-Culley and her patrons still think the sights and sounds of the bypass will change the character of the area.

Diana Guay, who has boarded at the stable for five years, lives in Park City and calls Northfield Stables her happy place.

“I get out here, and I can look and not see traffic. I can look and not see apartments or housing developments. In Park City, everywhere, ‘Look, there’s somebody digging up something to put something in,’” she said. 

But, Guay noted, she would never board anywhere else — not only because she’s “fallen in love” with Frances-Culley, but also because many other horse stables are surrounded by development.

“We’ll always have a clientele. I’m not worried about that,” Frances-Culley said. “It’s such a slice of heaven out here.”

The post Northfield Stables raises concerns about noise of Heber Valley bypass appeared first on Park Record.

When representatives from the Utah Department of Transportation presented their draft environmental impact statement for the Heber Valley bypass to the Heber City Council on Tuesday, City Councilor Yvonne Barney said citizens were experiencing “sticker shock.”

UDOT previously estimated that the project would cost $590.4 million if the bypass kept traffic on U.S. 40 between Potters Lane and 900 North, or $583.9 million if it cut through the North Fields instead.

When UDOT published the draft environmental impact statement on Jan. 7, those numbers had ballooned to $711.9 million and $760.5 million, respectively.

UDOT senior environmental program manager Naomi Kisen attributed the increase to additional engineering and mitigation. The project’s horizon year is 2050, and the project cost could increase further by then.

“Between now and if something ever gets built, these numbers are going to change,” Kisen said.

UDOT has not yet determined funding sources for the project.

UDOT prefers Alternative B, which cuts through the North Fields. Barney pointed out that previous estimates had identified Alternative B as the cheaper of the two options, and now, it’s estimated to be almost $49 million more expensive than Alternative A.

“For (residents), initially, the thought was, ‘This is going to be cheaper, so it should go through (the North Fields),’” Barney said. 

Kisen said that the price difference between the two alternatives was “not that significant” and would not influence UDOT’s final decision. 

UDOT senior communications manager Wyatt Woolley pointed to potential traffic backups from 500 North to SR-32 as one reason UDOT favors Alternative B, despite the extra cost. UDOT estimates a southbound queue length of 3,500 feet in Alternative A and 700 feet in Alternative B.

Heber City Mayor Heidi Franco asked that UDOT perform additional local traffic modeling on existing U.S. 40 between 900 North and College Way, but Kisen said that kind of study was outside of the scope of the project and may not produce results that are accurate by the time the bypass is built.

Potential impacts to the North Fields were another of the City Council’s concerns. UDOT has committed to mitigating at least two acres per affected acre of canals, ditches, perennial streams and wetlands, which is 54 acres in Alternative B.

“I’ve seen much higher (than 2 acres) in some of the figures I’ve seen,” Woolley said. “And that will be legally binding.”

UDOT has also promised to not permit any additional transportation access in the North Fields, a commitment that City Councilor Aaron Cheatwood complimented.

“One of the things that we’ve heard loud and clear from residents is, ‘If there’s a bypass in the North Fields, is that just going to mean we’re going to end up with car washes and gas stations?’” he said. “And the answer, it sounds like from UDOT’s perspective, is, ‘No, because we’re going to limit that in perpetuity.’”

Some council members were less complimentary of the project when they saw photo simulations of the bypass. 

Franco asked whether owners with properties adjacent to the bypass would be compensated for potential decreases in property values arising from factors like noise, traffic and decreased visibility for businesses.

“Essentially, you’re asking if a change to their viewshed is compensated, and the answer is no,” Kisen said. 

She added that only property owners experiencing “direct impacts” will be compensated. That means that only landowners whose properties will be seized by UDOT to build the bypass will be compensated. That’s eight homes and businesses already built or under construction if UDOT chooses Alternative B, and 27 if it chooses Alternative A.

Engineering consultant Andrea Clayton said owners whose properties may be purchased by UDOT were contacted in the spring.

Franco disagreed with UDOT’s definition of direct impacts.

“If you were to build a double-decker highway, when we ran on the campaign trail, we heard that people would sell their homes there and have to literally move out of the state because there’s nowhere else they could afford to live,” she said. “It’s that drastic for people in that area.”

Kisen added that directly impacted property owners can speak with UDOT right-of-way agents at the in-person hearing from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Wasatch High School library.

The meeting is the only in-person opportunity for residents to make comments during the public comment period, which runs until March 9. Participants can register to speak on UDOT’s website or at the hearing.

UDOT will also hold a public meeting over Zoom from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The Zoom meeting will not have an opportunity for comment.

Kisen emphasized that public comments made at the forum will not be given any more weight than public comments made through other methods. Comments can also be made via the website hebervalleyeis.udot.utah.gov, phone (801-210-0498), email hebervalleyeis@utah.gov or mail addressed to “Heber Valley Corridor EIS c/o HDR” at 2825 E. Cottonwood Parkway #200, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121. 

Clayton said UDOT had received less than 40 public comments thus far, but she expected comments to come in more quickly as March 9 approaches.

The post Heber City Council raises bypass questions, concerns ahead of comment forum appeared first on Park Record.

The Utah Department of Transportation released its draft environmental impact statement for the Heber Valley bypass. The highway-style road is to be built to the west of Heber City, featuring a multi-use trail and frontage roads to provide local access. The bypass intends to keep traffic from U.S. 40 off of Heber City’s Main Street.

UDOT has identified Alternative B as its preferred route. Alternative B cuts through the North Fields between Potters Lane and 900 North.

The other route that was being considered, Alternative A, would have kept traffic on U.S. 40 between those two roads. 

Alternative B is estimated to cost $760.5 million, almost $49 million more than Alternative A. 

“Alternative B provides the strongest long-term transportation benefit for the community,” said UDOT Project Manager Craig Hancock, UDOT project manager. “The Heber Valley is growing, and this solution will help keep people moving and protect historic Heber City Main Street into the future.”

The draft environmental impact statement has been in the works since early 2020, with the final project announced on Wednesday. UDOT’s identification of a preferred route comes after the whittling down of five alternatives to two in March. 

According to the draft environmental impact statement, Alternative B is “better for regional mobility,” with faster travel times and shorter travel paths. UDOT’s data predicts that local travel time on Main Street from SR-32 to the intersection of U.S. 189 and U.S. 40 will be 20 minutes and 30 seconds by 2050 if no action is taken. If Alternative B is built, that time is halved to 10 minutes and 15 seconds. 

It’s also “better for local mobility,” with fewer “failing intersections” and shorter queues on Main Street. UDOT predicts traffic backups of 17,100 feet between 500 North and SR-32 by 2050. Alternative A reduces that number to 3,500 feet, while Alternative B brings it down to 700 feet. 

The statement claims that Alternative B is more likely to attract regional truck traffic away from Main Street, will result in less out-of-direction travel and is overall a “longer term solution.”

But the bypass is not without impacts.

The foremost of these is the impacts to the wetlands of the North Fields. Alternative B will impact 54 acres of canals, ditches, perennial streams and wetlands, according to the draft environmental impact statements. That’s opposed to Alternative A’s 23 impacted acres.

“We know that the North Fields are vital to the essence of the community, and we want to do as much as we can to protect this special area. UDOT will prioritize the North Fields for wetland mitigation, protecting at least two acres for every acre of wetland impacted,” Hancock said. 

He added that the bypass would be a “limited access road” and that UDOT would prevent any further transportation access in the North Fields.

“UDOT would not allow access on the corridor except at interchanges shown. The land would be protected in perpetuity, not privately owned or up for development,” he said. 

There are some areas in which Alternative B has fewer impacts than Alternative A. For example, Alternative B will require eight potential relocations of homes and businesses built or already under construction, as opposed to Alternative A’s 27.

Alternative B also has fewer adverse effects on historic buildings, with one affected instead of four. 

Although Alternative B is UDOT’s preferred bypass route, the decision has not been finalized. A public comment period on the draft environmental statement begins Friday and will continue through March 9. 

Residents are invited to make public comments identifying specific concerns about the chosen route at hebervalleyeis.udot.utah.gov, via phone by calling 801-210-0498, by emailing hebervalleyeis@utah.gov or by mailing a letter addressed to “Heber Valley Corridor EIS c/o HDR” to 2825 E. Cottonwood Parkway #200, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121.

UDOT will present the draft environmental impact statement during the Wasatch County Council work session at 4 p.m. on Jan. 14 and the Heber City Council work session at 4 p.m. on Jan. 20.

UDOT will also hold two public meetings during the public comment period. 

One is a Zoom meeting, which will not allow opportunity for public comments, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 27. 

The second is an open house taking place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 28 at the Wasatch High School library. Project team members will be available at the open house to answer questions. A court reporter will record public comments during a presentation and formal hearing from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

UDOT will release a final environmental impact statement by the summer. This statement will include responses to public comments. Following the release of the final environmental impact statement, the bypass can enter construction.

The post UDOT has identified preferred route for Heber Valley bypass appeared first on Park Record.

The Heber City Council approved a North Village development annexation petition at a contentious meeting late Tuesday night. However, the City Council’s approval is contingent on final discussions with developers continuing into January.

The ordinance will not take effect until agreements with the Harvest Village and the North Village Crossings developments are completed. 

Mayor Heidi Franco and City Councilor Yvonne Barney hoped to define terms of the development agreements with Harvest Village and North Village Crossings, but Heber City Attorney Jeremy Cook said an approval could be made either way.

“We’ve spent months negotiating these,” Cook said about the agreements. “Oftentimes we approve the annexation subject to the development agreements because it assures all parties that we are going in the right direction.” 

The vote was split 3-2 in favor. Barney and City Councilor Aaron Cheatwood were opposed. 

“We still have a lot to discuss. We’re nowhere near where we need to be,” Barney said ahead of the vote. “I’m not willing to say yes to something. My citizens are not, and that’s what you need to understand.” 

An outpouring of public opposition flooded the public comment period earlier that night.

Some Heber City residents, like Nathan Morris, questioned if the annexation would benefit Heber Valley at all.

“I think it’s very, very clear from all those that are here that we are deeply concerned that you’re taking actions concerning, considerably, the North Fields and the bypass that are against what the people of this city, what the people of this valley want,” Morris said.

Most encouraged officials to abide by Heber City’s density codes. 

With the North Village Crossings developments, the agreement outlines up to 60 hotel units, 354 residential units and up to 10 commercial units across 56 acres.

The Harvest Village development agreement details construction of up to 34 hotel units, up to 211 residential units, and up to 48 commercial units on 39 acres, plus the obligatory 33 residential units for affordable housing. 

Both plans exceed Heber City’s zoning requirements of 4.5 units per acre. 

“They’re asking for double what is allowed in city code,” Franco said. 

According to Cook, the matter of affordable housing is moot. 

“To be blunt, I don’t think this type of housing will accommodate that kind of level,” Cook responded to Franco’s question about if locals in need of affordable housing would get the first opportunity to rent. 

For City Councilor Scott Phillips, who moved to extend the hours-long meeting twice over the course of the evening, approving the annexation would allow the city the chance to collect preservation fees, which could later be used to preserve Heber Valley’s North Fields. 

“We all agreed the North Fields is the gem of this valley. … We agreed that it needs to stay as it is,” Phillips said. “The way to do that is to buy it.” 

Phillips also said that in regard to the Crossings development, a gas station in that area of the valley could keep additional traffic off of Main Street. 

“There are some good aspects to this,” Phillips said. 

City Councilor Mike Johnston said ahead of the vote that after four years of discussion, he recognized council members might still have differing opinions on the annexation. 

“You can be angry and think we’re not hearing you and maybe you hate my guts,” Johnston said after the public comment period. “That’s OK, we have differences. Yvonne [Barney] and I have differences, and I would never belittle her. That’s not a personal thing.”

Barney echoed the sentiment. 

“Part of politics — the ugly part of politics — is that we sometimes have to disagree. In my case, I have to stand my ground,” Barney said.

Further decisions on the details of each development agreement will be discussed at the Heber City Council meeting on Jan. 7.

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