Weber County puts rezone requests on hold as general plan update proceeds | News, Sports, Jobs

A draft map showing how land in western Weber County may be developed, per a draft update of the county general plan. County leaders are putting a hold on rezone requests until the update is finalized, maybe by sometime this summer.

A draft map showing how land in western Weber County may be developed, per a draft update of the county general plan. County leaders are putting a hold on rezone requests until the update is finalized, maybe by sometime this summer.

Image supplied, Weber County

A draft map showing how land in western Weber County may be developed, per a draft update of the county general plan. County leaders are putting a hold on rezone requests until the update is finalized, maybe by sometime this summer.

OGDEN – As the update of the document guiding development in western Weber County winds down, county leaders are putting a stop to changes to existing zoning guidelines.

That means no development requiring new zoning in the unincorporated zone west, roughly, of Interstate 15, which led commissioners on Tuesday to put a project calling for 58 new homes on a 19.5-acre parcel abutting Plain City on hold.

“Just a little too early,” Commissioner Jim Harvey said when the rezone request came up at Tuesday’s Weber County Commission meeting. “I would like to finish our general plan before we jump into this.”

County planners, working with a consultant, are nearing the end of efforts to draw up a new general plan for western Weber County, the document that outlines what sort of development may occur and where. The county has grown and morphed, and the update aims to modernize and update the guidelines, keep them in line with changing trends, public sentiment and growth patterns.

A rezone allowed now could potentially run afoul of the guidelines in the new plan, something county leaders want to avoid. Each of the 58 proposed homes in the development plan put on hold would sit on lots measuring 10,000 square feet or so, less than a quarter acre each.

Image supplied, Weber County

A draft map showing how land in western Weber County may be developed, per a draft update of the county general plan. County leaders are putting a hold on rezone requests until the update is finalized, maybe by sometime this summer.

“We just don’t want to jump ahead of the master plan process,” said Commissioner Gage Froerer. County leaders have tried to get word out to developers to hold off on rezone requests.

Similarly, Harvey said Tuesday that he’s not necessarily opposed to the proposal put forward by Brad Brown of Steward Land Co. in Ogden to rezone the 19.5-acre parcel from agricultural to residential use. He’s “just opposed to the timing.” Brown could bring back his proposal for consideration when the general plan is finalized.

County officials have been talking about updating the general plan encompassing western Weber County and the unincorporated Uintah Highlands area for nearly three years. They contracted with Landmark Design more than a year ago, in January 2021, to oversee the process and those efforts continue.

Froerer, eager for more input from the public, suspects the process could be finished by the summer some time. County commissioners ultimately have to sign off on any general plan update.

Western Weber County is a hot spot for growth given the wide-open parcels of land, which has caused consternation among some who hope to preserve its relatively rural character. The updated plan will have to balance those contradictory impulses, Froerer said.

A “semi final draft” document outlining the character of western Weber County envisions “low-density residential development, undeveloped or underdeveloped lands, relatively rural free-flowing streets, water courses, peace and quiet” and more.

“While many residents acknowledge that growth is inevitable, there is a clear desire for it to be carefully and deliberately designed in a manner that preserves, complements and pays tribute to the agrarian roots of the community,” the draft document goes on. “To do this, Weber County will promote and encourage the community’s character through public space and street design standards, open space preservation and a diversity of lot sizes and property uses that provide for the living, working and playing needs of the growing community.”

According to Landmark, the general plan will be a focus at several Western Weber Planning Commission meetings going forward. A public hearing before the Weber County Commission is set for May 24, according to a timeline on the Landmark website on the plans.

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