Minutes for 2007-02-06, Direct pdf link.

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF WEBER COUNTY
Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - 6:00 p.m.
Commission Chambers, Weber Center, Ogden, Utah

In accordance with the requirements of Utah Code Annotated Section 52-4-7(1)(d), the County Clerk records in the minutes the names of all citizens
who appear and speak at a County Commission meeting and the substance “in brief” of their comments. Such statements may include opinion or
purported facts. The County does not verify the accuracy or truth of any statement but includes it as part of the record pursuant to state law.

 

Commissioners Present: Kenneth A. Bischoff, Chair, Jan M. Zogmaister and Craig L. Dearden.

Others Present: Alan D. McEwan, Clerk/Auditor; David C. Wilson, Deputy County Attorney; Fátima
Fernelius, Clerk/Auditor’s Office, took minutes.

A. Welcome - Commissioner Bischoff
B. Pledge of Allegiance - Nate Pierce
C. Thought of the Day - Commissioner Dearden

D. Consent Items:
1. Purchase Orders in the amount of $518,101.12
2. Warrants #222651 -#222870 in the amount of $730,861.86
3. Minutes for the meetings held on January 24, 2007 and January 30, 2007
Commissioner Dearden moved to approve the consent items as presented; Commissioner
Zogmaister seconded, all voting aye.

E. Action Items:

1. Final approval of Rivers Edge Cluster Subdivision, 19 lots, located at 3900 East
& 4100 North with a financial guarantee of $665,636.73

Scott Mendoza, County Planning Department, showed an area map. The subdivision covers 49.32
acres, with 31.79 acres of open space and about 3/4 miles of public road improvements. The two
financial guarantees, for landscaping and for subdivision improvements, totaled $665,636.73. The
Ogden Valley Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of this item. Mr.
Mendoza addressed the commissioners’ questions. The variations to asphalt and curb helped
maintain the rural atmosphere and the engineers had determined that these improvements were
adequate. Additionally, the turn around, highwater table, etc., had been addressed to satisfaction.
Commissioner Zogmaister moved to grant final approval of Rivers Edge Cluster Subdivision, 19
lots, located at 3900 E. & 4100 N. with financial guarantees totaling $665,636.73; Commissioner
Dearden seconded, all voting aye.

2. Resolution appointing the initial members of the Northern Regional Landfill
Authority Governing Board - Resolution 15-2007

Nate Pierce, County Operations Department Director, noted that Weber County had recently
entered into an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with Box Elder County, the City of Logan, and
Wasatch Integrated Waste Management (which covered north Davis County and Morgan County)
to form the Northern Regional Landfill Authority. This resolution appoints the initial county
members to the Governing Board and a member to the Operations and Management Committee.
Commissioner Dearden moved to adopt Resolution 15-2007 appointing Kenneth A. Bischoff and
Craig L. Dearden to the Northern Regional Landfill Authority Governing Board and Gary C. Laird
to the Operations and Management Committee; Commissioner Zogmaister seconded.
Roll Call Vote:
Commissioner Zogmaister. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .aye
Commissioner Dearden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .aye
Chair Bischoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .aye


3. Final approval of The Chalets at Ski Lake #4 Subdivision (11 lots) located at 6235
E. 950 S. with a financial guarantee of $324,608.90

Sean Wilkinson, County Planning Department, showed area maps. This Cluster Subdivision falls
under the former Cluster Ordinance, thus the lot sizes are reduced from the amount currently
required under the new ordinance as well as the amount of open space.

This subdivision was originally granted final approval by the Planning Commission on 5/23/2006,
however, one additional lot (lot 14) was added later, and required another Planning Commission
approval (received on 11/28/2006). Lot 14 had originally been left out due to some possible
conflicts with a 60 ft. right-of-way that ran through it and took up some of the subdivision’s area.
The right-of-way is still in existence, however, the developer is working to remove it because the
road will eventually stub to the property to where the right-of-way goes to. The developer will
vacate the right-of-way once the road reaches the property. Mr. Wilkinson stated there was no
problem approving this subdivision with the right-of-way but the petitioner could not build in the
right-of-way area. All other issues had been addressed and the Planning Commission unanimously
recommended final approval. Commissioner Dearden noted that a concern had been expressed at
the Planning Commission meeting about Lakeside Village sewer, the development across the
street, and Mr. Wilkinson stated that County engineers had recommended approval of this item.
Commissioner Zogmaister moved to grant final approval of The Chalets at Ski Lake #4
Subdivision (11 lots) located at approximately 6235 E. 950 S. with a financial guarantee of
$324,608.90; Commissioner Dearden seconded, aye voting aye.

 

4. Final approval of Elk Ridge Estates Cluster Subdivision (9 lots) located at 3710
East 4100 North in Liberty with a financial guarantee of $583,116.63

Sean Wilkinson, County Planning Department, stated that this subdivision consisted of 23.38 acres
in an AV-3 Zone, which under the Cluster Ordinance required 60% of the land to be set aside as
permanent open space. About 10 acres will be set aside in an Agricultural Preservation Easement
and over 4 acres are provided for public use with a trail and landscaped area. Road improvements
will consist of a single private road ending in a cul de sac. There are three variances to the urban
road standards: the asphalt width will be reduced to 26 ft.; rolled curb will be used on the private
road; and this subdivision will be gated. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended
approval on 9/26/2006.
Commissioner Dearden moved to grant final approval of Elk Ridge Estates Cluster Subdivision
(9 lots) located at approximately 3710 East 4100 North in Liberty with a financial guarantee of
$583,116.63; Commissioner Zogmaister seconded, aye voting aye.

 

5. Contract with ATC Associates Inc. for assessment monitoring and statistical
analysis for 2007 - Contract C2007-43

Nate Pierce, County Operations Director, presented this contract renewal. Part of the county’s
landfill closure compliance required assessment monitoring of the landfill closure site. The county
had contracted for the last three years with ATC Associates for the quarterly monitoring, and Mr.
Pierce recommended extending the contract for the year 2007 at the same amount of $9,564.00.
Commissioner Zogmaister moved to approve Contract C2007-43 by/between Weber County and
ATC Associates Inc. for assessment monitoring and statistical analysis for 2007; Commissioner
Dearden seconded, aye voting aye.

 

F. Public hearings

1. Commissioner Dearden moved to adjourn the public meeting and convene the public hearings;
Commissioner Zogmaister seconded, aye voting aye.

 2. Public hearing on ZP #04-06 proposed amendments to Zoning Ordinance, Chapter
28, to allow property owners to add property to legal non-conforming parcels

It had been brought to Chair Bischoff’s attention that previously someone had indicated that this
item might create a conflict for him, having a relative that may or may not benefit from it, thus he
recused himself from the discussion and the vote to avoid any misconstruing of the issue. Kevin
Hamilton, County Planning Department, explained that subdivisions had been created when the
county started being settled but in the eastern part of the county there were no zoning regulations
until about 1962, and at that time quite a few people had very small lots. Because the lots are so
small in some cases they cannot be built on. This occurs mainly around Causey Reservoir and
Ogden Canyon and Mr. Hamilton said that one of the reasons these lots had not been built on over
the years was due to technology not being available to treat wastewater, etc., but as technology
advanced for providing these services, people might be able to put two or three houses on the lots.

This ordinance allows these people the opportunity to combine two or three of their adjoining lots
to create one larger lot, with one house, without meeting all the current requirements. This is more
desirable because it controls the number of houses and gives property owners the opportunity to
use their property. No new building lots will be created. Commissioner Zogmaister noted that the
property owner who combined these lots would come closer to conformance. Commissioner
Dearden noted that the two Planning Commissions had recommended approval of this item and
asked what public comments had been received. Mr. Hamilton responded that not many people
had commented on this issue, but there had been the perception that property owners would be
allowed to build where they could not build today or that the number of units would be increased,
however, he stated that just the opposite was true.

Chair Bischoff invited public comments and following is a summary:
Nick Breeze, Ogden Canyon resident, believed approval of this item would increase the number
of lots that could be built on and asked if this petition would be retroactive to a particular parcel
belonging to Chair Bischoff’s son. Mr. Hamilton said that this petition was for county-wide
application and Commissioner Dearden noted that if this was approved, each petitioner would have
to meet the ordinances in order to build. Mr. Breeze felt that the requirements were being changed
for that specific parcel, that this issue had been ongoing since 1994 and the previous owner of that
parcel, Dean Cardon, had been denied a variance to build on that parcel and now everything
seemed to be changing to accommodate Chair Bischoff’s son. Mr. Hamilton explained that
currently there was nothing in the ordinances that made it clear that property could be added to
legal non-conforming lots without bringing them up to full compliance and this had caused
problems for several people for many years by not allowing them to use their properties in the
manner they wanted to.

Kevin Lane, Ogden Canyon resident, had been on the committee for the Master Plan in 1994 and
indicated they had kept the Ogden Canyon at FR 1-acre minimum lots when most of the Ogden
Valley wanted the Canyon also at FR-3, but there were only a handful of 1-acre parcels in the
Canyon and they had not felt this was a factor. Additionally, the other ordinances would keep the
density down to a basic minimum and this had been the committee’s plan. Mr. Lane stated that
the Canyon and the Ogden Valley were very different. He said that there were about 230 of these
tiny lots in the Canyon and if they were combined as proposed to bring them up to about 20,000
sq. ft., there would be a lot of building going on and this was not wanted by anyone.
Commissioner Dearden said that if a sewer system was ever put in the Canyon, every one of those
lots could be built on, but by combining lots and following the proposal it would decrease the
number of homes that could be built in the Canyon. Commissioner Zogmaister concurred that this
proposal would decrease the potential number of lots but only increased the lot size so that
property owners could build on their properties.
 3. Public hearing on zoning petition ZP #19-06 to amend Uniform Land Use Ordinance
of Unincorporated Weber County, Chapter 4A (Gravel Zone G-2), by adding
material recycle, reclamation and redistribution of rock, concrete, asphalt and
dirt as a Conditional Use

Kevin Hamilton, County Planning Department, showed maps of the two G-2 zoned areas in
unincorporated Weber County: 1) in the Ogden Valley it has been located between 7100 and 7800
E. on Stoker Lane for about 30 years, and 2) north of the town of Uintah. This was a request to
add uses of importing construction materials to those gravel zones so they could be recycled,
reclaimed and re-distributed.

Mr. Hamilton said that some issues had come up several months ago in the Ogden Valley relating
to the road workers crushing rock onsite, however, this was more favorable than having additional
construction trucks traveling the Ogden Canyon. The two times the issue was addressed with the
Ogden Valley Planning Commission on whether there should be a permanent site to do this work
there was a feeling that if the work was in the Ogden Valley, they should continue doing it onsite.
Both Planning Commissions had recommended denial of this request to change the Zoning
Ordinance. However, this remained an important issue that needed to be addressed, particularly
in regards to rock crushing. The manufacturing zones allow this use, but not in the Ogden Valley,
and a consultant had been hired to look into where additional manufacturing zones should go in
the Ogden Valley to provide for contractors’ needs. It is anticipated that this item will go before
the Planning Commission within the next 2-3 months. There is a need for this in the Ogden Valley
and information will go on the county’s website welcoming suggestions from the community.
Commissioner Dearden noted that one item stressed in the Planning Commission minutes was to
look in Ogden Valley for a site where this petition would work. Commissioner Zogmaister
recognized the need for this operation but was more in favor of something that was not permanent,
particularly in Ogden Valley. She further recognized that this was a long time issue of broken
agreements and the sites should be required to meet the agreements.

Commissioner Dearden noted that the Commission had received a lot of emails and many were
concerning the history of the Stoker pit, which had received extensions to get gravel out.
However, it did not have a bearing on the Commission’s decision on this request to add a use. Mr.
Hamilton said that there had been word of mouth agreements when the Stoker pit excavations
begin that it would cease after a number of years, but as of today it was a permitted use.

There were much public present today. Chair Bischoff asked by a show of hands who was in favor
of adding these uses and no one indicated support for it. He invited public comments and
following is a summary:

Ivan Quist, of Huntsville, stated they had dealt with problems with the undesirable Stoker pit for
30 years. He believed that the County Commission in 2001 or 2002 had an agreement with Jack
Stoker that when his gravel pit got down to road level, it would be refurbished, but it was now 8-10
feet below that and this should have been followed up many years ago. He felt that opening this
to reclamation of materials was not a good idea and there was the concern that it would not be shut
down at the appropriate time. He asked that the Commission uphold the two Planning
Commissions decisions to deny the request.

Russell L. Peterson, of Huntsville, stated his property adjoined the Stoker’s gravel pit gate and
currently that narrow road was not wide enough to support any truck traffic at all coming in or out.
He had been told twice that this gravel pit would be reclaimed, however, it was still open and
needed to be cleaned up–it was too close to the Reservoir, there were people on that road, and the
intersection of that dirt road coming off the highway did not support or allow all the dump trucks
turning in or out that were needed to handle the gravel for the Ogden Valley.  Darlene Cologna,
South Ogden resident, stated that when she had purchased her property it was
only residential property that surrounded the Gibbons Granite property and it was a very quiet area.
Her property was directly across the street from a proposed site and there were a lot of small
children in this area. Other concerns included noise and pollution, and that it was a very narrow
road that did not allow a truck and a car to get in and out of there at the same time. Ms. Cologna
had done a lot of research on Planning Commission decisions from the C&D website on these
types of issues in the middle of residential areas and there were consistent documented denials.
A nursing home/assisted living facility also abuts this property.

Patrick Dean, representing the petitioner, said they understood this was a very sensitive matter, but
it needed to be addressed, not only for safety but for the future use of gravel operations in Ogden
Valley and other areas. They had used this as an avenue to bring the issue to the Commission
because sometimes it was easier to obtain an SG-2 Zone than a Manufacturing Zone. By virtue
of this application had to connect it to a parcel of property and since they were in the Ogden
Valley, they connected it to the Stoker pit. Mr. Dean stated that there was a need for this operation
and asked that the Commission work with them, and if the petitioner changed the zoning it was
not necessarily that they would use the Stoker pit. They understood that everyone around there
was upset and they did not want bad feelings with neighbors. They would like the zone change
so they could go somewhere else in the Ogden Valley, and it would not necessarily have to be
zoned as M-2 or M-3 but as a G-2 zone to process the materials and do it in a safe, controlled
environment rather than build a whole subdivision for an M-zone.

Frank Clawson, owner of property south of the Stoker pit, stated he was well aware of that
operation and its duration. He expressed concern with adding other uses to the current G-2 zone,
which made it a permanent site and did not allow the re-establishment of what had been agreed
upon, and that since this was the only G-2 site up there that the next phase would obviously be for
the petitioner to come ask for the Commission to approve that site for this operation. Mr. Clawson
suggested finding a site in the Manufacturing Zone that could be specified for this product.

Anna Richardson, residing across from the Stoker pit, stated her belief in property owners’ rights
but they did not have the right to inflict noise, dust etc. on the neighbors. In the past, the Stokers
had been told they could only run their operation between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays, but she
has had to call them at 7:30 a.m. to shut the rock crusher off. This is on a very narrow, rocky road
and the trucks barrel in and make her home vibrate. Ms. Richardson asked that if this was
approved, that the Commission ensure that the petitioners abided within the set rules and that the
speed limit be set at bare minimum so neighbors would not be subjected as they had thus far.

John Carter stated he owned 1,030 ft. on the southeast of the gravel pit and had put up with it for
many years. He believed the gravel pit operation should be done away with.

Pamela Mitchell, owner directly north of Mr. Stoker’s property, stated her opposition to this
petition for all the reasons that had been stated. She expressed frustration with the lack of detail
information about this proposal–the adding of a conditional use with one sentence told nothing
about proposed activities, impacts, etc. She had lived with the current activity for 15 years but this
new activity had nothing to do with the materials in that pit–it had all been. This was not the
approach to take for a new activity because they lacked all the detail to evaluate the impacts.

Claude Stuart, of Uintah, stated that several acres of his property was located north of the railroad
tracks in an area where the zoning change was being requested and they had put up with the gravel
pit operation for years. Gravel had now been used up. In the past few years the area adjacent to
this proposal had seen tremendous growth in commercial and residential areas. Changing the zone
to allow the transportation, storage, crushing and processing of rocks, concrete, asphalt, and dirt
would not be compatible with the present use of the area. Often this type of operation turned into
a dump for construction material and would be a serious eyesore resulting in decreased land values
and a blighted area. Past experience had shown that once this type of business was in operation
it was very difficult to keep clean and desirable.

Chair Bischoff noted that everyone was in agreement that this issue needed to be addressed. While
this item was not site specific, if it was approved, it would open all gravel zones to this use and,
in his opinion, it was not appropriate for all situations. Sites needed to be researched that could
handle this type of use because it was needed.

4. Commissioner Zogmaister moved to adjourn the public hearings and reconvene the public meeting;
Commissioner Dearden seconded, all voting aye.

5. Action on public hearings:

F.2. - Public hearing on ZP #04-06, proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance,
Chapter 28, to add property to legal non-conforming parcels - Ordinance 2007-4
Commissioner Dearden moved to adopt Ordinance 2007-4 amending the Uniform Land Use
Ordinance to allow property owners to combine legal non-conforming parcels; Commissioner
Zogmaister seconded.
Roll Call Vote:
Commissioner Zogmaister. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .aye
Commissioner Dearden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .aye
Chair Bischoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .abstained



F.3 - Public hearing on zoning petition to amend Uniform Land Use Ordinance, Chapter
4A (Gravel Zone G-2)
Commissioner Zogmaister moved to deny the rezoning, based upon the facts that the additional
noise, dust, and types of issues that the added uses would entail, especially the asphalt recycling,
would change what people have accepted for these areas; Commissioner Dearden seconded, all
voting aye.

G. Assign Pledge of Allegiance & Thought of the Day for Tues., February 13, 2007, 10 a.m.

H. Public Comments: None

I. Adjourn
Commissioner Dearden moved to adjourn at 7:18 p.m.; Commissioner Zogmaister seconded, all
voting aye.

 

Kenneth A. Bischoff, Chair
Weber County Commission

Alan D. McEwan, CPA
Weber County Clerk/Auditor