BY REBECCA PALMER
Standard-Examiner staff rpalmer@standard.net
OGDEN — The Ogden Valley Planning Commission approved a conditional-use permit for construction of a sewage treatment plant at 8150 E. Highway 39, but it tabled a petition for a culinary water reservoir that would serve the same proposed subdivision.
The votes came after extensive public comment and discussions with county planning staff, developers and engineers in a marathon five-hour meeting Wednesday.
Concerns raised echoed those brought up during the preliminary process for the Bison Creek Ranch subdivision, and included issues such as odor, noise, increased traffic and environmental protection. The subdivision was given preliminary approval at a Feb. 28 meeting.
Huntsville resident Robin Roberts, who lives and farms near the proposed development, said she felt the planning commission had reached a compromise. It was commissioners’ only choice, she said, after they took into account the many and disparate needs of community members.
Some of the of people who attended the Wednesday night meeting in protest were only concerned about themselves and their backyards, she said, but most had the bigger picture of the valley community in mind.
About 70 people attended Wednesday’s meeting.
The vote for the sewage treatment plant was unanimous among the six members present. Commissioner Sharon Holstrom was absent. The commissioners who voted in favor of granting the permit were Jim Banks, Gary Allen, Louis Cooper, Keith Rounkles, Verl Creager and Greg Graves.
About 150 homes that would be built as part of the Bison Creek Ranch subdivision would use the new sewage system, as would about 25 homes that are part of the proposed Trapper’s Crossing plan and 50 others that are part of the Rivers plan. All are located near Highway 39 northeast of Huntsville.
The proposed sewer plant is similar to one slated to be built in Wolf Creek, and engineers and developers told the commission it uses membrane bioreactor technology, which is the best and cleanest technology available.
It is planned to be housed inside a metal structure covered with wooden planks and engineered to look like a barn. Developers hope to deconstruct a barn that sits near the proposed site and use some of the materials to build the new structure.
Once built, Weber County will act as the governing body for the sewage plant. Its duties will include monitoring and servicing the plant and assessing fees for its use. In the future, the county, or a sewage district it appoints, may assess taxes to current residents for the sewage service, said county attorney Monette Hurtado. The district could require residents now using septic tanks to hook up to the new system.
Part of the commissioner’s motion to approve the sewage system included a scaling down of the plant size. In the proposal, it would have been able to handle 750 connections, but commissioners decided to approve it at only 225, which is about the number of homes planned for the area.
The vote to table the conditional-use permit for the culinary water reservoir passed 4-2. Creager and Banks cast dissenting votes.
It was proposed as a concrete structure that would be placed into an existing knoll and then re-covered with topsoil and grasses that had been removed. A gravel private drive leading to the plant, an access point and a vent will be the only visible signs of the water reservoir, developers and planning staff said.
Commissioners and residents in attendance were concerned that the gravel path in the plan went around the hill before leading to the access. They wanted a more direct route with “less visual impact,” so they asked developer Destination Eden and its representative Barry Swartz to return to the commission with such a plan.
Commissioners also asked Swartz and his company to find ways to retain sagebrush in the area so wildlife that live there would not lose their homes.
In response to criticisms that the county planning staff and Swartz were not adequately prepared for the meeting, City Planner Sean Wilkinson said his office was simply responsible for reviewing proposals as to whether they met ordinances. In this case, his office had done that, he said.
Wilkinson added that his office encourages public input in the planning process. He met with three or four community members concerning Bison Creek Ranch and received e-mails from others, he said, and his office often holds public meetings.
The next step for the water retention plant is to make changes commissioners suggested and return for approval or, rather, to appeal to the Weber County Commission.
The next step for the sewage plant is to proceed with designing and obtaining necessary permits until developers are prepared to petition for final approval. The petition will then move to the county commission.
Pictures of the area to be developed under the Bison Creek Ranch plan are available on the Destination Eden Web site at http://www.destinationeden.com/index.html.
Staff reports and the minutes of public meetings are also available to the public at Weber County Planning Offices on the first floor of the Weber Center, 2380 Washington Blvd.
