- County Commission approves new general plan
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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
The general plan which has governed Juab County development has been repealed and replaced with a new plan.
The document was prepared by Juab County Planning Commission in accordance with Utah Code which was enacted by the state Legislature to govern land use and is known as The County Land Use Development and Management Act. The act requires counties in Utah to prepare and adopt a comprehensive, long-range general plan and empowers each county which adopts such a plan to enact zoning and subdivision ordinances which meet the standards set for the county by the county’s planning commission and commissioners.
“The county planning commission held a public hearing in May,” said Glenn Greenhalgh, county zoning administrator. “As commissioners you can now adopt a resolution to repeal the old general plan and adopt the new one.”
Greenhalgh said the planning commission had incorporated everything that the county commissioners had considered important and had also discussed and added some of the changes suggested at the public hearings.
“One thing about history is that you can’t know where you are going until you know where you have been,” said Greehalgh. “For that reason, some history has been included.”
In adopting the general plan, said Greenhalgh, the commission has determined that all provisions contained in the document are “servable.” If any provision is declared invalid or unconstitutional by any court, the ruling will not affect any of the remaining provisions of the general plan.
“It is the intent of Juab County to encourage growth and development within appropriate areas of the county,” reads the document. “provided, however, that said growth and development shall be in keeping with lawful uses and standards established by this general plan and relevant provisions of the Juab County Land Use Code.”
“There is a mission statement included for each of the major topics of the general plan,” said Val Jones, commission chairman.
Chapter headings are natural features and resources, land inventory, population and demographics, facilities, economic base analysis and general plan elements.
General Plan elements deal with Juab County culture, economic development, education, federal and state lands, orderly growth, recreation and tourism and water resources.
“This is the guiding document,” said Greenhalgh. “When we get to the land use regulations, you will find that document is different.”
“It has taken us two years to get to this point,” said LuWayne Walker, county commissioner. “It has taken a lot of time, effort and work on the part of many dedicated people to get here.”
Members of the planning commission are Traci Memmott, chairman; John Gledhill, Lloyd Condor, Quinton Kay and Russell Mangelson.
Tracy Painter is Greenhalgh’s assistant.
“At some point in the near future, we need to discuss the wholoe West Desert water issue,” said Greenhalgh.
That, however, did not need to be done before the general plan was adopted. Therefore, commissioners agreed to adopt the new general plan and to repeal the old one.
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