This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake County has taken another big step to respect and protect both the mountains above the county and the people who use them.
After years of research and public outreach, county zoning officials are finishing long-awaited "overlay zone" ordinances for managing development in the canyons and foothills of the Wasatch. One ordinance would regulate ski resort development, and another would apply to other landowners and uses.
The ordinances come from a process that began years ago when Peter Corroon was still county mayor. In reality, the wrangling began decades ago and has only gotten more contentious as pressure to build in the canyons and foothills has grown. In fact, the new ordinances would replace a previous foothills/canyons overlay zone ordinance passed in 1997.
The ordinances, which could go before the County Council for a vote in the coming weeks, are an integral part of an effort to make lasting decisions about the Central Wasatch, which is home to a billion-dollar ski industry and provides drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people.
Another key component of this effort has been the Mountain Accord process and its resultant legislation pending in Congress. The Central Wasatch Recreation and Conservation Act, sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, would facilitate land swaps and establish a cap on ski resort development. With most of the mountains belonging to the U.S. Forest Service, there is no way Salt Lake County could tackle canyon issues without federal help.
But the county's zoning ordinances will take on some nagging problems, and make some hard choices, that affect not just resorts and big developers but also the patchwork of cabin owners in Big and Little Cottonwood and Millcreek canyons.
The ordinances put in new limits on building on slopes and near streams. They also require builders to disturb less ground when building or remodeling structures, and the resulting buildings must blend into the surroundings.
Importantly, the update also includes more enforcement of regulations. Noting a recent case where a builder improperly removed trees in Big Cottonwood's Silver Fork area, Save Our Canyons Executive Director Carl Fisher said the new ordinances would "encourage people to ask permission and not just ask for forgiveness."
The mountains surrounding Salt Lake Valley are as much a part of our identity as the Great Salt Lake, and they are essential to our quality of life. These zoning changes go far to ensure that will always be the case.