Trash buffer land may be sold
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Thursday, June 7, 2007 | 
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By Bryon Saxton
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
bsaxton@standard.net
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By Bryon Saxton
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
bsaxton@standard.net
LAYTON -- The demand for land to build on has the Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District considering selling land it uses as a buffer near its trash incinerator and landfill operation.
The 19-member board met Wednesday in a closed meeting at the district offices to discuss property issues related to the sale of 85 acres of district land. Board members did not take any action, said district board chairman John Petroff, who is also the mayor of West Point.
The property, purchased by the district in 2000 to provide a buffer between encroaching development and district operations just north of State Route 193, has drawn the interest of a developer, said Nathan Rich, district executive director.
The developer has a desire to make the property part of the much larger business research park development planned for Layton, he said.
Layton's elected leaders are pursuing the development of a 550-acre research park east of Hill Air Force Base.
"Layton has always pushed to have that business research park," Rich said.
The district is considering three options. It can sell all 85 acres, sell a portion of it, or keep the land should a need arise for landfill or plant expansion, he said.
If the district keeps the property, based on the rising land prices in Layton, Rich said, it could serve as a valuable asset to the district.
Layton, in cooperation with the Governor's Office of Economic Development, adopted an ordinance in May to create the 550-acre East Gate Economic Development Area in hopes of bringing higher-paying jobs to the community.
The intent behind the economic development zone is to attract high-tech and aerospace companies to Layton.
"Naturally, I would like to see it. It would be a great piece to begin this research park with," Mayor Steve Curtis said. "I think what it would do is set a tone and setting as to how the park would develop." Curtis is also a voting district board member.
Curtis said the district landfill and incinerator, which serve Davis and Morgan counties, are cleaner and less noisy than anticipated, making the district a better overall neighbor.
"So, there isn't that need for that buffer any more," he said.
The district board members need to consider what is best for the operation, Curtis said. He said he looks at the selling of the property as an economic opportunity for the entire county.
The state also supports Layton's proposal of developing the area, Curtis said. City leaders have already had conversations with Hill Air Force Base officials to assure them the East Gate development will not compete with the proposed development planned for the west side of the base.
Other Davis elected leaders serving on the district board also support selling off district land where it would benefit both the base and the cities surrounding it.
"If the district can get a reasonable offer on that, (if) it's a fair market value offer, I think it is an opportunity to do something around Hill Air Force Base that will strengthen the base and give it more resistance to any future BRAC (base closure) rounds," Clearfield Mayor Don Wood said.
The East Gate development would make the base, the state's largest employer, even more viable, Wood said, benefiting neighboring Davis and Weber County cities.
Davis County Commissioner Louenda Downs said the district board needs to weigh its vision of the land's future use against the benefit an East Gate development adds to the county's tax base and the assistance it provides to Hill Air Force Base by placing the private firms it contracts with closer to it.
"It is one of those things that we have to explore very carefully," said Downs, a board member who lives near the proposed Layton research park area.
"I know there has been talk with neighboring landowners to see if there is some wiggle room there -- beyond what (property) Wasatch Integrated Waste Systems holds," she said.
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