Don't let the Legacy Highway take away our open space and farm lands
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No comments [ Add Comment ]By Layne McFarland
Guest commentary
I
would like to share with you a letter I wrote and presented to the Weber County commissioners and also submitted to Bethany Matsumori of the Wasatch Front Regional Council, who was taking public input after the Oct. 25 open house at Fremont High School. This letter was written to voice the concerns of a group of full-time farmers who have their operations along the 5100 West corridor (located in a portion of the unincorporated part of the county, namely West Weber and Taylor, and the west edge of West Haven and Plain City).
The letter I wrote is as follows:
"To whom it may concern regarding the proposed 5100 West corridor through Weber County for the Legacy Highway.
"We, the undersigned, would like to ask that you as county officials and others involved in the decision-making process for the corridor to be preserved, to consider the importance of preserving agriculture and open space in the western part of Weber County. Agriculture has always been an important industry in our county. For many generations farm families have worked the land not only as a livelihood, but to help preserve an important way of life and the beautiful open space that we all enjoy in our area.
"The proposed 5100 West corridor would go right through the heart of the most open strip of land and a lot of the highest-dollar-producing agricultural properties in the county. Most of the farms affected have been farmed for multiple generations of the same family, most of which were settled and have been farmed since the mid- to late-1800s. Many of them have been recognized as "Centennial Farms" by the state to designate them as a farm that has been operated by the same family for at least 100 years.
"Our love of the land and strong desire to see a multi-generation way of life continue are what keeps us going. Because this preservation of a way of life is so important to us, many of us have had our farms put into an "Agriculture Protection Area" to help us in this endeavor. This possible route goes directly through many of these "protected" farms and would directly affect the majority of the dairy farms that remain in the county, as well as some of the most notable produce-crop farms in the area.
"We recognize that of the possible routes being studied, this may be one of the easiest ones to designate because of how open it is and that it avoids going through cities that seem to have a lot of influence in the process. With all due respect to the cities, we in the unincorporated part of the county would appreciate our concerns being carefully considered, as well. It is a proven fact that a new road is the beginning of new development. We need only to briefly reflect on how the I-215 and Bangerter Highway corridors used to be beautiful, open farm fields and how quickly they have filled in since the highways were built.
"We would like to see our future transportation needs met by improving our existing major east-west and north-south roadways. If a Legacy Highway is deemed necessary, we would ask that it be given a more easterly route, such as the "power line corridor" (route T and Y) which has been designated as the preferred route in past years -- and, according to the studies displayed at the recent open house and found on the WFRC.org Web site, would be the preferred route in the majority of the aspects studied. We feel that an eastern route would not have near the open space and overall community impacts that the western routes would have."
The letter was then signed by myself and six other farmers who own and rent land along the aforementioned corridor. We all make our livelihoods as full-time farmers and are comprised of dairy, produce, hay and grain farms. It was determined that our combined gross revenues from our seven operations is in the $7 million to $8 million range annually (keeping in mind that net revenues on a farm are just a small percentage of the gross). These dollars are utilized in the local economy through employee wages and the many items necessary to the operations such as feeds, equipment, fertilizers, etc. I am using these numbers to help show the contribution made to the local economy through agriculture in this north-south strip of western Weber County.
I would ask that our county commissioners assume more of a lead role in this issue and work with the cities to assure the best solution for the county as a whole, given the study data results, and consider preserving agriculture as an important part of our county's heritage.
McFarland is a sixth-generation farmer in West Weber.
