A new phase of development of a large western Weber County parcel of land that’s been the focus of on-and-off controversy in recent years is edging forward.

But not without more debate, underscoring the wrangling that sometimes accompanies development of the county’s dwindling open spaces.

Weber County commissioners late last month approved the subdivision plans for a 156-home development called Taylor Landing off the south side of 1800 South in western Weber County, a key step forward for the plans.

Still, some worry the plans, as formulated, pose a environmental threat to groundwater and they are mulling their options to potentially halt the development. The favorable 2-1 vote by commissioners on June 23 countered a 4-2 vote against the plans by the Wester Weber Planning Commission on May 12.

Image supplied, Weber County

Shae Bitton, who lives in the area, has led efforts to force the would-be developer, Tremonton-based Heritage Land Development, to alter its plans. She wants a planned section of agricultural open space on the 109-acre piece of land to be shifted to a more fertile area, reducing, she hopes, the need to use soil nutrients that could potentially sully groundwater. “We could potentially be poisoned by all those chemicals if it gets in our aquifer,” she said.

Some county officials and project proponents, though, say her worries are overblown. Nitrates, which add fertility to soil, are used on farmland all around Weber County, County Commissioner Gage Froerer said. Moreover, the nitrates used likely wouldn’t penetrate that deeply, probably no more than 6 inches, said Tom Favero, who would actually farm the land if development plans come to fruition.

“We’re not going to put much on there,” Favero said.

Either way, the debate highlights the disagreement that frequently accompanies development plans in western Weber County, home to some of the largest open swaths of land left in the fast-growing area.

Bitton and other neighbors only recently have been able to dig into their concerns about possible harm to groundwater. At this stage, the only recourse to halt the plans, she said, would be suing in court, but before going that far, she hopes to get a gauge of sentiment in the area on the issue.

“No one knows about it; that’s the problem. I want people to know what’s going on,” Bitton said. The proposed Taylor Landing subdivision that’s the focus of the current debate is carved out of the larger Sunset Equestrian development, which Bitton and several others from the area unsuccessfully tried to halt in late 2017 and early 2018.

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Jay Stocking of Heritage Land Development, meantime, hopes to start development in the fall. As he sees it, adding the Taylor Landing subdivision would enhance the area. It would total around 109 acres, with more than half of that, some 64 acres, being set aside as open space for farmland and the rest, around 45 acres, containing the 156 homes.

“We feel like this is an important project for the area because the land hasn’t been taken care of for years,” Stocking said. It contains weeds and dilapidated buildings and the project would clean that up, while still allowing for a large chunk of the land to be used for farming, preserving some of the rural aesthetic of the area.

’IT’S TERRIBLE LAND'

Bitton understands that growth and development are coming. Her concern is with the location of the proposed open farming area on the northeastern portion of the planned Taylor Landing subdivision. Experts say other portions of the land contain higher quality soil and she thinks the development layout should be shifted so the richer land is earmarked for farming instead.

As is, the location of individual wells on the land and an aquifer further down below worry her, prompt the concerns about potential water contamination in light of proposed use of nitrates and other chemicals. “It’s just stubble. It hasn’t been used for farming because it’s not good land. It’s terrible land,” she said. Similarly, the 4-2 vote against the plans by the planning commission stemmed from language in county code that calls for land with prime soil to be used for open space in developments like Taylor Landing.

Aside from contesting her worries about water contamination, though, Favero said none of the Taylor Landing land is that great. Over the long haul, he suspects even the land earmarked for farming in the Taylor Landing subdivision would be turned over to development. “None of it is the best ground in the world,” he said.

Bitton also charges that the length of some of the street blocks in the proposed development fall short of requirements in county code. Commissioner Jim Harvey, the lone no vote on June 23 when the Weber County Commission took up the matter, cited that in voting against the plans.

Bitton has also charged that selection of Favero to farm the open Taylor Landing land represents a potential conflict of interest. His brother Andrew Favero, a member of the Western Weber Planning Commission, voted in the minority, in favor of the plans, in the 4-2 vote on May 12 against the proposal. However, Matt Wilson, the legal counsel for the commission, said at the May 12 meeting that if Andrew Favero has no ownership interest in the matter, there is no conflict, according to minutes from the meeting.