Summit County's rural future may be at stake

(Park Record) Having conducted town hall meetings for several years, planning commissioners are getting close to making a recommendation about a new mission statement that may guide development on the East Side of Summit County.

The Eastern Summit County Planning Commission has also embarked on a rewrite of its goals and objectives for land use, which will balance private property rights against the desires of the whole community.

Commissioners have committed to a transparent public process and there is a hearing to discuss the changes today at 7 p.m. at the Summit County Courthouse, 60 N. Main Street in Coalville.

"After we take this last round of public comment I guess we'll be evaluating and deciding what to do," Eastern Summit County Planning Commissioner John Blazzard said. "I think we're getting fairly close. It just depends on what we hear from the public here right away."

The feedback so far "has been all over the board," Blazzard said.

"Clear from wanting a lot more development to not wanting any," he said. "Different people have different desires for what they want to have happen in the county."

Aging property owners who once raised hay and cattle say their children and grandchildren are not interested in working the land. Farmers and ranchers on the East Side of Summit County are being pressured to sell out.

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