Heber City and Wasatch County are working to amend a 2019 memorandum of understanding, with a new agreement addressing where the city may develop if the new Heber Valley corridor bypass is constructed through the North Fields.  The two entities met in a joint meeting on Tuesday to address the m emorandum and the possibility of sending a joint comment to the Utah Department of Transportation, which would address concerns shared by the county and Heber City about the chosen route.  Right now, there is no formal agreement that outlines whether Heber City may develop past 850 North on the west side of U.S. 40. Wasatch County Councilor Luke Searle said he worked with Heber City Councilor Aaron Cheatwood on a memorandum amendment that would change the language. The new agreement would establish an understanding that Heber City’s northern border would not extend past those boundaries.  “I wanted to see how Heber City and Wasatch County could work to preserve what we have, development wise, on the west side of that road,” Searle said, referring to U.S. 40. “We’ve all said, hey, we would like to see, regardless of which route, that area be preserved, particularly along the road, because that’s where development would most likely occur.” Searle said the discussion seemed to establish a mutual understanding of expectations if UDOT’s chosen bypass route is built.  In January, UDOT announced that Alternative B, which cuts through the North Fields between Potters Lane and 900 North, would be the best option to keep traffic off of Heber City’s Main Street. The announcement came with the release of UDOT’s draft environmental impact statement. Now, Heber City and Wasatch County are wrestling with how to respond to the decision. “I think everybody was totally fine and understood the development pressures that will occur when a bypass is put in there,” Searle said about the memorandum discussion. Heber City Mayor Heidi Franco agreed.  “I’m excited for that to be put into our annexation policy. I think it will show tremendous good faith with all of the open space advocates as well as the private property owners in the North Fields,” Franco said.  Heber City has already partially annexed into that area with the Slopes development, which is situated next to River Road and west of U.S. 40. The Slopes is a “family-friendly resort community” that will feature an 86-key resort and over 200 hotel-branded residences.  Franco acknowledged that, while the Slopes development is already in play, it is possible for Heber City to come to an agreement with Wasatch County about a new annexation policy.  “That was a really big ask, and I was so pleased to see the County Council asked that,” Franco said.  She said she is in support of protecting the historic agriculture and the ecology of the North Fields area. That, County Councilor Erik Rowland said, is the main goal for the memorandum amendment. During a February County Council meeting, Rowland said the county should focus on a “north star” of preserving the rural character of the county, which includes protecting the North Fields.  Rowland reiterated that sentiment on Tuesday.  “I think a good takeaway that I had from that meeting was a stronger sense of collaboration between the county and the city, especially with projects like this bypass, because it obviously affects everybody,” Rowland said. “The MOU that was proposed is really our hope to just continue that collaboration and have a forum where we can always communicate and better understand each other’s needs.” He said he hopes that will extend to Heber City and Wasatch County sending a joint comment to UDOT about their concerns with Alternative B. Heber City sent its own comment to UDOT in early February. The letter did not criticize Alternative B; it focused on local impacts and traffic safety concerns identified by Heber City staff.  New language for the amended memorandum will be presented to Heber City by Rowland at the next City Council meeting on March 3. There will also be a discussion about a joint comment from Heber City and Wasatch County, which may outline that an alternative alignment of Alternative B located in parallel to the existing U.S. 40 is more appropriate than the current chosen route.  Wasatch County is working on its own comment for UDOT, which will be discussed at the next County Council meeting on March 4. UDOT will continue to accept and review public comments until the period ends on March 9. The post Heber City, Wasatch County working to formalize new annexation agreements ahead of final bypass decision appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less