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The same things that make the valley such a wonderful place to visit make it a terrific second home market. A recent study by the National Association of Realtors® shows that the top seven most desireable leisure activities are: beach, lake or water sports (39%), Boating (38%), hunting or fishing (32%), golf (21%), biking, hiking or horseback riding (20%) and skiing or winter recreation (17%). We have it all right here in our valley. Visitors from other parts of the country are often surprised at how low the property taxes are. When I tell clients how much the taxes are on a particular property, a common question is: Is that for a year or a quarter? Property taxes may be a quarter of what you would pay on a comparable home in some parts of the country! One of the big differences between Ogden Valley and other resort/recreation areas is that we have large tracts of open space. This is partly because we just started to be "discovered" when the 2002 Olympics came to town. It is also partly due to a zoning ordinance that specifies the maximum density of one home per three acres. Some subdivisions were grandfathered before the ordinance. In some cases, builders designate much smaller building lots, but they are required to designate open space to achieve an "average" of three acres per home. This zoning places an inherent limit on the supply of home sites and prevents the kind of crowding common in most major ski resort towns. However, even with this zoning, the valley could experience explosive growth and loss of many of the large tracts of open space. The recently completed Ogden Valley General Plan Recreation Element outlines the key issues involved in managing growth, while protecting recreational opportunities, quality of life, wildlife corridors and private property rights. (You can review the results of this project on the projects page of the Envision Utah website -- you will need to scroll partway down the page.) One of the outcomes of this project is that the county is working on a new ordinance that would allow large landowners to sell their development rights. For example, the owner of a 90 acre farm that could get permission for 30 homes on that land would be able to sell those rights to a developer. The developer could then cluster the 30 homes on his own land, and the farm would be permanently designated as open space. The result is that homes are less expensive to build, the farmer obtains the economic value of the highest use of the land without having to give up the farm, construction is clustered in smaller areas where it makes sense, and the valley retains the rural, open feel that attracted most of us to the area in the first place. The county will be seeking public comment on areas that will be appropriate for the higher density and those that should be protected as open space. Among the criteria are sensitive lands (such as wetlands and critical wildlife corridors), ridge lines, entry views, and water ways. Check back from time to time -- I will post notices of public hearings as they are announced. |