Charlie Black lives and works at a place he calls the edge of the world. He's a farmer and has been culling carrots, onions, spinach, radishes and lettuce off his land southwest of Syracuse for 36 years.
It's a good life. His daughter and her husband plan to take over the farm when Black retires, and Utah's new Quality Growth Commission -- created by the 1999 Legislature in one of the session's most controversial discussions -- just took action that will help keep the farm viable.When all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed, the commission will have agreed to help pay for an agricultural easement on 40 acres of the property known as Black's Onion Farm near the Great Salt Lake. So forever more, this part of the farm is protected as open, agricultural space, as was the goal and concern of the Legislature when it created the commission.
"I feel like this is a good thing," said Black, 60. "I would like to see the Legislature continue this. I think it's money well-spent in the long run."
The Black land deal is part of more than 6,000 acres the commission has helped to protect since it started work six months ago. The commission -- made up of a diverse mix of community leaders -- went to the Legislature Wednesday to report to the lawmakers about their progress.
Lewis Billings, the mayor of Provo and chairman of the commission, told members of the Political Subdivisions Interim Committee the work outlined in the Quality Growth Act has been arduous. "The task you've given us is significant," he said. "We would like to have your input. We would like to have your feedback."
There were more than 25 drafts of HB119, which was the Quality Growth Act. Opponents said it would have Utah headed down the road to state-driven growth planning, that it would infringe on private property rights.
Black said this wasn't his experience.
"I think this is the only way I can think of to save some open space," he said. Developers come in and say they'll build on half a piece of property and make open space of the rest in the form of a park or trail, "But that's not really open space," Black said. "It helps, but open space is really the farmlands and the natural settings that are already here."
In Black's case, the commission has agreed to give $172,000 from the LeRay McAllister Critical Land Conservation Fund it supervises, toward the $400,000 purchase of the conservation easement on the property. The Department of Agriculture kicked in some money, and the Utah Nature Conservancy has helped arrange many of the legal details.
The project is one of five the commission has supported as it has started its work. Others include:
$750,000 toward preservation of the Peaceful Valley Ranch located between Jeremy Ranch and East Canyon in Morgan County.
$500,000 toward preservation of 120 acres where the Virgin River joins other water sources in Washington County.
$347,550 to preserve 159 acres of the Curtis Jones Farm near Bluff in San Juan County.
$250,000 to help preserve the historic ghost town of Grafton in Washington County.
The commission has visited several counties throughout the state, asking for feedback as it defines the "Quality Growth Principles" it will submit to the Legislature during the next session.
It will ask for more funding for the Critical Lands Conservation Fund and may ask for some changes to the Quality Growth Act.
The commission received little grief, except from Rep. Ray Short, R-Holladay, who questioned one part of the commission's funding. In a tight budget year, the 1999 Legislature agreed that if state departments could bank some money through energy saving, the commission could have half of that money.
Short asked, "How could you possibly justify taking money from energy savings?"
Brad Barber, deputy director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget and a staffer for the commission, said the issue was discussed thoroughly during the Legislature.