Summit County opens NOI for Open Space Bond Funds

Summit County landowners can now submit an online Notice of Intent. Photo: Summit County

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — Summit County announced yesterday that property owners interested in having their land evaluated for qualified use of General Obligation bond funds for Open Space can now submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) online.

By submitting an NOI, landowners will alert the Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC) and the county manager of their intent and start the evaluation process.

Summit County voters approved the $50 million GO Bond for Open space in November 2021, authorizing the purchase of passive and active open space, conservation easements, and the construction of recreational amenities. The 26-year bond also pays for environmental and wildlife mitigation measures and related improvements.

Following the approval of the bond, the Summit County Council adopted an ordinance establishing the OSAC and three regional advisory groups from north, south, and western Summit County.

“The purpose of OSAC is to represent the public interest of Summit County residents by advising and providing recommendations to the County Manager regarding the identification, evaluation, and possible acquisition of property interests using GO Bond dollars.” Stated a press release from Summit County.

“The OSAC members have worked very hard to perfect the NOI process, the evaluation criteria, and scoring matrix,” Jess Kirby, Summit County Public Lands manager, said in a press release. “While the process has taken almost a year to complete, it was a necessary exercise to capture the countywide public interest that will be needed to implement these open space funds.”

According to the Summit County website, the county generally acquires properties by purchase, full, or partial donation that meets one or more of the following criteria:

• Preserving rural areas that provide community buffers, including significant agricultural land
• Land for passive recreation, including land for public access and potential trail connections
• Land with other significant resources, including scenic view corridors, riparian corridors, wetlands, and wildlife habitat
• Properties that reduce development density or provide growth limitation/buffers

The NOI process will be ongoing until all GO bond funds have been used. For more information on the NOI process, detailed GO Bond information, or a link to submit an NOI, visit summitcounty.org/publiclands.