April Letter From the CWC
April 2019
During each monthly public meeting, the CWC Executive Director delivers a staff report to the Commission on all that CWC staff accomplished or made progress with during the preceding month. Please see below for the April report. By sharing these reports with you through the website, we hope to continue the tradition of transparency and engagement.
April Overview
In April, the Central Wasatch Commission staff made significant strides working with UDOT on the Cottonwood Canyons Transportation Action Plan, made progress with the Gateway office space improvements preparing for move-in, refined and moved forward the direction for the Environmental Dashboard project,moved forward on the next draft of Congressional legislation, and continued interaction with Central Wasatch Mountain interests, community groups, and individuals.
Stakeholders Council
During the April Stakeholders Council meeting, Laura Hansen and Lorin Simpson from UTA presented on current UTA bus service in the Cottonwood Canyons, including ridership numbers and system constraints. Members of the Cottonwood Canyons Transportation Action Plan project team delivered a CCTAP update and invited Stakeholders to participate in a draft alternatives review exercise. The Stakeholders engaged in a conversation about carrying and visitor capacity in the Cottonwood Canyons and ultimately passed a motion to recommend to the CWC Board that a visitor capacity study be undertaken concurrently with the Little Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Impact Statement and the Cottonwood Canyons Transportation Action Plan. Dr. Kelly Bricker, Vice-Chair of the Stakeholders Council will update the CWC Board on the outcomes of the April Stakeholders Council meeting during the May CWC Board meeting.
The Stakeholders Council meetings are the third Wednesday of every month from 4-6 p.m. at Millcreek City Hall in the Promise Room. These meetings are open to the public, and we encourage you to attend. If you would like to listen to these meetings, you may access the each meeting recording on the Utah Public Notice website.
Transportation
The scoping and comment period for the revised Little Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Impact Statement opened on March 5th, and has been extended until a revised Notice of Intent is released that will include the consideration of a dedicated transit lane for Little Cottonwood Canyon. After the revised Notice of Intent is released, the comment period will close thirty days thereafter. You may find the link to submit comments to UDOT on both the CWC and UDOT website.
UDOT and the CWC co-hosted a public open house on Tuesday April 9th with representatives from the LCC EIS study team, the Cottonwood Canyons Transportation Action Plan study team, the consulting team, and representatives from other agencies. The open house provided the public with opportunities to learn about both projects and leave feedback.
Environmental Dashboard
Following the closing of the contract with the Brendle Group, staff met with representatives from the University of Utah to map a path forward for the completion of the project. CWC staff met with the Environmental Dashboard Steering Committee in April to update the committee on the project developments and answer questions.
All project documents, notes, and technical data have been transferred to CWC management. Staff and representatives from the University of Utah will proceed with an Interlocal Agreement, which will stipulate the scope of services to be provided, timeline for work, and the designated research group housed within the University of Utah that will be primarily responsible for carrying the project to completion. The interlocal agreement will allow for the primary organization to partner with secondary organizations as necessary to complete the project.
CWNCRA Storymap
Staff updated the Central Wasatch National Conservation Recreation Area Act Story Map on the CWC website. The updated map reflects the latest draft of the Central Wasatch National Conservation Recreation Area Act, which the CWC Board approved in November 2018.
Outreach
CWC staff continued to meet with the Liberty Wells and Wasatch Hollow Community Councils, the Summit County Council, the Sandy City Council, and other community groups to present the work of the CWC and answer questions on the CWNCRA, transportation studies, the environmental dashboard, and other issues. If you are a part of a community group and would like CWC staff to present, please get in touch with the staff to coordinate.
Administration
The staff and CWC Chair have continued to work towards moving into new space. Construction on the office is expected to finish mid-May, and staff will move-in shortly thereafter. Staff worked to implement the live-streaming service that the CWC Board approved during the March Board meeting. The May 6th Board meeting will be live-streamed, pending any unforeseen technical issues. The live stream will be accessible from the CWC website.
CWC staff will deliver this report to the full Commission during the May public meeting, happening Monday, May 6th, 4 — 6 p.m. at Cottonwood Heights City Hall. We hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Chris, Ralph, Jesse, and Lindsey
