Ogden City Council adopts ordinance moving airport minimum standards into administrative policy

Ogden City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt Proposed Ordinance 2025-26, which removes the airport’s minimum-standards language from the municipal code (Title 8) and relocates it to an administrative policy (Title 11). The motion was made by Council Member Ritchie and seconded by Council Member Myers; a roll call vote recorded seven “aye” votes and no dissent.

City staff said the change is intended to give administrators more flexibility to manage airport operations and to align airport property rules with how other city real-estate holdings are administered. Jared Johnson, representing airport administration, told the council the proposal “removes the minimum standards portion of Title 8 only, and the approval to put it into Title 11 administrative policy.” He said the draft seeks to avoid shutting businesses down and anticipates bringing some uses into a nonconforming-but-allowed status as they transition to the new standard.

Supporters on the council praised the months of work and compromise leading to the vote. Mayor Benjamin K. Nadalski and multiple council members thanked airport staff and outside stakeholders for extensive engagement. Council members said they expect further ordinance revisions and additional review steps including semiannual reporting and advisory‑committee participation to be addressed in subsequent drafts.

Several council members raised procedural questions about whether specific follow-up items — notably a twice‑a‑year reporting requirement and the council’s potential ex officio representation on an airport advisory committee — should be included in the ordinance text immediately or added in the next draft. Legal staff advised the council to review whether a council member could serve as an ex officio committee participant consistent with applicable law; the council agreed those details could be refined in future versions rather than by an off‑the‑cuff amendment at the meeting.

The ordinance move drew public comment earlier in the meeting from residents concerned about concentration of authority in the mayor’s office and a desire for greater transparency and oversight by advisory bodies. Heath Sotto, an Ogden resident who spoke on Zoom, urged the council to “preserve more transparency and strengthen, not weaken, the role of advisory bodies” and to consider outside counsel.

The council approved the ordinance on a roll call vote (Blair: Aye; Richard Birca: Aye; Graff: Aye; Myers: Aye; Ritchie: Aye; Vice Chair Hyer: Aye; Chair Marcia White: Aye). Council members said they expect continued stakeholder meetings and additional ordinance revisions over the coming year.

Council members and staff asked that information about how to submit feedback be posted online as the administrative policy process continues; staff said they would work to provide public contact points and to include the recommended follow‑up items in later drafts.