Emery County moves forward with general plan and resource-management work; steering committee members chosen
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Summary
Contracted consultant staff and county commissioners discussed a draft general plan/resource management plan (BioWest), agreed on public and agency outreach, approved a small steering committee and agreed to budget and staff support to complete the plan work.
The Emery County Planning and Zoning Commission heard a presentation on the county's general plan and resource management plan from a consultant on March 2025 and approved short-term steps to form a steering committee and fund the work.
Nicole, who is participating in the project as the consultant focused on the resource management plan, told the commission the county has a contract with BioWest to prepare the general plan and its resource-management element. She said the resource plan should remain relatively high-level so county staff can tie it to their work while tailoring policy language for special areas, and that the plan can help the county guide federal partners such as the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service on where certain development types might or might not be consistent with county priorities.
Commissioners discussed public and agency involvement. Staff said the process includes open meetings, outreach to federal and state agencies (BLM, Forest Service, water and grazing interests), and planned public meetings later in the year. Funding and budget-line timing were discussed; staff asked commissioners to make necessary budget allocations by the county's internal deadline so contracted work can proceed.
The commission discussed a small steering committee to keep early meetings focused and avoid long, unfocused sessions. Commissioners moved to appoint Bruce Wilson to the steering committee and also voted in support of Nicole participating on the steering committee as the resource-plan representative. Commissioners directed staff to coordinate steering-committee membership, schedule the first sessions in advance of the next commission meeting and to provide line-item budget updates to Brenda in the county office.
What happens next: Staff will coordinate steering-committee membership and public outreach, work with IT to provide a searchable general-plan document, and return monthly updates to the planning commission as draft language is developed.