OSAC hears UDOT trail concerns, conservation-easement updates and open-house plans

Midway City planning staff and local conservation groups briefed the Open Space Advisory Committee on April 1 about several projects that could affect trails, easements and public access in and around Midway.

Katie Villani of Midway City Planning summarized legislative-session updates and said the City Council is reviewing uses, setbacks and open-space requirements in commercial zones to preserve a rural but walkable Main Street. Villani also relayed details of a proposed UDOT Deer Creek Trail: a 10-foot paved path alongside a 5-foot gravel path, plus a separate horse loop that would require blasting into the mountain. The improvement was described as carrying an estimated $19 million cost; committee members expressed concern about pavement heat in spring through fall and potential runoff into Deer Creek.

Brad Winegar of Preserve Midway said UDOT has received public feedback on the bypass and that the agency may respond; he also noted Preserve Midway’s planned OSAC open-house booth and said a Volksmarch is likely in the third week of September. Nancy O’Toole announced Provo River Day on Sept. 12 and said grants with eight partner organizations (including the Department of Water and Wasatch State Park) helped fund the event.

Conservation partners provided program updates. Maryssa Fenwick of Utah Open Lands (via Zoom) said the Lundin project is progressing, the Giles easement in the North Fields has closed, and the Mitchel/Kissel easement is pending. Lauren Page of Summit Land Conservancy said Summit could not staff the OSAC open house but would supply maps and paperwork; she asked for a three- to four-month extension while a roughly 19-acre Turnberry-area homestead resolves a lender encumbrance. Page also reported that Jordanelle Ridge will pursue a conservation easement with its HOA covering about 1,500 acres below the Tiger Woods golf course, with multiple organizations assisting monitoring and maintenance.

Wasatch County Open Lands Board member Steve Stevens reported the county board approved joining the Rowland joint letter to UDOT about the Bypass, adding a comment regarding noise. Chair Courtland Nelson confirmed the OSAC open house will be Saturday, April 11, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (set-up at 10 a.m.), and suggested staffing a booth that asks attendees what they would like done with specific open-space parcels. The committee recorded the updates and set its next meeting for June 3, 2026; members adjourned at 7:38 p.m.