After more than two years on the Wasatch County Planning Commission recommending board, I’ve decided to resign. I didn’t volunteer my time for this role to complain. I have a background developing over a million square feet of commercial real estate across 10 states and have reviewed hundred s of zoning codes across the country. So I got involved because I wanted to help shape how growth and development occur in Heber Valley, to be part of building this county’s future thoughtfully, perhaps naively. Instead, I find myself more disappointed in local politics than at any point in my life. The core issue is this: Last night, as I write, I witnessed a Wasatch County Council seemingly unwilling to engage sufficiently with and research the issues to understand them well enough to make good judgments. Last night’s Cascade Home zoning code amendment is just one example. The Planning Commission put forth a unanimous motion to deny the amendment as written, but recommended several modifications for the council to consider, as those concerns affect hundreds of local residents and potentially the valley as a whole. Instead, the council adopted the amendment without meaningful consideration or care for the ramifications. When it appears that the legislative body doesn’t adequately consider its advisory commission’s recommendations, the process — and especially my role — ceases to be meaningful. I firmly believe property rights come first, that government exists to protect them, not the other way around. “Government is instituted to protect property of every sort. … That alone is a just government, which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own,” James Madison said. The point is that property rights exist on their own, and government’s role is to secure them, not grant them. Our own Wasatch County Code echoes that purpose when it says zoning regulations exist to promote the “health, safety, and general welfare” of county residents and to protect the “reasonable use and enjoyment of property.” When a disregard for considering the zoning issue mixes with a lack of meaningful enforcement, it becomes hard to see the purpose of the process for this valley or for the individuals whose rights it’s supposed to secure. I say this because residents deserve a council that takes its homework seriously. With local elections coming up in November, I’d encourage everyone to choose carefully. Look for candidates who are aware of the issues, willing to dig into them, and capable of making sound judgments on behalf of the people they represent. I’m not disappearing from these conversations. I’m stepping back from the commission so I can engage as a regular citizen — openly, and on my own terms. Daniel Lyman Heber Valley The post Why I resigned appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less