Summit County officials are reviewing the progress they’ve made so far on the annual work plan, an expansive document detailing every major initiative and project the county hopes to achieve in the four months before the end of the year.
The work plan includes four strategic objectives for 2025, which were reiterated in a staff report presented to the Summit County Council on Wednesday: growth management and regional planning, transportation and traffic congestion, local housing choice and environmental stewardship.
“Collectively, these initiatives aim to align policy, infrastructure and community services with long-term sustainability and quality-of-life goals,” the staff report explained. “The 2025 Work Plan positions Summit County to address pressing growth challenges, foster regional collaboration and invest in projects that benefit residents, businesses and the environment over the next several years.”
The staff report listed housing as one of its top priorities with four major initiatives, in addition to updated general plans for both the Snyderville Basin and eastern Summit County, which should be presented to the public by early October.
The Cline Dahle property, a 30-acre piece of land in Jeremy Ranch, was first on the list. The staff report specifically touted the progress made on a public-private partnership with Columbus Pacific to develop a 172-unit entirely affordable housing project. The County Council approved the agreement on June 11, and a working group is continuing to negotiate with the company on the county’s behalf as the development materializes.
The County Council’s decision to create 1,500 affordable housing units over the next 10 years, as well as the establishment of the Summit County Housing Authority, were two other successful initiatives undertaken by the Summit County government this year, according to the staff report.
The fourth, which concerns the regulation of short-term nightly rentals, received some pushback from Summit County Council Chair Tanja Hanson, however.
“The county completed an RFP (request for proposal) process and acquired a short-term nightly rental software system, called Azora, to identify nightly rental units by neighborhood and to assist with compliance and enforcement of business licensing requirements,” the report explained. “The software system is in the process of being deployed and integrated with the county’s business licensing system, Civic Review. The first set of compliance letters are expected to be mailed mid-September and the complaint module to go live at the same time.”
The document further added that the county hired a code enforcement official and plans to launch a call center for resident complaints and inquiries in mid-January, but Hanson said she wasn’t pleased with the lengthy timeline. The county first talked about implementing the software months ago, she said, questioning the delay between the County Council’s decision and the fruition of the initiative.
County Manager Shayne Scott and Deputy County Manager Janna Young told councilors the delay was primarily due to the software vendor’s operations and the availability of county staff. Hanson said she disagreed with their assessment, but there was no more discussion or direction given on the matter during Wednesday’s County Council meeting.
As for transportation, improvements to the Kimball Junction and Interstate 80 interchange topped the list.
The Utah Department of Transportation previously selected Alternative C as its preferred project in the area, a design that features additional lanes on S.R. 224, as well as a dedicated turn lane; new turn lanes and bike lanes at the Ute Boulevard intersection; more lanes approaching roundabouts; a new east-west pedestrian underpass near Ute Boulevard; and a buffered bike lane.
“This project has been added to the draft UDOT Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) for $50 million in fiscal year 2027,” the county’s staff report said. “The Environmental Impact Study … is expected to be completed this year.”
The report’s section on lands and natural resources management included the 910 Cattle Ranch, an 8,500-acre Jeremy Ranch property the county expects to close on by the end of September, as well as the 834-acre Ure Ranch.
“The Work Plan instructed staff to complete the conservation easement for the entire [Ure Ranch], work towards closing on the property and develop recreational and management plans,” the staff report said. “Thus far, the North Meadows is complete, and the remaining parcels of the ranch are in process. We are working towards a partial closing in December 2025 for the North Meadows with the remaining parcels closing before December 2026. The recreational and management plans are in process and should be completed by December 2025.”
The staff report also included information on each county department and its own initiatives, which may not be shared by the entirety of the County Courthouse. The full report is available online.