Bond aims to preserve ‘Cache Valley way of life’
USU students will have the opportunity this election season to vote on Proposition One, the Cache Valley Critical Lands Bond, a measure that will preserve open space land.
“This is a measure we have been trying to get in front of the voters for 10 years,” said Dave Rayfield, spokesman for the Cache County Critical Lands Committee.
The measure will preserve the “Cache Valley way of life,” Rayfield said. “It will protect our air and water quality, scenic views and vistas, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreate and trails, and working farms and ranches.”
The $10 million bond, which would come from property taxes, would be used to purchase the development rights of a piece of property in which the owner voluntarily decides to preserve their land, Rayfield said.
By 2020 the population in Cache Valley is expected to double, Rayfield said, and many of our critical lands will be turned into neighborhoods.
Christopher Cokinos, associate professor of English and volunteer with the campaign, said, “No one is saying neighborhoods shouldn’t be built. It’s just that unrestrained growth isn’t a very good idea. Do we want Cache Valley to look like the rest of the sprawl in the Salt Lake Valley? I have not met a single person who thinks so.”
Rayfield said he has seen population growth and development destroy the natural landscape in other places, but voters are not concerned with the future of the land in the current economic crisis.
“This is the worst time for this issue to be coming before the voters, with the current economic situation. Most people predict we will get beat two to one unless people really step up and realize the value of this. We took a survey, a professional survey, and 70 percent of people were in favor of it, that is a significant number, but that was pre-economic disaster. People are going to go to vote, and see property tax, and instantly say no, without thinking about the huge impact for the insignificant cost.”
Rayfield said the cost for voters would be $16 for every $170,000 of value each year, or “two pizzas worth of money,” which would come from property taxes.
Cokinos said, “No one likes taxes, we realize that. But they allow a community to do things for the common good. I’d ask folks who oppose this measure: What is the future of this valley worth to you? If we can’t spend between $16 to about $30 per property-owning household or business in the county each year to generate funds to save lands, which in turn helps with wildlife and air quality and water quality, if we can’t do that, why not?”
Rayfield said students can have an impact on this measure. “If just 5,000 students came out to vote in favor of this we could win, and the great thing is it doesn’t affect any of you, you don’t have to pay property taxes, but this will still affect you.”
Cokinos said Proposition One affects students because, “without this bond measure, we’ll lose more land, have more driving to do and more bad-air days. In the long run, it affects everyone because this pattern of destroying rural lands is happening everywhere. If we can take a more thoughtful approach in Cache Valley, maybe students will see that and try to make that happen in their home communities and wherever they end up after leaving Utah State.”
“Sometimes students can learn a few things from the community itself, beyond the classroom. This effort to find an alternative to unbridled growth and loss of land, well, that’s something to take home,” Cokinos said.
Rayfield said students interested in getting involved in the measure can contact him by phone at (435) 757-9120.
“We would love all the help we can get, but most important, get out and vote,” he said.
Students can vote early for Proposition One, along with all other election propositions and candidates, Monday Oct. 27 thru Friday Oct. 30 in the TSC from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m, or can vote at one of the 16 polling stations around Logan on Nov. 4.
–lindsay.anderson@aggiemail.usu.edu