Proposed setback change raises concerns from Logan River’s future
The Logan River has flown through the center of Cache Valley for thousands of years, providing generations of residents with a source for scientific research, irrigation, habitat enrichment and recreation. However, recent discussions surrounding allowing the city to develop land further into its riparian areas could put these natural benefits at risk.
Proposed changes to City of Logan, Utah Ordinance No. 25-11 were called for by the Logan Community Development Department. The department aims to shrink the previously established 100-foot setback to 25 feet, allowing development to occur roughly a flagpole’s distance away from the river’s edge.
“Logan has already built a lot in our riparian areas,” said Patrick Belmont, professor of watershed sciences at Utah State University, in an interview with The Utah Statesman. “We put a lot of homes in places that have degraded habitat, that contribute pollution to the river and that are at much higher flood risk.”
The department is requesting these changes as a way to re-clarify setback standards, as roughly 90% of properties along the Logan River were built before the 100-foot setback rule was in place and therefore violate current regulations.
The Statesman reached out to Logan director of community development Mike DeSimone, but they did not respond to a request for a comment.
Logan residents have voiced their concerns over these proposed changes both online through petitions and in person during city council meetings. Among them is Griffin Gallagher, an environmental studies and philosophy major at USU.
“This is not something I think enough people are talking about,” Gallagher said in an interview with the Statesman. “I thought there needed to be a voice from a younger generation there because we are going to be facing the downsides of what could happen because of this.”
In his public comment, Gallagher urged the council to reject the changes to the ordinance, citing his past research sampling species from Logan River as support.
“My group recorded an average of 15 visibly different species that we could see with just our own eyes, not including microorganisms,” Gallagher said in his comment to the city council. “We learned that since the road is already so close to the water, when the salt from the road melts too close to the river, we see many of these little creatures’ populations decline.”
He went on to say these changes will have a direct impact on most organisms in Cache Valley, including its future generations.
“By going through with this, you will destroy the natural habitat that supports the entire Logan ecosystem: the insects, the birds, the fish, all of these things that directly affect us,” Gallagher said.
At the end of his comment, Gallagher said he had also assisted in helping collect signatures for a petition to protect the Logan River and its 100-foot setback. At the time of publication, this petition has over 700 signatures.
Belmont also spoke at the council meeting and said he has seen policy oftentimes overlook science and doesn’t want to see it happen in this case.
“Once people start building there, we just won’t get that habitat back,” Belmont said in his interview with the Statesman. “We will lose a lot of our riparian area, essentially forever.”
According to Belmont, the 100-foot setback not only protects the river from development but development from the river.
“It’s healthy for rivers to flood — that’s a natural part of their process,” Belmont said. “It brings nutrients up to the flood plains which supports a lot of plants which are important for wildlife.”
While some land within the setback has already been developed, Belmont says those and possible future developments are at risk of flood damage.
“We’ve seen potential for significant floods just in the last couple of years,” Belmont said. “Insurance companies are picking up on that, and they’re starting to say, ‘We’re not going to cover people in these risky areas.’”
Belmont said cities like Ogden have expanded development further into their riparian areas and have now had to spend time and money attempting to restore it.
“We don’t want to be in that position in Logan,” Belmont said. “We can learn from their mistakes.”
For Belmont, it is a matter of taking a step back and looking at how all of the problems faced today are connected to a similar exploitative mindset.
“Let’s not give into this bigger, faster, more, all the time mentality that’s created so many other problems that persist and get dumped on future generations,” Belmont said. “Problems just don’t get solved that way.”
Gallagher and Belmont encouraged both citizens and students to get involved by voicing their concerns to the community and the city council.
“We have to take time to engage in our democracy,” Belmont said. “We have good-hearted people in our city council, and they need to hear from a lot more people.”
This issue was tabled at the most recent city council meeting but will be discussed again on Oct. 21. It will not be a public hearing or open to comment.
“Protecting our riparian zones and maintaining a habitat for these animals and these ecosystems is eventually going to come back to us living a better life,” Gallagher said in his interview with the Statesman. “We all have different wants, but it’s a matter of coming to an agreement and looking down a road further than just your own.”