Approval of Conditional Use Permit

After two years and two months of consistent effort by the Aspen Center for Learning (ACL) and the Shaw Design Group, the Wasatch County Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the County Council approve the conditional use permit for the ACL on April 10th, 2025. Then, on April 16th, 2025, the Wasatch County Council unanimously approved the conditional use permit. This is a significant landmark in the development and construction of the ACL.

The county government requires a conditional use permit when a land use is proposed that is different from the predetermined zoning uses. The land donated to the Aspen Center for Learning was located in an R5 residential zone, so special permission had to be granted to build an educational center and housing for those with special needs on lot 21 of Blue Sage Ranch. The conditional use permit approval process involves engineers and architects to design the exact site plan and building structures that will be constructed. Very detailed planning goes into the lighting design, parking spaces, and landscaping to ensure the facility complies with land and construction laws. Specifically, the lighting design at this center was challenging due to the recently passed dark sky regulations, which resulted from public discussions about the Heber Valley Temple. The county told us that we were the first development project that needed to comply with these new lighting rules.

In addition, more water shares needed to be acquired to meet the school's and housing needs. Finding water to purchase was difficult, as water shares are in short supply in the Heber Valley. However, after over a year of searching and receiving donations of more than $320,000, the required water shares were secured for the project.

The conditional use permit process is a public process open to public comment and criticism. I am proud to report that the Center did not receive one complaint or negative comment from a community citizen or neighbors in Blue Sage Ranch. All comments were positive and supportive of the project. It is uncommon in my experience not to have one person opposing a land development project in the Heber Valley. This speaks to the integrity and need for the Aspen Center for Learning.

Now that the conditional use permit has been approved, we are working towards finalizing our building plans, which will allow us to obtain bids for the construction of the Center. Once bids are received, we will know how much money we need to raise for the construction.

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