Cache Valley voters to decide on land-preservation bond

LOGAN (AP) — Cache Valley voters will decide this fall whether to tax their homes to keep some of their farming neighbors from selling out to build more.

The Cache County Council voted 5-2 Tuesday to put a $10 million land-preservation bond on the November ballot.

If voters consent, the county will appoint a citizens board to prioritize properties for protection from development. The money could be spent either to buy lands for public access or to pay farmers and ranchers to forgo their development rights forever. It's a widely used model in parts of the United States where farmland is under pressure from urbanization, and some officials say it's overdue in Utah's rapidly disappearing agricultural core.

The measure would cost Cache County homeowners with a typical $180,000 home $18.12 per year, and a business owner with the same property value $32.94.