ESAP - Eastern Summit County Agriculture Preservation & Open Lands Advisory Committee

Purpose:

The Eastern Summit County Agriculture Preservation and Open Lands Advisory Committee (ESAP) is created for the purpose of advising and providing input to the County Manager and the County Council regarding the creation, preservation, and identification of agricultural lands open space within eastern Summit County.

Membership:

ESAP members are appointed by the County Manager on a nonpartisan basis with the advice and consent of the County Council, and serve on a voluntary basis. The committee will be composed of between seven (7) members and eleven (11) members, who may serve a limit of three (3) consecutive, three (3) year terms. All members shall reside in the geographical boundaries of Eastern Summit County, most easily represented by North Summit and South Summit School District boundaries.

Duties:

Ethical Principles: The following ethical principles shall guide the actions of the committee and its members in carrying out the powers and duties described above:

1. Serve The Public Interest: The primary obligation of the committee and each member is to serve the public interest.
2. Support Citizen Participation: The committee shall ensure a forum for meaningful citizen participation and expression in the process of promoting agriculture land and open land preservation, and assist in the clarification of community goals, objectives, and policies.
3. Recognize The Comprehensive And Long Range Nature Of Their Decisions: The committee and its members shall continuously gather and consider all relevant facts, alternatives and means of accomplishing them, and explicitly evaluate all consequences before making a recommendation or decision.
4. Facilitate Coordination: The committee shall ensure that individuals and public and private agencies possibly affected by a prospective decision regarding agriculture land or open land receive adequate information far enough in advance of the decision.
5. Avoid Conflict Of Interest: Committee members shall avoid conflicts of interest and even the appearance of impropriety. At the commencement of any matter before the committee, members shall divulge in public, any past, present, or expected relationship with any party affiliated with such matter. A member with a potential conflict of interest shall abstain from voting on the matter, not participate in any deliberations on the matter, and leave the committee table, but may remain in the chamber. The member shall also not discuss the matter privately with any other official voting on the matter.
6. Render Thorough And Diligent Service
7. Not Seek Or Offer Favors
8. Not Disclose Or Improperly Use Confidential Information For Financial Gain
9. Ensure Full Disclosure At Public Meetings
10. Maintain Public Confidence
11. Respect For And Courtesy To Other Committee Members, Public And Staff

Representation Of Applicants Or Petitioners: No member of the committee shall represent for consideration applicants or petitioners before the committee on matters on which the committee is to make determinations or recommendations.

Ex Parte Communication: Prearranged private communications and/or meetings between a committee member and an individual(s) and, their agents, or other interested parties with a matter pending before the committee are prohibited, unless authorized by the committee in advance. When such communication does occur it must be made part of the public record by the committee member.

Attendance: Each committee member shall be responsible for attending all scheduled meetings of the committee. Should circumstances arise where a member is unable to attend a scheduled meeting, the member shall be responsible for notifying the Chair, the Director of Community Development, or his/her designee, as soon as possible. Committee members who fail to attend three (3) regular meetings of the committee within any consecutive three (3) month period may, at the discretion of the Manager, be removed from the committee.

ESAP Meetings, Agendas, and Minutes:

ESAP meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month, from 4:00 - 5:00 PM, as needed, in the Executive Conference Room at the Summit County Courthouse, 60 N Main St, Coalville, UT 84017.

Meetings are held with a hybrid option. The Zoom link is posted on the Agenda for each meeting.

Agendas, Minutes, and Recordings can be found HERE.