When Daybreak was formed part of the agreement was that Oquirrh Lake and several Daybreak parks would be passed over to South Jordan. In fact, several parks including Calendar Square, Sunrise Mountain, and Hillside Park are already under South Jordan City control. But now the much larger project to hand over ownership of Oquirrh Lake from Kennecott Land to South Jordan City took a step closer with a Sep. 30th meeting.
Oquirrh Lake is a total of 35 acres and forms the centerpiece of the Daybreak community. It’s walking trails, beaches, boating and playgrounds are used by people all over the valley.
The handover process will not be easy, with the $500,000+ annual running costs one of the key obstacles that need to be addressed. These costs include funding for landscaping/maintenance, water, operator and repair.
In addition to this, there are many complex items that need to be addressed including, exact acreage to be transferred, uses and access points, parking, water supply and ownership, liability issues, usage fees, possible development on the lake’s shores, possible tax rises to cover costs and the timeframe for the transfer.
Note that because the city has already agreed in the contract to the takeover, it’s not a matter of if, more of a when and how the transfer will take place.
It will be interesting to see how and when the transfer is done and what land is included in the transfer. There is a vacant piece of land on the north shore of the lake that has been designated for retail use (shops, restaurants etc.). I am assuming that this would be part of the transfer and could be used by the city to generate some revenue to help offset the running costs of the lake.
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