"We're out here saying, 'Don't put everything out here.'" - Charles Eddy, who publishes a citizens' advocate newsletter in unincorporated Weber County and wants development located in Ogden City Weber growth squeezes farmers ALAN MURRAY/Standard-Exa A bulldozer plows through a field adjacent to a fenced area enclosing horses and cattle along Midland Drive recently near the borders of West Haven and Roy. As more and more development sprawls into unincorporated areas, farmers are finding increased pressure to curtail their activities. Conflicts arise in once-rural communities as development grows By JESUS LOPEZ JR. Standard-Examiner staff PLAIN CITY - A tractor chugs along while workers clear weeds from crops. Nearby, blue spray-paint lines mark an onion field, which may soon be the site of a new gas station and fast-food restaurant. Down the street, residents gather in front of Jeanette Clark's home in outrage at the idea of rezoning a parcel in the middle of a residential area. The City Council in June voted to rezone the field for commercial development. Developers are seeking to build a convenience store and gas station as well as a McDonald's fast-food restaurant, although final approval has not been given. "We have been door to door in the community handing out fliers. This is vehemently controversial out here," Clark said. "I certainly didn't buy this place so I can live next to a gas station." Throughout once-rural Weber County, residents worry about growth and development. Some push for minimum one-acre lot sizes. Others want businesses to remain only in existing commercial areas. And while Weber County is exploring the option of establishing cluster developments to ensure housing remains in defined areas, thereby preserving pastures, some cities in the county push for greater development, paving over farmers' fields. In North Ogden, homes are sprouting on the city's rocky hillside and pastures. "We're not actually seeking (development)," North Ogden Mayor Lynn Muirbrook said. "It's just happening and probably faster than most of our residents want." Stopping development is not an option, he said. Some people like returning to live in the town they grew up in. "If you want to stop growth and there is demand there, then you will be taking away someone's property rights," Muirbrook said. As farmers retire, many find their children leave behind the family legacy and find jobs outside of farming. Some rent their land to other farmers, but some sell it for development. Once developments grow, remaining farmers often are pressured to move or alter operations because new residents want the feel of country living without the working reality of farming. They find themselves following a bale wagon or tractor puttering along the streets at 15 mph. "I think it's the complaints that weigh on the producers the most," said Utah State University Weber County Agricultural Agen James Barnhill. "They want to enjoy their neighbors, but if the neighbors are complaining about the dust and smoke, then it makes it harder to live there." Liberty-area farmer Eugene Bailey said a neighbor complained when he baled at night even though he has farmed in the area for years. "I've been here all of my life," Bailey said "watched it grow." He started out as a dairy farmer but now raises a variety of crops, relying on renting fields from other people. He and his brother both inherited family land, but his brother sold his share to July 7, 2003 49