Legislators in Utah have approved a bill that would allow the Utah Department of Natural Resources to swap a 3,000 year old Native American village to a group of developers intent on building a new transit station.
"The Utah Rivers Council has been against the land swap because development of the 13500 South land would encroach on the Jordan River.
The Utah Professional Archeological Council opposes the land swap because it wants to preserve the artifacts, which include housing, from a group of prehistoric Indians from 3,000 years ago.
Utah Open Lands also opposes the land swap because the 13500 South site has been designated as open space.
The bill, which the Utah Senate approved Wednesday morning, doesn't say how the village will be preserved. But the bill's sponsor in the Senate, Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, said that UTA and the developers will be required to follow strict state and federal preservation laws. "It's natural for all citizens to be concerned about our heritage," Bramble said, adding that the bill passed by the Legislature is "permissive," meaning that while the bill now gives the DNR permission to swap land, it doesn't have to."
FULL STORY: Draper land-swap bill is approved
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