Cities setting a fine example
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n July 1998 in this space, we urged people living in the Top of Utah to attend the initial community meetings of Envision Utah, which was endeavoring to help cities and counties create well-planned, more livable, efficient, functional and attractive communities. But Utahns were skeptical of the term "regional planning" and resisted the notion that cities should plan for the greater good.
Nearly 10 years later, the mindset is changing. And there is no more significant example of that shifting philosophy than the Davis Technology and Economic Cooperative -- a joint effort by Clearfield, Syracuse and West Point to create a master plan for future development and/or preservation of 1,020 acres of open farm land. It is the most significant inter-city planning effort we know of in Top of Utah history, and could be a first of its kind, especially on such a large scale, in the state's history.
The goal, of course, is economic development. (By way of comparison, the 1,020 acres is nearly equal to Business Depot Ogden's 1,100 acres.) But more than that, it is economic development pursued in a manner that contradicts the traditional, often counter-productive pursuit of industry, retail and residential investment. Usually, cities compete with each other; here, three cities have decided their combined efforts have the potential to create something beneficial for all.
More than 50 percent of the land is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which farms it as part of the church's far-reaching welfare efforts.
Since the Davis Technology and Economic Cooperative is still in its infancy, we don't yet know to what extent the church will be involved in the development -- if any -- of its property. But many other property owners will be involved, as well, and the potential for something unique is exciting.
As Clearfield Mayor Don Wood noted at a special meeting of all three communities' city councils, 46 percent of the people living in the tri-city area travel to Salt Lake City each day to work -- with almost all of them driving on the freeway. If the Davis Technology and Economic Cooperative can create a high-technology business park with lots of good jobs, as well as office, residential and, perhaps even retail and entertainment, the residents of the three cities and surrounding communities will have jobs closer to home. It could augment the vast Freeport Center, and reduce the need for more and wider roads as northwest Davis County continues to grow.
It would definitely change the flavor of Syracuse and West Point, which are now bedroom communities; residents could, someday, live and work in two locations that are close to each other.
Granted, this is all pie-in-the-sky right now. The cities are doing nothing but master planning for the future; landowners are not obligated to sell or to lease their land, and it may take decades for the unified vision to bear fruit. Still, we hope all agree this is the type of cooperative effort cities in the Top of Utah should be pursuing.
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This master plan is a bunch of garbage. I live very close to where this development is proposed, and it will be very negative for the neighborhood I live in. Many of my neighbors agree. There will be a hell of a fight to stop this, I can assure you. I like how the article states "...it would definitely change the flavor of Syracuse and West Point, which are now bedroom communities;" That's an understatement.