FARMINGTON -- City officials are eager to share their input on the development of a West Davis Corridor plan -- perhaps too eager.
A representative from the Utah Department of Transportation had to tell city officials they were limited in how many people they can send to an upcoming meeting to discuss the plan.
The meeting will address a UDOT plan to initiate an environmental impact study of a possible transportation corridor linking Farmington to Weber County.
The meeting is scheduled for Feb. 17 and is expected to include at least one representative from all of the communities along the projected corridor, said Randy Jeffries, a project manager for UDOT.
At a recent council meeting, Mayor Scott Harbertson wondered out loud how many representatives the city might be able to send. Jeffries said with 20 to 25 organizations represented, more than one official would only complicate things.
Jeffries provided a potential timetable for development of an EIS and said transportation officials are eager to be open-minded about options and to engage all stakeholders in the process.
Councilman Jim Talbot reminded Jeffries that city residents have already provided significant input on the issue, dating back a number of years when the issue first came up.
"Farmington has already spoken," Talbot said. He said he hoped the input provided would be considered as development of the plan unfolds.
The topic of a possible corridor along the city's west side has been a political hot potato in the city for years, with residents expressing particular concern about exactly where a road linking the Legacy Highway to northern Davis County might be built through western parts of the city.
Jeffries stressed the need for teamwork and input, but he sounded an early caution about what the process might lead to.
"No single entity is going to have everything they want," Jeffries said of a plan.
Because of its geography, Farmington is especially vulnerable to new transportation options on the west side of Interstate 15.
The city is much like the middle of an hourglass in Utah's most densely populated county with the shortest distance between the mountains and Great Salt Lake of any community.
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