West Haven leaders debate city’s identity, ‘Main Street’ development
-
- A sign at the entry point to West Haven at the corner of Hinckley Drive and Midland Drive, photographed Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. City leaders are debating long-term development strategies and priorities in the city, including potential development of a core “Main Street” area.
-
- West Haven signage at the entry point to the city along 21st Street on the Interstate 15 overpass, photographed Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. City leaders are debating long-term development strategies and priorities in the city, including potential development of a core “Main Street” area.
-
- West Haven signage at the entry point to the city on 21st Street, under the Interstate 15 overpass, photographed Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. City leaders are debating long-term development strategies and priorities in the city, including potential development of a core “Main Street” area.
-
- West Haven signage at the entry point to the city on 21st Street, under the Interstate 15 overpass, photographed Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. City leaders are debating long-term development strategies and priorities in the city, including potential development of a core “Main Street” area.
WEST HAVEN — As the cities of western Weber County grow and increasingly bump up against one another, West Haven leaders are debating how to make the quickly growing city stand out.
As is, it’s sometimes hard to know where one locale ends and another begins in Weber County. Fourteen cities are clustered along the Interstate 15 corridor, with expansion particularly strong to the west of the freeway in and around West Haven, the county’s fastest-growing city, and Plain City.
“Just make sure we represent a unique look and differentiate ourselves from other communities,” said West Haven City Manager Matt Jensen, alluding to the discussion among city leaders, part of long-range planning and community development efforts. “Make sure we’re not just a drive-through community.”
One element of the wide-ranging debate — largely among City Council members, Mayor Rob Vanderwood and city staffers — centers on the notion of creating a Main Street area, a core zone that serves as a central gathering point for West Haven. The city’s key commercial activity is clustered along 21st Street in northern West Haven and 1900 West on the eastern edge of the city, but the two pockets have more of an industrial feel. What’s more, residential development — homes, apartment buildings and townhomes — has been the big growth engine in West Haven, not the sort of retail expansion that sometimes helps create a bustling core.
For Vanderwood, the Main Street debate is about creating a space where city residents can come together for community celebrations and other such events. “It’s hard to find that,” he said.
More specifically, he noted that it’s hard to pinpoint a parade route for West Haven Days, the city’s annual summer celebration, that naturally acts as a magnet to visitors. Though population has exploded in recent years — to nearly 20,000 as of July 1, 2021, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates — West Haven, incorporated in 1991, is a relatively new city. It seems to serve chiefly as the suburban home for those employed elsewhere along the Wasatch Front.
What weighs on Vanderwood as the debate unfolds is the potential cost of somehow forging a core area and whether the effort is worth it. Developing sidewalks and trails in West Haven, conserving open space, updating the city’s general plan and more are also part of the discussion, to get continued attention at a work session on Wednesday.
Nina Morse, a member of the West Haven City Council, alluded to some of the challenges of reverse-engineering a community core, a “Main Street,” something that typically evolves naturally as a city grows.
“I think each council member might have a different idea of what that means, but in my opinion, ideally we would have a main corridor where both commercial business and city business would be conducted,” she said.
However, she went on, that’s a tough task as West Haven’s municipal buildings are scattered, none near commercial businesses or located on major thoroughfares.
She thinks 4000 South, a major east-west artery in southern West Haven, “would’ve been a good consideration, but it’s now loaded with apartments and new homes,” she said. “This is something the current council really needs to look at and put a strategy in place before more development comes and we no longer have the ability to easily define a Main Street.”
Jensen mentioned several possible areas to try to foster development of a core area — around the municipal building at 4150 S. 3900 West, not far from 4000 South; along 2700 West; along 4000 South; or on 21st Street.
Even if there isn’t really a downtown West Haven area, though, the city isn’t alone. Other area cities like West Point, Hooper and Farr West also lack a central core, according to Jensen.
Moreover, West Haven leaders say there’s plenty to celebrate in the locale.
Vanderwood noted the country heritage in West Haven, which sprouted in what historically was an agricultural zone. The country feel of the area drew many of the original residents to the city as it started to grow. The mayor also lauded the diverse housing stock in the city, catering to a range of household types.
Jensen noted the developing trail system through West Haven and the annual rodeo held as part of West Haven Days, among other things.
“We’re proud of our community. We think we have some great amenities. We want to make sure people understand we’re here, we’re West Haven. We’re not West Ogden or North Roy,” Jensen said.