Platform Pillar 5: Smart Growth and Regional Cooperation
If you didn't know this about me, I love to ride my road bike extremely long distances. And have since I was a teenager. Riding 100 miles is something that I enjoy. A strange hobby that I picked up as a kid riding to regional cities like Copperton, Salt Lake, and Ogden.
So how does this relate to regional cooperation?
Because when you ride a bike, you get to see a lot of cities, roads, and regions. I'm familiar with the bike paths and roadways of most cities in Salt Lake, Tooele, Weber, and Utah Counties. And I've watched cities grow, like Herriman, Lehi, Midvale, West Valley, and even Magna. And I have seen cities that have done it well, and cities that have fallen into traps.
Magna sits in the middle right now. With one foot teetering towards traps, and one foot in the right direction. And to ensure that we grow in the right direction, I think we need to address what I deem a critical issue with Magna's government. Understanding that we have a place in this valley, and this state. And that we need to start cooperating and working within the place we live.
We border Salt Lake City, West Valley City, and Lake Point. We are a growing municipality within Salt Lake County. We are a city in the State of Utah. And we need to start working under these assumptions. And that starts as we foster community and cooperation with the cities we border. It starts with us coordinating with the state legislature to build resources like freeways and highways in a way that matches not only our growth, but West Jordan's, Herriman's, and Copperton's. It means working with our national representatives tracking FEMA aid for an earthquake, and grants that can rebuild our main street's businesses. Cooperation starts with building on what we have, and then expanding it with accountability.
When it comes to growth, we also need to make sure that our code reflects not only the districts we live in, but new classes of zoning for what is going in. Relating to public transit, parking, and infrastructure.
My plan is to do the following:
Build on Magna's Intergovernmental Affairs, and audit service providing for us
Design growth policy that matches the community we live in, including reviewing and updating our Master Plan
Build relationships with other governments, including city and county leadership, and state and national leaders to help our community flourish
Meet with communities we neighbor and in the region to learn lessons from them to avoid gotchas and mistakes that they made when growing as a city. And to help with planning transitions, if needed, into city-owned services in policing, fire, and public works.
And I've already started this work, even receiving an endorsement from the Governing Group to help.