State seeks to demystify growth's link with quality Thursday, January 06, 2000 By JOE PYRAH Standard-Examiner staff OGDEN -- Quality and growth aren't two words that go together very well in Utah. But a state-appointed commission is doing its best to alter that in a way that gives Utahns what they want. "Quality growth for many people is an oxymoron," said Dee Allsop, a member of the Utah Quality Growth Commission, which visited the Weber County area Wednesday to meet with officials and the public. What 63 members of the public decided during an evening meeting was that critical lands need to be identified before the planning process. But identifying what critical lands are was just as tough as coming up with ways to protect them. Suggestions ranged from steep slopes to land with endangered species on it. "What is not critical land?" asked Sterling Brown from the Utah Farm Bureau. Often, development outruns the government's ability to recognize and protect critical land. "Sometimes a piece of land is developed before we even know it's critical," said one resident. Several residents also said local governments need better communication with each other so as to meet the different needs of individual communities. At a meeting earlier in the day, administrators from cities and the county addressed current projects. While most Utah communities struggle to keep up with growth, officials in Marriott-Slaterville, which is still in its infancy, find themselves in a position to control their destiny. "We're just infants in this," said Randy Phipps of Marriott- Slaterville. He said ideally cities would be planned for growth before people get there. Phipps addressed members of the Utah Quality Growth Commission Wednesday about his city's efforts to plan for development of a trail system, parks and flood prevention measures, such as a levy on Four Mile Creek. While the city's population is small at just 1,500 people, it is the third largest in land area in Weber County, Phipps said. For these efforts, Marriott-Slaterville was named the Model Open Space City by the Utah Legislature in 1999. On the other end is Ogden, which has little spare land to work with. The question for planners is, "How can we reuse some of those properties that are sitting there abandoned?'" asked Ogden planner Greg Montgomery. He said the city is using abandoned areas to develop small subdivisions with community park areas in the middle. "If you look at Weber and Davis (counties), we have some limitations on development," he said. "Ogden is 27 square miles in area, how do you make that work for people here now and people in the future?" 280