ORGANIZATION FOR PLANNING The Weber County Planning Commission has a very large and diverse land area as well as a population base as large as the second largest city in the county. This population is also as diverse as the landscape found from one end of the county to the other. For these reasons and to also keep the many varied community residents involved in the development of their communities the County Planning Commission has created local community Planning Committees to advise the Planning Commission concerning development and other land use questions in their communities. These community planning committees are elected by the residents of the area to represent the community and the residents in matters before the County Planning Commission. At times, the planning staff may attend the planning committee meetings at their request or ask the committee to meet to discuss matters the staff would like to have community input. These committees are not legislatively mandated nor do they have legal standing in regard to county planning legislation but they do serve a vital function as a community sounding board and advisors when asked or volunteer their views when necessary. Many community residents have volunteered their time to serve on these committees and give tirelessly in their effort to aid in the development of the many diverse Weber County communities. The planning committees from Slaterville and Marriott were asked to help in the creation of the new master plan for their areas because of the changes that have occurred over the past ten years. The committees were asked to schedule meetings in their neighborhoods and the planning commission staff would attend and present the need for an updated community development guide. Over the course of two or three months the staff met with the two committees as well as any community resident who wished to attend and discussed the issues with them. The community committee formulated recommendations and forwarded them to the staff. The staff planners then attempted to translate these recommendations into goal and policy statements for the community. These statements were sent back to the committee for their review and approval. Once these statements were accepted by the planning committees they were used to formulate three land use alternative plans for discussion by the committees. Both community committees reviewed the alternative plans and then were asked to meet again with the staff to voice their opinion regarding the land use plan. When the plan had been reviewed by the staff and the planning committee a discussion was scheduled for review with the Weber County Planning Commission to discuss the plan and any differences between staff and community recommendations. A series of review sessions was held with the County Planning Commission to help develop the final land use plan. -2- 452