Population Changes July 22, 2008 Moving in, Moving out Weber suburbs grow at Ogden's expense Weber county population growth By JEFF DEMOSS Standard-Examiner staff jdemoss@standard.net OGDEN Residents of Weber County still love living in the suburbs, according to the latest figures on population growth in Utah. New estimates from the Census Bureau show that growth in the county continues to be fastest in areas west and north of Ogden. For the 12 months ended July 1, 2007, the fastest-growing cities in the county were West Haven and Hooper, which both saw significant gains in population. Others with strong growth for the year included Farr West, Plain City, Pleasant View and Harrisviile. Ogden, Salt Lake City and many other urban areas across the country are continuing to experience a "doughnut" effect, said Juliette Tennert, manager of Demographic and Economic Analysis for the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget. "We see slow to no population growth in more urbanized areas and rapid growth in the surrounding areas," she said. "That's because the cost of housing is often lower in the surrounding areas, yet people still have easy access to the urban core.'? Outlying cities also tend to have more room to grow, she said. The only Weber County cities that See WEBER Page 4A Population comparison from 2000 to 2006 and 2007: '06-'07 City _2000 2006 2007 change Farr West 3,094 4,825 5,129 304 Harrisville 3,645 5,240 5,475 235 Hooper 4,050 4,637 5,256 619 Huntsville 649 649 646 -3 Marriot-Slaterville 1,425 1,470 1,496 26 North Ogden 15,026 16,756 17,166 410 Ogden 77,226 82,050 82,702 652 Plain City 3,489 4,539 4,825 286 Pleasant View 5,632 6,469 6,759 290 Riverdale 7,656 7,958 7,976 18 Roy 32,885 35,008 35,048 40 | South Ogden 14,377 15,288 15,615 327 Uintah 1,127 1,212 1,209 -3 Washington Terrace 8,551 8,270 8,414 144 West Haven 3,976 6,106 7,187 1, Source: U.S. Census Bureau_ _ Standard-. Weber From 1A saw their populations shrink during the same period were Uintah and Huntsville, both of which lost three residents from mid-2006 to mid-2007, according to Census estimates. West Haven led the way in Weber County growth. The suburb west of Ogden added more than 1,000 residents in the year, for a 17.8 percent growth rate. "It's just the type of community people gravitate to," said Brian Melaney, who was elected mayor in 2005. "We have a little bit of the cowboy aspect, a little bit of the farmer aspect, and the leisurely, recreation aspect." The lack of city property taxes and zoning ordinances that allow for yards that are larger than in many neighboring cities are also big draws to West Haven, Melaney said. If the city built out to its limits, it could have a population as high as 40,000, he said. "Geographically, we're the third-largest city in Weber County, after Ogden and Hooper." Hooper's 13.3 percent As transportation costs continue to increase, we expect to see some movement back to the urban areas. JULIETTE TENNERT, state official growth helped it surpass 5,000 residents for the first time. Populations in Farr West and Plain City grew more than 6 percent, while Harrisville and Pleasant view grew 4.5 percent. Meanwhile, the county's two largest cities, Ogden and Roy, both had growth rates below 1 percent. While fast-growing suburbs have been the norm in recent years, record-high fuel costs may be starting to reverse the trend, Tennert said. "As transportation costs continue to increase, we expect to see some movement back to the urban areas as the costs of living in the suburbs start to outweigh the benefits," she said. "Keep in mind that these estimates are for July 1, 2007 one year before $4 gas." 60