Frequently Asked Questions
How, specifically, will the vision be implemented? What is the role of local governments and the Cache Valley Regional Council? How can we trust cities to follow the vision?
Envision Cache Valley provides general principles that represent common goals expressed by people living in Cache Valley. Implementation of these principles is largely local in nature. Each city, of course, is free to respond to Envision Cache Valley as it sees fit. A city may, for instance, determine which principles are of highest priority to their residents and which steps to take to implement them in a locally relevant manner. Public processes like Envision Cache Valley help local governments to see how a broad cross section of the public thinks about growth related issues. Listening to and responding to public will is a responsibility of local government, and this process provides an actionable picture.
The Cache Valley Regional Council is a body comprised of local elected officials in Cache and Franklin Counties. This council initiated the Envision Cache Valley process and will provide leadership on vision issues that are regional in nature and assistance as requested with issues that are local in nature.
Regional issues the council has worked on include the expansion of Cache Valley Transit District into Franklin County. The council may help with other initiatives that are regional in scale, such as the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, or further expansion of the public transportation network.
The regional council can also help provide needed assistance with issues that are local in nature. For example, several communities may have an interest in learning about and implementing a specific tool or policy. The council could facilitate needed training and the creation of model policies that could be locally adapted and adopted. Finally, the council directs the duties of the countywide planner, who is a resource to communities in Cache Valley.
What plans are there for sewer/waste water throughout the valley? How does this impact wetlands and underground aquifers?
Maintaining water quality is very important to Cache Valley residents. The vision assumes that we will depend more on efficient municipal infrastructure over time. Growth patterns that support efficient infrastructure also create fewer acres of impervious surfaces (allowing more water to infiltrate into our aquifers) and reduce the pressure to develop near wetlands, which mostly occur in the center of our valley. Keeping development a healthy distance from water resources will keep them clean, as will reducing storm water run-off.
Do we have the water to support projected growth?
The Utah Department of Water Resources plans alongside regional water conservancy districts and local governments to develop water resources to support projected increases in population. So far, water has not been a limiter to growth, and it is not expected to be in our region in the coming decades. That said, in the arid west of which we are a part, water conservation remains critical.
How have comments and public ideas been considered throughout the process?
Twenty-three public workshops and town hall meetings were held throughout the valley. Residents at these meetings participated by mapping their preferred future, identifying goals for growth, transportation, and the conservation of natural resources and agricultural lands. Feedback surveys were conducted at each meeting, and the surveys were also available online. The website featured online versions of the surveys as well as a comment page enabling residents to post their ideas. The ability to post a comment within the survey questions themselves was added in response to a request. Comments and ideas have been folded in at each point in the process. For example, ideas responding to the alternative scenarios developed from public input were used to create the vision scenario. Throughout the process, the Steering Committee took its direction from the public input.
What incentives could be used to retain mountainside vistas?
There are a range of potential tools to retain mountain vistas while protecting the individual property rights of landowners. For example, cities could offer bonus density or other incentives to cluster growth in flat areas of a parcel in exchange for permanent conservation of important view areas. Or, development rights could be transferred from a parcel with critical views to a parcel where development makes more sense. In this case a developer purchases development rights from a willing seller, and a permanent conservation easement is placed on the land from which development rights have been removed. The landowner maintains remaining property rights. In some cases, cities would have to build these tools into their ordinances.
How can “regular citizens” be a part of visioning and vision implementation over “special interests”?
The visioning process engaged “regular citizens” as well as groups representing a wide range of interests—farming, land development, hunting, conservation, cycling, etc. The vision is a product of this communitywide dialogue, which included citizens acting individually and citizens acting as organized groups. Citizens can continue to be involved as local communities consider the vision principles and determine what steps to take next. It is important to attend local council and commission meetings, help determine priorities, participate in invitations to submit your ideas, and encourage your leaders to take action that is appropriate locally as well as to the valley as a whole.
How can we encourage public transportation and walking to reduce private vehicle use, better meet our needs, and help address our air quality problem?
We can grow our communities to make walking and public transportation convenient, efficient and safe. The configuration of our communities has a direct relationship to our ability to reduce private vehicle use. If we live in neighborhoods that include nearby access to the things we need on a daily basis, walking becomes viable. It makes sense to walk five minutes down a neighborhood street to pick up loaf of bread, even during a Cache Valley winter. It makes less sense if our land use pattern requires a 20 minute walk on a busy thoroughfare. Public transportation also depends in large part on community form to be viable. If we focus growth in existing towns, we create a critical mass that supports efficient and convenient public transportation. By focusing on community form supportive of walking and public transportation, we can reduce the miles we drive in private vehicles each day, and that will help to address our air quality problem.
When will we start to see the benefits of the vision?
Initially, the vision enables an expanded community dialogue: it helps us to think outside the box and imagine alternative ways of growing our communities. We start to see the benefits of the vision on the ground when the dialogue sparks action. Action will likely include updates to general plans and ordinances as citizens work with community leaders to implement policy that will encourage desired growth patterns while respecting private property rights. As population increases and market demand sparks growth, the effects of new policy will be evident as growth and new investment occurs. Thus, we will see the benefits of the vision incrementally, as growth occurs and the market responds. Note that action may also be collaborative: cities may work together and with the counties on farmland protection programs, public transportation enhancements, or the completion of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.