The foothills above Centerville are a excellent asset to the City. I believe their condition should not change significantly from their current state. Development of the foothills for residential use or significant recreational use presents far too many questions than potential benefits.
In 2009 the City Council established an oversight steering committee to develop a draft plan for the potential development of the foothills. The proposed plan can be found on the City's website; it includes 12 guiding statements to potential development. The plan evaluates the feasibility of annexation of land into the City, recreational development, or residential development. There are very few areas that are good potential candidates for annexation. The plan does identify some areas for potential residential and/or recreational development. Most of the areas for development are found at the south end of the City on land already owned by Centerville.
Further development of the foothills presents serious concerns about future impacts to any new development, and certainly, existing developed areas. For example, in the 1930's the area now known at the Dikes or ATV Bowl was created for the purpose of capturing spring runoff and allowing it to seep into the sandy soil to fill the natural underground aquifers. However, in time, problems of water coming up into basements and cellars in homes below the dikes were attributed to the changes in water runoff on the mountainside. Any significant development either for recreational or residential use could produce the same changes in natural runoff that could present similar problems. As it is, when the north-eastern side of Island View Drive was developed several springs were uncovered which have presented drainage issues for residents especially during wet years like the one we've been experiencing.
Adequate access to the areas discussed cannot currently be assured without significant road building and excavation. Potential adverse impacts to the existing Weber Basin Aqueduct that runs along the Centerville Foothills as well as the overall cost of such excavation and construction are significant factors.
The City owns the gun range that runs along the Bonneville Shoreline just below the V. There are not very many options for residents to practice safe target shooting nearby. The gun range is situated so that no existing structures are at risk as long as responsible shooting is exercised.
Finally, it is particularly beautiful to look up at the mountains and see, well, mountains. If you look to the south in Bountiful you'll notice a lot of homes and roads cut into the side of the mountain. The potential benefits of a small handful of new homes do not outweigh the drawbacks from what some might call sight pollution.
Let's leave the foothills just they way they are and focus potential development on other, more productive areas in the city such as the west side.
The City is holding a public hearing about the foothills management plan on Wednesday, August 10, 2011at Centerville City Hall. Be sure to show up and voice your opinion to the Planning Commission and City Council. I will be attending if you'd like to discuss this issue with me further.
Showing posts with label Issues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Issues. Show all posts
8.07.2011
7.28.2011
Rail on Main Street
As part of the settlement to build Legacy Highway the State agreed to study transit options in South Davis County. A few years ago UTA completed a study that included running a light rail or streetcar line down Main Street in Bountiful and Centerville. The study involved narrowing a universe of transit options down to a short list then to the "Locally Preferred Alternative." The alternative that the study determined to be the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) was the low cost rail (streetcar or light rail vehicle). As part of several open houses, UTA heard from the public regarding the LPA. The overwhelming message coming from Centerville residents was, "No Rail on Main Street." In March 2010, Centerville City issued a letter that said it was not endorsing streetcars on Main Street.
I don't believe streetcars or any other kind of rail is appropriate for Main Street in Centerville. The potential advantages definitely do not outweigh the questions, problems and concerns. For example, according the the UTA study the current bus line (Route 470) takes approximately 34 minutes to travel from Parrish Lane to Salt Lake City. The streetcar option would take an estimated 31 minutes. That's right a savings of 3 minutes. A ride on the street car would certainly cost more than a ride on the bus, but you'd only save 3 minutes? Which makes the assumption that ridership would more than double hard to believe.
It is highly unlikely that we'll see any rail on Main Street any time soon. The City doesn't want it, residents don't want it, and we certainly don't need it. I would like to see UTA expand bus service through South Davis County. The recent trend seems to be cutting back on bus service significantly. UTA will insist that the bus routes were cut because demand was down. I contend that demand decreases because it no longer becomes convenient for people to take the bus, and they simply drive to their destination. The result is pretty circular.
I will be vigilant to ensure streetcars, or any other form of rail, that are not acceptable to the residents of Centerville will not find their way down Main Street.
I don't believe streetcars or any other kind of rail is appropriate for Main Street in Centerville. The potential advantages definitely do not outweigh the questions, problems and concerns. For example, according the the UTA study the current bus line (Route 470) takes approximately 34 minutes to travel from Parrish Lane to Salt Lake City. The streetcar option would take an estimated 31 minutes. That's right a savings of 3 minutes. A ride on the street car would certainly cost more than a ride on the bus, but you'd only save 3 minutes? Which makes the assumption that ridership would more than double hard to believe.
It is highly unlikely that we'll see any rail on Main Street any time soon. The City doesn't want it, residents don't want it, and we certainly don't need it. I would like to see UTA expand bus service through South Davis County. The recent trend seems to be cutting back on bus service significantly. UTA will insist that the bus routes were cut because demand was down. I contend that demand decreases because it no longer becomes convenient for people to take the bus, and they simply drive to their destination. The result is pretty circular.
I will be vigilant to ensure streetcars, or any other form of rail, that are not acceptable to the residents of Centerville will not find their way down Main Street.
7.27.2011
UTOPIA
UTOPIA is definitely one topic that gets a lot of Centerville residents talking. It certainly is an interesting subject, as well as complex, and sometimes heated.
So what is UTOPIA? The Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency was created when 16 cities joined together to create a fiber optic network. Centerville and the other pledging UTOPIA cities have agreed to set aside sales tax revenue to cover the costs of UTOPIA if subscriber revenue is insufficient. According to UTOPIA's own website the benefit of UTOPIA is fiber directly to your home. You don't have to share bandwidth with neighbors and you get lightning fast speeds.
Sounds great right? Except that UTOPIA has not performed even close to how it was originally presented. UTOPIA was plagued with problems and financial challenges early on and had to completely halt construction in 2007. Lately, we've seen action on the UTOPIA construction front thanks to an Economic Stimulus Grant made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. UTOPIA is currently soliciting subscribers in Centerville with a projected launch this fall.
So what should the City do about UTOPIA? Centerville is committed to UTOPIA. That decision was made years ago when sales tax revenue was pledged to support UTOPIA bonds. We've long since passed the point of no return. If we were to decide to get out of UTOPIA now we'd still be on the hook for sales tax revenues to support the bonds, but would guarantee ourselves a partially constructed network. Centerville needs to get as much out of UTOPIA as we can without pledging any more. We need to make sure the financial and operational management of UTOPIA produce profitability sooner rather than later (or never). We need to promote UTOPIA.
As I said, we're already committed to UTOPIA. Let's use it as a tool to attract quality businesses to the City. We need to leverage off of UTOPIA to bring jobs and economic development, and give citizens the opportunity to work in Centerville.
In a nutshell, I'm hoping Centerville can benefit from UTOPIA and take the lemons we've been given and make lemonade.
So what is UTOPIA? The Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency was created when 16 cities joined together to create a fiber optic network. Centerville and the other pledging UTOPIA cities have agreed to set aside sales tax revenue to cover the costs of UTOPIA if subscriber revenue is insufficient. According to UTOPIA's own website the benefit of UTOPIA is fiber directly to your home. You don't have to share bandwidth with neighbors and you get lightning fast speeds.
Sounds great right? Except that UTOPIA has not performed even close to how it was originally presented. UTOPIA was plagued with problems and financial challenges early on and had to completely halt construction in 2007. Lately, we've seen action on the UTOPIA construction front thanks to an Economic Stimulus Grant made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. UTOPIA is currently soliciting subscribers in Centerville with a projected launch this fall.
So what should the City do about UTOPIA? Centerville is committed to UTOPIA. That decision was made years ago when sales tax revenue was pledged to support UTOPIA bonds. We've long since passed the point of no return. If we were to decide to get out of UTOPIA now we'd still be on the hook for sales tax revenues to support the bonds, but would guarantee ourselves a partially constructed network. Centerville needs to get as much out of UTOPIA as we can without pledging any more. We need to make sure the financial and operational management of UTOPIA produce profitability sooner rather than later (or never). We need to promote UTOPIA.
As I said, we're already committed to UTOPIA. Let's use it as a tool to attract quality businesses to the City. We need to leverage off of UTOPIA to bring jobs and economic development, and give citizens the opportunity to work in Centerville.
In a nutshell, I'm hoping Centerville can benefit from UTOPIA and take the lemons we've been given and make lemonade.
7.26.2011
Let's get down to business
I had a good chat today with an active resident of Centerville. We talked about most of the key issues facing the city these days. I enjoy listening and sharing ideas about how different issues and opportunities could and should be handled. Over the next few days I'll share my ideas and views on the following topics:
- UTOPIA
- Rail Line on Main Street
- Foothills Management
- West Side Development
- Fees and Taxes
- Other topics that come up
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