Provo City’s master plan needs a thoughtful update to address our community’s current and future needs, to reflect best practices for supporting and building strong communities, and to maintain quality of life. The Master Plan is the blueprint of where, what, and how we should move our city forward; we need to reevaluate it often to reflect a vision of how to best support our residents. Spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on projects—or approving zoning changes and high-density housing in areas without the necessary infrastructure—just because they were placed on the master plan decades ago is neither prudent nor forward-thinking.
Our City Council and the residents of Provo deserve a meaningful voice in how we grow. Looking at higher-density housing south of BYU makes sense, as does zoning for neighborhood-friendly retail in areas where residents currently have to drive miles for basic necessities. Smart, Provo-focused decisions will improve quality of life, boost local businesses, and generate valuable sales tax revenue for our city while reducing congestion.
We need to be very careful about every zoning decision. I will be a watchdog for poor zoning proposals, no matter where these are in the city. Recently, acres of beautiful riverfront land on West Center Street right next to the new Delta Gateway Park was rezoned to allow five huge warehouses to be built. This is such a waste, and the opportunity cost is huge. Not only will the constant traffic of trucks increase traffic, be a danger to the kids coming to the park, and cause wear and tear to the road, but these warehouses will bring in very little tax revenue. This land is in a prime area for retail, services, or hospitality, as it is close to the airport, the Epic Sport Park, and Utah Lake, but now it will be warehouses.
Alison Spencer says:
I would love to hear your thoughts on balancing Provo’s green space with city growth. The Provo River Delta is a great start, but I worry that the expansion of the airport is thoughtless and could potentially permanently damage the wetlands around the lake. I don’t think it needs to be that way—I believe there can be both expansion and preservation, but it needs to be thoughtfully addressed, not just with tax revenue in mind.
Marsha Judkins says:
Alison, I appreciate what you are saying. The airport is already in the process of expanding to 10 gates, which I think is enough. I have lived in way West Provo for almost forty years and have watched all the building and expansion. I have been very concerned about our quickly diminishing farmland and open spaces, and I agree with you completely that we need to be thoughtful and careful in how we zone and what we allow where. I have always stressed neighborhood friendly retail and services in areas that need and want it. I love the natural beauty that surrounds us, and I don’t want Provo to look like Orem. As a legislator, I worked on and supported the conservation easements of agricultural land in west Provo, and I support the applications for easements that have been submitted. There are several for agricultural land in west Provo and in South Fork Canyon. Let me know if you have additional concerns or questions.
Sarah says:
What is your stance on Splash Summit wanting to move to the base of Slate Canyon, and wanting to develope the whole area?
Marsha Judkins says:
I do not support Splash Summit moving to Slate Canyon. I support preserving open space as much as possible.