|
Summit addresses future The Spectrum Article published Jan 10, 2008
KATIE OLIVERI
koliveri@thespectrum.com ST. GEORGE - The final report for Vision Dixie was presented to community members during a bonus breakout session Wednesday afternoon at this year's Washington County Economic Summit. More than 100 people attended the session, filling most of the chairs in the room. But some area residents, who are concerned about growth in their community, were hoping to hear more details and wanted to know more about how and when the implementation of Vision Dixie would begin. Norma Winston, of Ivins, attended Wednesday because she wanted to know "what they were going to do with this information." She wanted to hear more specifics in the final report. Winston, who wasn't involved in any of the community sessions during the Vision Dixie process, said, "They need to get specific about what they want to do." Instead of just talking about it, Winston said, "I hope that they start implementing it." Dennis Timmerman, who lives in Virgin, said the final report was complete and "very impressive" but is concerned with how slow the Vision Dixie process is going. He's worried about growth in his community, saying "the development pressures are coming in." His concern for Vision Dixie is that "it will all be said and done for Virgin before this thing ever gets implemented." "For us in Virgin, we're going to be built out, I would imagine, before this thing ever gets done," Timmerman said. Through Vision Dixie, more than 3,000 residents created a framework in which future development and transportation work together to create communities and a region that preserve Southern Utah's quality of life along with an affordable, livable future, according to the Vision Dixie final report. Vision Dixie is a $500,000-plus effort that has been funded through a variety of sources, including the county, different cities and other organizations. Ted Knowlton, planning director for Envision Utah, which has consulted for Vision Dixie, led Wednesday's presentation of the final report. James Eardley, chairman of Vision Dixie, emphasized Wednesday that "this is the guiding document for Vision Dixie that will be giving us a sense of direction for the next 35 years or so." The Vision Dixie process officially began in October 2006, he said. The Vision Dixie principles were presented Wednesday along with more specific implementation recommendations to help local governments think about how the broad principles can start to make a difference on the ground, Knowlton said. The principles include plan regionally, implement locally; maintain air and water quality and conserve water; guard signature scenic landscapes; provide rich, connected natural recreation and open space; and build balanced transportation, among others. Gerry Zimmerman, of Ivins, participated in one of the community planning sessions for Vision Dixie in 2006. She said on Wednesday the presentation was geared more toward city officials and she believes the Vision Dixie report is important for those who are involved in planning. Zimmerman said she is concerned about growth in the county. "This is such a beautiful place," she said. "I see it being slowly destroyed." And Bonnie Timmerman, of Virgin, who was involved in some of the community sessions along with Dennis, said of Vision Dixie that while "they've got a lot of good ideas, I just think it's going to be very hard to implement them." But while several expressed their concerns with growth and the implementation process, Jean Garrett, who has lived in St. George for 40 years and just retired from work in real estate, said after hearing the presentation, "for me, it was very enlightening to realize the importance of us being involved in our community." Garrett said she's OK with growth in St. George and in the county if it's handled properly. "There is a place for all of us," she said. "But it needs to be handled with great consideration." She enjoys change and likes to see growth, saying, "I think growth is exciting." The Vision maps, or the Vision Scenario, was also explained to community members, which intends to show if communities follow the Vision Dixie principles what the county might look like in the coming decades. Features of the Vision Scenario, or Vision maps, show mixed-use centers, contiguous development, a connected system of roads and a substantial public transportation system, for example. Several of the short-term recommendations for implementation are for communities to designate farm-friendly zones and adopt a right-to-farm ordinance, to work with the Dixie Metropolitan Planning Organization (Dixie MPO) to think about potential public transportation stations and to zone for jobs and work-force housing in those areas, to establish standards to ensure local roads connect with each other and for local governments to find locations for mixed-use centers, among others. One of the key long-term recommendations is for communities to consider adopting a consistency policy or ensuring that zoning and subdivision decisions carefully follow the local general plan. Although Garrett didn't participate in any of the community meetings during the public input process for Vision Dixie, she stressed the importance of community members being involved. Garrett hopes to see cities continue to work together on Vision Dixie.
"I think that we need to be informed on a regular basis of the process of the decision-making," she said. | Info Box | | The Vision Dixie final report can be found at www.visiondixie.org.
As far as next steps, a five-person committee has been formed, chaired by Washington County Commissioner Denny Drake, to move forward with the implementation of Vision Dixie. The committee plans to make initial contact with the various cities to learn where they are as a city and review the Vision Dixie principles. Then, the next step is to set up a town meeting with that particular city to present short-term and long-term goals and implementation guidelines.
The next implementation committee meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 24 in the Washington County Administration Building. The committee is expected to review the long-term and short-term recommendations at the meeting and come up with a summary checklist of immediate short-term needs and long-term goals and provide that information to communities to use as a resource.
Also, quarterly meetings of the executive committee for Vision Dixie are expected to occur as well as an annual report at the Washington County Economic Summit to update residents on the progress of Vision Dixie. |
|
|
