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The Future of Open Space in Salt Lake Valley
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Note: we made this presentation four times at the University of Utah in Feburary and early March.
If you know of a group that would like to see it, and can organize such an event, contact Ray Wheeler to arrange a place and time.
The Future of Open Space in Salt Lake Valley
Four Classic Case Studies in the Politics of Urban Natural Resource Planning
Environmental writer and photographer Ray Wheeler unwraps four classic case studies in the politics of urban natural resource management:
The Provo-Jordan River Parkway and Blueprint Jordan River—Two Generations of Riparian Corridor Masterplanning: In 2007-2008 Envision Utah, county and city planners spent $300,000 and processed input from some 3,000 valley residents in developing a vision for the future of the Jordan River Corridor—partially recreating a 35 year-old riparian master plan for a “Provo Jordan River” parkway. The public input favored a green and natural corridor over a commercialized one by a ratio of 11 to 1. The vision: build 17 new commercial centers on the river--and preserve open space by placing a 50 to 300 foot wide “buffer” between each new center and the river.
The Regional Sports Complex: Mayor Ralph Becker and the Salt Lake City Council are fast-tracking a plan to build with public funds, on former state park land, a $43 million regional sports complex consisting of 21 sports fields, 9 buildings including indoor and outdoor championship soccer stadiums, three new roads, a new bridge across the Jordan River, 2 reservoirs for sewer plant effluent, and parking for 2,065 cars, all on prime habitat for migratory birds and within the flood plain of the Jordan River, on lands that have repeatedly been flooded by the fluctuating waters of the Great Salt Lake.
Katrina’s Legacy for Rose Park : FEMA is decertifying dikes and levees it says have been compromised by vegetation (tree roots)--including one currently protecting 1,600 homes in Rose Park. The new levee standard: a vegetation-free dike 16 feet high and 75 feet wide running along the W. bank of the Jordan River for 18 blocks from North Temple to the north end of the Rose Park Golf Course. Every existing tree on the west bank of the river will be destroyed and many adjoining residential properties may be affected.
The Northwest Quadrant Masterplan: A consulting firm has drawn up a plan to build a new satellite city of 50,000 to 75,000 people on prime wildlife habitat along the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake west of the Salt Lake City International Airport. While some cities are turning away from the traditional, automobile-based, hub-spoke-satellite urban growth paradigm in favor of more “sustainable”, “post-carbon” “smart-growth” concepts, by a vote of 6 to 4 the Salt Lake City Planning Commission recently endorsed the draft Northwest Quadrant Master Plan as written.
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