SALT LAKE CITY — A massive survey launched by the state to help policymakers better prepare for the demands accompanying growth has been completed.
The "Guiding Our Growth" survey by the Governor's Office of Planning & Budget had more than 28,000 respondents with feelings on everything from what types of housing is best, what kind of water conservation measures ought to be taken and even how Utahns feel about transit options.
"Utahns are very concerned about our growth and making sure we grow the right way. That’s probably not a surprise to you," said Governor Spencer Cox.
The survey was broken down into opinions from urban and rural parts of Utah. Here are some of the highlights:
- 60% of urban Utahns want a housing options in centers, around transit, existing neighborhoods and existing greenfield.
- 59% want smaller lots, townhomes, duplexes and accessory dwelling units.
- 59% want to allow strip malls, big box stores and parking lots to be redeveloped into housing.
- 51% of rural Utahns want growth around town centers and Main Street.
- 63% of rural Utahns oppose new housing on large, spread-out lots.
"Across the board, about 20-25% of Utahns said 'we’d rather just not grow at all,'" said Laura Hanson, the state planning coordinator in the Governor's Office of Planning & Budget.
Water conservation "was the topic that Utahns had the most consensus about across the state," Hanson told FOX 13 News.
For urban Utahns surveyed:
- 61% said they want aggressive water conservation measures, including waterwise landscaping.
- 80% support rebates or incentives for low-water landscaping conversions.
- 71% support requiring low-water use landscaping in residential, commercial areas.
- 67% support more agriculture optimization, which is utilizing new technologies that grow crops with less water.
- 54% want tiered water rates and transparent billing practices to reduce demand in urban Utah.
The results were a little different in rural Utah:
- 70% support $$ for low-water landscaping conversions.
- 64% support new water infrastructure like reservoirs, wells and pipelines.
- 57% support more agriculture optimization.
- 55% support requiring low-water use landscaping in residential, commercial areas.
- 48% want tiered water rates and transparent billing practices to reduce demand.
Specifically on a rural issue, 18% in rural Utah supported fallowing crops — which is paying farmers not to grow anything to save the water.
There were some interesting surprises in the survey on transit demands, Hanson said.
"Cars didn’t actually come up once as one of the top five recommendations in urban Utah," she said. "In rural Utah, we have more land to cover, more distance to cover and so they recognize we need to continue to invest in highways."
What the survey found is:
- 67% of urban Utahns want more bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure.
- 66% in urban areas want zero-fare public transit.
- 65% want more money for public transit in urban areas.
- 58% of rural Utahns want some transit to connect small towns to bigger cities.
- 53% in rural Utah support the idea of statewide passenger rail.
- 51% support transit in peak tourism areas of rural Utah.
"The support for public transit in rural Utah was really exciting and little bit surprising for me to see," Hanson said.
Open space also saw some distinctions between rural and urban Utah. The survey found 56% of urban Utahns support building new master-planned communities with parks, trails, and community open spaces, compared to 37% of rural Utahns. Nearly 75% of urban Utahns want to invest in recreational amenities in both natural areas and in urban areas. About 58% of rural Utahns support prioritizing prime farmlands in long-range planning efforts.
"People in rural Utah and urban Utah have some different ideas about what growth should look like," Gov. Cox said when asked about the survey at his monthly news conference.
The data will be compiled for lawmakers on Utah's Capitol Hill to help them prepare for legislation and budget requests. For example, Gov. Cox has supported funding zero-fare transit but it has met resistance in the legislature and he may ask lawmakers to reconsider. The data is meant to offer policymakers information, Hanson said.
"Utah has always been changing. The reason we’re a great place to live today is because of past planning efforts," she said. "We can continue to be a beautiful place to live in the future if we do the work. Planning is never done."
