[0:01] Good. Hello everyone

[0:03] . Good morning. Welcome

[0:05] to the Regional Development Committee

[0:06] . Today is

[0:08] Thursday, August 20, 2026,

[0:10] and the time is now 9:19

[0:11] AM. I would like to welcome

[0:13] everyone. We will start with

[0:14] introductions, then Andrea will call

[0:16] on the attendees to

[0:17] introduce themselves

[0:18] online. My name is Tammy

[0:20] Chan and I am from

[0:22] Ceysville. Hello

[0:26] everyone, I'm Andrew

[0:27] Gruber. Welcome to WFRC

[0:29] , whether you are attending in

[0:30] person or

[0:31] online.

[0:32] Andrea Pearson from the

[0:34] WFRC management team.

[0:37] Lauren Palmer, Mayor of

[0:39] Herman.

[0:40] Kate Bradshaw, Mayor of

[0:41] Bounty Falls.

[0:43] Yoni Gruber, Mayor of Fruit

[0:45] Heights.

[0:46] Heidi Hammond, Mayor of

[0:48] Grantsville. Mary Doohe,

[0:50] Mayor of Clinton.

[0:52] Jason Brown,

[0:53] CEO of Envision

[0:55] Utah. Bill Herth from WFRC.

[0:58] Jordan Chandler from the

[1:00] WFRC management team.

[1:01] Good morning everyone.

[1:03] I'm Rosie Hernandez, and

[1:04] I'm part of the

[1:06] management team at WFRC.

[1:10] I'm Jeff Silverstern, an

[1:12] intruder. I have not yet been appointed to

[1:14] this position, but I am a

[1:15] member of the Utah Transportation Commission

[1:17] , a

[1:17] former president of the WFRC, a

[1:19] former mayor, and a friend of ours.

[1:21] Welcome back,

[1:22] Jeff. We are delighted to have you with us

[1:24] . Nicole

[1:26] Berto, from UTA.

[1:29] Good morning. Jenny

[1:31] Wilson, from

[1:32] Salt Lake County.

[1:35] Bla Velro,

[1:37] Morgan County Commissioner.

[1:40] I am Lauren Camallo. I never

[1:42] know what position

[1:43] I hold here, but I am the vice

[1:45] president of this group.

[1:47] I am the Davis County Commissioner

[1:48] , but I

[1:49] actually represent the Utah

[1:51] County Association on this council

[1:52] . Good morning. Ted

[1:55] Knowlton. I am the deputy

[1:56] director here at WFRC and the chief

[1:58] planner.

[2:02] Good. And those who join

[2:04] us online,

[2:05] if you wish to

[2:07] unmute, please introduce

[2:08] yourselves. We have

[2:09] Professor Reid Eung and

[2:11] Mayor Christy

[2:12] Overson.

[2:13] Yes. Red Ewing.

[2:18] Good morning. Kristy Overson

[2:20] , Mayor of Taylorsville. Then

[2:23] two employees,

[2:25] Meg Baden and Johnny

[2:26] Nardon. And

[2:28] Madam President, we

[2:29] also have many

[2:30] members of the public and

[2:32] other partners listening

[2:33] online. Good.

[2:35] Do we need to leave

[2:37] ? Good.

[2:39] Jori Donner, Director of

[2:40] Long-Term Planning,

[2:43] WFRC.

[2:44] Andrea Olsen,

[2:46] UDOT planning.

[2:46] Paul Aguilera, planner, WFRC

[2:50] . Cameron is responsible for

[2:52] the facilities of cities and towns.

[2:54] Heather Montgomery,

[2:55] Salt Lake County.

[2:58] John A. Nardon, WFRC.

[3:03] Marianne Florence,

[3:05] Finance at WFRC.

[3:08] Jerin Robertson from the

[3:09] Utah Transportation Authority.

[3:10] Chrissy

[3:11] Dolberg, WFRC.

[3:13] Faroltani, an employee at WFRC

[3:16] . Ironhead, an employee at

[3:21] WFRC.

[3:22] Samantha Delhurst, an

[3:24] employee at WFRC.

[3:26] Joel Temple, an employee at WFRC.

[3:29] Hugh Wagon, an employee at WFRC.

[3:33] Marshall White, an employee of

[3:35] WFRC. I didn't receive the notification. I had to

[3:37] wait.

[3:45] Tiffany, you've just joined us

[3:47] . Would you like to

[3:48] introduce yourself?

[3:50] I apologize for the delay.

[3:52] Tiffany, the

[3:53] public relations officer, please

[3:54] come in. No one but you.

[3:58] Good. Thank you all. The first

[4:00] item on our agenda

[4:02] is to take action on the

[4:04] minutes of the RGC meeting

[4:05] held on 21 May 2026.

[4:07] Do we have a proposal

[4:08] to approve it?

[4:09] Proposal to approve

[4:11] the minutes.

[4:11] Thank you, Mayor

[4:13] Bradshaw. Good.

[4:14] Thank you, Mayor

[4:16] Palmer. Does everyone

[4:17] agree? Okay,

[4:19] that's good, right? Good.

[4:21] So, the next item is

[4:23] audience comments. Is

[4:24] there anyone in the room who

[4:26] would like to comment? Do

[4:27] you have three minutes? Is

[4:29] anyone from the

[4:30] audience here? no.

[4:35] Good. Is anyone

[4:36] online?

[4:37] No one is online

[4:39] , raise your hand.

[4:39] no one. Good. So, we don't have

[4:41] any participants

[4:42] online either

[4:43] . So, we will move on

[4:44] to the President's report. I

[4:45] have a few points I would like to

[4:47] discuss. To begin,

[4:48] I would like to share my

[4:50] perspective from when I

[4:52] first became mayor, in order to

[4:53] understand the role of the

[4:55] West Florida Regional Board of Governors (WFRC)

[4:57] in regional planning. To

[4:58] be honest, at first I didn't

[5:00] understand it very well. I wasn't

[5:02] sure. I was invited

[5:03] to many

[5:04] meetings, and it was a

[5:06] great opportunity to learn,

[5:07] but it took me

[5:08] some time to understand the role of the

[5:10] council and its importance. For

[5:11] example, I did not

[5:13] realize at the time that unless

[5:14] this council was given priority

[5:16] , no

[5:17] project would move forward. I was unaware that it was an

[5:19] integral part of the

[5:20] regional planning for

[5:21] the state and our regions. Therefore

[5:23] , it was very useful to

[5:24] know that. Therefore, for

[5:26] anyone new to this

[5:26] field, don't hesitate to

[5:28] ask. There are many

[5:29] questions that may

[5:30] come to your mind, which I

[5:31] also had, and

[5:32] I felt some

[5:33] hesitation in asking them. But just

[5:35] ask, because everyone

[5:36] wants to help you

[5:37] understand the role it plays

[5:38] and how it can benefit your

[5:40] city and region

[5:41] by participating in

[5:42] our meetings,

[5:44] workshops and everything we do;

[5:45] Because if priority is not given

[5:47] here,

[5:48] priority will not be given anywhere

[5:49] else. So, even if

[5:51] we as a city are talking about

[5:52] projects that are important to us, nothing will

[5:54] happen unless it is

[5:55] included in this

[5:57] timetable and part of this

[5:58] plan. Do you want to add

[6:00] anything?

[6:00] Okay, thank you for

[6:02] participating. I think we may get too caught up in our

[6:06] shortcuts and

[6:07] procedures. But, Mr.

[6:11] Mayor, you are

[6:12] helping us and everyone involved

[6:14] to think about what

[6:16] we are trying to do:

[6:18] help and support you

[6:19] all in achieving

[6:21] your goals. Your feedback, as a

[6:27] long-time WFRC participant, is helpful to

[6:29] us, and I believe it is

[6:30] helpful to others as well.

[6:33] Thank you for these

[6:34] reflections, Ted.

[6:36] Fine, thank you. Oh,

[6:37] Ted. Oh, would you

[6:38] like to begin?

[6:40] Commissioner,

[6:41] I am very impressed with your participation in

[6:42] this,

[6:44] Mayor Tran. I am

[6:45] very impressed by your sharing this. I have

[6:50] only been part of this group for a few years, not for my entire tenure as a

[6:51] commissioner, which is nearly

[6:53] eight years. But what I

[6:55] have noticed in this

[6:56] group, just over the

[6:58] past year or two

[7:00] , is that the mayors and

[7:01] even the

[7:03] county commissioner are having a

[7:05] real discussion, which I consider to be very

[7:08] important to the mission of this

[7:10] group. What they see, you

[7:12] know, and what

[7:13] they think about growth

[7:14] , and what the challenges are—because

[7:16] there are many

[7:17] challenges—so yes, I am

[7:19] very impressed when

[7:20] this group engages in a

[7:22] real discussion. Thank you,

[7:25] Commissioner.

[7:27] What you see on the screen

[7:29] is a kind of idea of meditating

[7:31] in the forest. Do you understand what

[7:34] I mean by metaphor?

[7:36] We discuss the regional transport plan a lot in

[7:38] this committee

[7:40] , and we

[7:41] move to the part of this

[7:43] process where we determine,

[7:45] well, which projects make

[7:47] sense to

[7:48] focus on in the

[7:49] first ten years

[7:51] ? This in turn

[7:53] greatly affects how

[7:55] we allocate funding,

[7:56] how funding decisions are made

[7:58] at the University of

[7:59] Delaware, and how we ourselves make

[8:02] funding decisions. So I

[8:04] just wanted to clarify this

[8:06] key point. This is an

[8:07] oversimplification, but the

[8:09] first phase is

[8:10] extremely important in how our

[8:12] state and federal governments spend

[8:16] transportation funds here in the state.

[8:18] This may be quite obvious

[8:19] , but I think

[8:21] it serves as a

[8:23] fundamental reflection, so to speak,

[8:24] of the overall picture,

[8:26] even with how much we talk about the

[8:28] details in the work of

[8:29] our committee.

[8:30] Thank you, Ted, I appreciate

[8:32] it. Good. The

[8:35] next point is that I would like to give Meg the floor to talk

[8:38] to us about funding opportunities and

[8:40] technical assistance for the WFRC. Thank you, Madam

[8:43] President. Hello everyone

[8:45] , it was a pleasure seeing you all

[8:46] . We have upcoming funding opportunities

[8:48] . We often hear from you

[8:49] that financing is

[8:51] one of the biggest obstacles, if

[8:53] not the biggest obstacle,

[8:54] to realizing your dreams in

[8:56] your city, financing

[8:57] transportation projects, and meeting your

[8:59] planning needs

[9:00] . Therefore, we would like to assure

[9:03] you all that these

[9:04] opportunities will be available soon. Please submit your application

[9:06] .

[9:09] Thank you all. We have nine

[9:11] programs in Wasatch

[9:12] Front Regional Council that

[9:13] offer you funding.

[9:15] Five of these programs

[9:16] share a letter of intent.

[9:17] Letters of intent will be sent

[9:19] soon. Therefore, the

[9:20] deadline

[9:21] for submitting letters of

[9:22] intent for these

[9:23] five programs is the end of

[9:24] September, i.e., September 30. The

[9:26] first four programs are dedicated to financing

[9:28] capital projects,

[9:29] including

[9:30] construction and transportation works. The

[9:31] Transport and Land Use Linkage Program is

[9:33] designed for planning and

[9:34] covers most of your

[9:35] planning needs

[9:36] . If you have any

[9:37] planning needs,

[9:38] talk to us, you are

[9:39] very likely to

[9:41] qualify. I do not wish to

[9:42] go into detail about what

[9:43] each of

[9:44] these programs funds, because there are

[9:46] many. But what I want

[9:47] from you is to look forward to the

[9:49] file that will reach you

[9:50] soon. The program file will detail

[9:52] what qualifies in

[9:54] each of these

[9:55] programs, and will guide you

[9:57] through the letter of intent. If

[9:58] you have any

[9:59] questions or would like to

[10:01] submit a letter of intent so

[10:02] we can help you identify the most

[10:03] suitable program, that's fine

[10:05] . All you have to do is

[10:06] submit a letter of intent. The

[10:08] deadline for that

[10:10] is September 30th. Get in touch

[10:11] with your staff, your boards

[10:13] , and your colleagues on

[10:15] planning committees, and get

[10:16] your projects ready. In the

[10:18] next slide, I would like to refer

[10:19] to the four

[10:20] other programs we have available

[10:21] at the

[10:22] Western Forest Resource Center (WFRC).

[10:23] These programs are not

[10:24] part of the letter of intent

[10:26] ; each has its

[10:27] own presentation cycle. I would like to

[10:28] point out here regarding the

[10:31] Community Development Grants Program (CDBG), where a

[10:33] mandatory workshop on how to

[10:35] apply will be held on October 8.

[10:36] Therefore, if you are from a

[10:37] community eligible

[10:39] under the CDBG program, noting

[10:40] that we do not cover the

[10:42] entire region with this

[10:43] program, please

[10:44] see the

[10:45] How to Apply workshop.

[10:46] Again, if you have

[10:47] any questions about

[10:48] eligibility or the region

[10:49] you fall into, please do

[10:50] not hesitate to

[10:50] contact us. We

[10:51] also have funding from the Community

[10:52] Infrastructure Support

[10:53] (CIB) program,

[10:54] technical assistance

[10:55] for station area planning,

[10:56] and funding for the Western Front Economic Development Zone

[10:58] . Good? I know I haven't given

[10:59] you

[11:00] details, but what I've mentioned

[11:02] are the dates. So,

[11:03] pay attention to these

[11:04] dates and get in touch with us

[11:05] . What we would like to do

[11:06] is talk to you about

[11:08] these opportunities, and I am happy to

[11:09] answer any questions.

[11:10] Thank you, Meg. Does

[11:12] anyone have any questions? May I

[11:14] add something?

[11:16] Well, as a complement to what

[11:17] Meg said, here is a brief summary of

[11:19] information provided by

[11:21] Meg. We will share it

[11:22] in detail. We will attend all

[11:24] Council of

[11:24] Local Governments (COG) meetings

[11:25] so that all

[11:26] elected officials

[11:27] in the region, and locally

[11:28] elected officials

[11:29] , are informed of this

[11:30] information. Therefore, we will not

[11:31] go into detail about it

[11:32] now, but we will present it

[11:33] to the Council of

[11:34] Local Governments (COG). We will

[11:35] also present it to the

[11:36] Technical Advisory Committee.

[11:37] Therefore, your employees

[11:38] who work on these

[11:39] matters will

[11:40] also receive all the information. I saw

[11:42] some of you taking

[11:43] screenshots. excellent. Your staff will receive the

[11:45] information, and you will receive

[11:46] more details

[11:47] at upcoming regional government council meetings

[11:48] .

[11:49] Well, that's great.

[11:50] Thank you, Meg.

[11:51] Thank you for that.

[11:53] Good. Now, we will invite

[11:54] Samantha Delhorse to talk to

[11:56] us about the

[11:57] "Wasatch Choice" vision workshop. And

[11:59] I will promote it.

[12:00] Make sure you attend.

[12:02] It is very useful and

[12:03] interesting.

[12:04] Good. Yes,

[12:06] great promotion and perfect pronunciation of my

[12:08] last name. Thank you for

[12:09] that.

[12:10] Thank you. Well, the

[12:13] fall workshop season is here again, and I

[12:14] look around the hall, and I

[12:16] think most of you have

[12:17] attended. I see many

[12:19] familiar faces who have

[12:20] attended our workshops over the

[12:22] years, and I am excited

[12:23] to talk to you a little about

[12:25] them. The

[12:26] annual Wasatch Choice workshops are,

[12:28] above all, a

[12:30] great opportunity for networking among

[12:32] transport partners, elected and

[12:35] appointed officials, and staff

[12:37] from communities throughout

[12:39] our region.

[12:41] Previously, when I

[12:43] worked as a

[12:44] community planner, I

[12:45] enjoyed attending these

[12:47] workshops and connecting with

[12:50] staff from different

[12:51] roles. It is a

[12:54] unique opportunity where we

[12:56] all come together and connect

[12:58] face to face. It is also an

[13:02] important logistical opportunity, as

[13:04] we discussed the transport planning process

[13:06] to determine the content of the

[13:08] regional transport plan,

[13:10] particularly the road transport network and

[13:12] active transport.

[13:15] If you look back at what you have done

[13:17] in these workshops over the

[13:19] years, you will remember that

[13:21] in

[13:22] many of them you were asked to give

[13:24] opinions on road projects,

[13:25] public transport and

[13:27] active transport. This year is no

[13:30] exception. The content of

[13:33] the workshops varies slightly each year

[13:34] , because we design it

[13:36] according to the stage we have

[13:38] reached in the

[13:39] regional transport planning process. You

[13:43] may recall that

[13:45] at

[13:46] our workshop

[13:48] last year we asked you to provide

[13:50] feedback on

[13:53] our preferred draft scenario, which represents

[13:54] the list of projects that

[13:56] passed the technical evaluation stage and

[13:58] moved on to the draft plan

[13:59] .

[14:02] This year's workshop will focus

[14:04] more on the element of the

[14:05] stages of the

[14:07] regional transport planning process. Therefore,

[14:09] we will ask you to provide

[14:11] feedback on how

[14:13] we performed, what we did well

[14:14] , and what we did wrong

[14:16] , with

[14:18] regard to determining when

[14:20] these

[14:21] projects were needed and when

[14:23] funding was expected to be available.

[14:25] This will be the core of

[14:27] the content we will be presenting to

[14:29] you in the autumn workshops.

[14:31] Here on the screen, we have a

[14:33] great map prepared by

[14:35] our analytics department,

[14:37] showing the

[14:38] eight workshops that will be held

[14:40] throughout our region

[14:42] . Each workshop covers a

[14:44] different geographical area.

[14:46] You will find this information

[14:48] highlighted in colored lines, and you

[14:49] will also find it in the

[14:50] small notices

[14:52] where the workshops will be held.

[14:54] Of course, we sent you

[14:55] this information in the

[14:57] calendar invitations, and the

[15:00] first workshop will be held in Box

[15:01] Elder County. Thank you for

[15:03] browsing north. I will read

[15:05] these dates to you so that

[15:06] you can write them down

[15:08] in your minds, perhaps

[15:09] when you hear about the

[15:10] workshops in your area. The

[15:14] Box Elder County workshop will be held on

[15:15] October 21, followed by the

[15:17] North Salt Lake County workshop

[15:19] on October 22, then the

[15:20] South Weber County workshop on

[15:22] October 26, the Southeast

[15:23] Salt Lake County workshop on

[15:25] November 2, the Southwest

[15:26] Salt Lake County workshop on

[15:30] November 5, the North

[15:31] Weber County workshop on

[15:33] November 9, the North Davis County workshop on

[15:36] November 16, and finally the South

[15:38] Davis County workshop on

[15:40] November 18. Therefore, we hope that you will attend

[15:41] these workshops in

[15:43] your area and provide us with

[15:44] your feedback on how they are

[15:46] conducted. The workshops will be held

[15:47] from 4:00

[15:48] to 6:00 pm on those

[15:49] evenings. Well, the

[15:50] calendar invitations have arrived from our

[15:52] dear colleague

[15:53] Jordan. If

[15:54] you do not have these dates and

[15:56] wish to attend,

[15:57] please inform us immediately.

[15:59] If you know of any

[16:00] employees from your offices or

[16:02] staff whom you would like us to contact to

[16:03] confirm that they have received

[16:05] these

[16:06] invitations, please let us know as

[16:07] well. We are happy to answer

[16:09] any questions

[16:10] you may have, and we look forward to

[16:12] seeing you this fall.

[16:14] Thanks, Sam. I would also like to

[16:15] add that we

[16:17] truly appreciate the partnership between the University of

[16:18] Delaware and the Utah Transportation Authority

[16:20] in these workshops.

[16:22] I know that the transit authority

[16:23] will be talking at the workshops about

[16:24] developing its

[16:25] strategic plan, and the University of

[16:27] Delaware is always

[16:28] involved in that. It's a

[16:29] real partnership opportunity.

[16:31] Yes, it's a great opportunity,

[16:33] as the transport authority is

[16:34] also developing its

[16:35] long-term

[16:36] public transport plan. Therefore, we are

[16:37] excited to have them as a

[16:38] partner to share some

[16:39] information about

[16:41] public transport as well. So, stay tuned

[16:42] . Do you have

[16:44] any other questions? Please come in

[16:46] .

[16:46] I just noticed that the

[16:48] South Davis meeting is on a

[16:49] temporary day. Good. It's a rather

[16:52] busy day,

[16:54] November 18th. I'm just wondering

[16:56] if these dates are

[16:58] confirmed or if they can be moved

[16:59] to Tuesday or

[17:02] any other day.

[17:03] Great question. Well,

[17:05] perhaps we can follow up on

[17:06] this matter with our

[17:07] management team. I'm not

[17:08] sure

[17:09] these dates can be changed.

[17:11] We will look into the

[17:12] matter and get back to you

[17:13] .

[17:14] excellent. Thank you for this

[17:15] observation.

[17:16] Okay, since there are no

[17:18] other questions, I'll sit down

[17:19] . Thank you for your time.

[17:21] Thank you, Samantha, and

[17:22] to Mayor Bracha. Thank

[17:23] you both. I know we have had

[17:26] scheduling conflicts before, and it would be very

[17:27] helpful if

[17:28] someone in charge informed us because we

[17:29] all want to make sure we

[17:31] attend. I am

[17:32] very fortunate, like

[17:33] many others in this

[17:34] hall, because my life

[17:35] revolves around

[17:36] temporary days.

[17:37] Your lives are more than almost everyone else's

[17:38] .

[17:39] correct.

[17:42] Many people have joined us

[17:43] online.

[17:44] Andrew will introduce them. Okay

[17:46] , welcome.

[17:47] Mayor Benan,

[17:49] Councillor Strad, Laura

[17:50] Hansen of GOPB, Bryce

[17:52] Bird of DAQ, and Mayor

[17:53] Ramsey all asked me to

[17:54] apologize. She is dealing with an

[17:57] urgent matter and will join us shortly

[17:59] . Okay, that's

[18:01] good. Thank you all. Good.

[18:06] Today, the

[18:08] Regional Growth Commission is asked to issue an

[18:10] amendment to the current Regional Transport Plan

[18:13] for a 30-day general suspension period

[18:14] . So,

[18:16] Juri Juner will explain

[18:17] this clause to us and show us the

[18:20] procedures we

[18:21] will take.

[18:23] Thank you all. Jori Gunner,

[18:25] Director of Long-

[18:26] Term Planning here at WFRC. As

[18:28] the mayor mentioned, we will be introducing

[18:30] Amendment No. 5 and

[18:33] Air Quality Conformity Note No.

[18:35] 44. We will address the

[18:38] amendment process, provide an

[18:40] overview of the projects

[18:42] covered by the amendment, and

[18:44] then request a proposal at the

[18:45] end to release it for

[18:47] public comment. So, a

[18:50] reminder about the Regional Transport Plan

[18:52] (RTP). It is

[18:53] developed over a

[18:55] four-year cycle and is

[18:57] financially constrained. It has a

[18:59] financial plan, and it is consistent with

[19:01] the goals and budgets

[19:03] set for

[19:04] mobile sources of pollution on

[19:06] roads. This is an

[19:07] air quality component. It is

[19:08] linked to local land use plans

[19:11] and the "

[19:12] waste picking" vision. It is divided

[19:14] into stages, each of which

[19:16] takes about ten

[19:17] years. The timing of the

[19:20] project's need and

[19:21] when we expect the

[19:23] necessary funding to be available are determined.

[19:26] It is the starting point,

[19:27] as the mayor

[19:29] previously stated, for projects to

[19:30] move forward in prioritizing

[19:33] federal, state, and

[19:34] local funding. Therefore, if the

[19:35] project is not included in the

[19:37] regional transport plan and

[19:38] is a type of

[19:39] capacity-increasing project

[19:40] , it will be

[19:41] very difficult to obtain

[19:42] funding for it, but that's okay

[19:46] . Therefore,

[19:48] periodic adjustments are needed.

[19:49] It is not fixed. We do not

[19:51] commit to it for four

[19:53] years and then reconsider

[19:54] it. We have a mechanism that the

[19:57] council approved a few

[19:59] years ago to amend. Factors

[20:03] such as the availability of funding,

[20:04] changes in

[20:05] local

[20:07] or governmental needs, modifications to

[20:09] land uses, and

[20:10] environmental analysis may

[20:12] necessitate changes to the

[20:14] regional transport plan or

[20:16] updates to

[20:17] project development timelines

[20:19] . This mechanism maintains the

[20:21] accuracy of

[20:24] our standard regional transport planning process, and

[20:25] includes a review of

[20:27] financial constraints,

[20:28] public participation, and compliance with

[20:30] air quality standards.

[20:32] It is divided into three

[20:33] different levels, which

[20:34] you can see

[20:35] on the right. This is

[20:37] available on our website

[20:38] . If you go

[20:40] to the modifications section,

[20:41] you will find them on our website

[20:43] . Level

[20:49] 1 is an amendment by

[20:50] staff, which we can

[20:52] review internally with the

[20:53] chair and vice-chair of the

[20:54] Regional Growth Committee, and then

[20:55] Andrew takes over to approve

[20:57] Level

[20:58] 1 amendments. The

[20:59] second level consists of amendments

[21:01] by the council.

[21:02] These projects are reviewed by the

[21:03] Tax Committee of the

[21:05] Regional Growth Committee

[21:06] , and then approved at a

[21:09] committee meeting.

[21:10] Level 3 projects are

[21:11] complete modifications,

[21:12] requiring a

[21:13] new air quality conformity note, a

[21:15] 30-day public comment period,

[21:16] review by

[21:18] technical advisory committees and the

[21:19] regional growth committee

[21:20] , and then

[21:21] final approval from the council.

[21:22] These are projects of a

[21:23] wider scope, and

[21:24] I will explain that in the

[21:26] next slide. All projects are reviewed

[21:28] by a

[21:30] joint interagency advisory team

[21:31] , a

[21:33] state-level team,

[21:34] to ensure they are identified at the

[21:36] correct level. The financial

[21:37] restrictions are then reviewed

[21:38] by the

[21:40] Federal Highway Authority. In the

[21:41] next slide,

[21:43] I will explain the types of projects

[21:44] that fall under these

[21:46] categories. As you can see here

[21:47] on the right side, the

[21:49] golden line indicates the

[21:50] stage we have reached

[21:51] in Level

[21:52] 3. Here's a

[21:53] quick overview: This is a

[21:55] Level 3 revision, and

[21:56] we've come a long way, and

[21:58] we need to put it out for

[21:59] public comment. This is what

[22:00] we are asking for today. Therefore,

[22:03] each one is different. Hmm,

[22:05] Andrew narrows his eyes. We

[22:07] may need to find a

[22:08] better way to display these.

[22:10] Hmm,

[22:10] yes,

[22:11] staff adjustments.

[22:13] Well, the first level

[22:14] , personnel adjustments,

[22:16] are smaller projects,

[22:17] changes in ownership,

[22:19] operational changes to

[22:21] routes, changes in

[22:22] project phases based

[22:24] on needs, all

[22:25] active transport projects.

[22:27] These are cycling

[22:29] and walking projects. Any changes

[22:30] to Wassett's vision

[22:32] are considered a

[22:33] Level 1 project.

[22:34] Level two,

[22:35] Council amendment. This

[22:37] includes both secondary

[22:39] and main roads.

[22:40] Non-permanent transport projects,

[22:42] such as bus projects

[22:44] and lane maintenance changes

[22:45] .

[22:47] Level 3 projects are

[22:48] main roads,

[22:49] highways and

[22:50] fixed transport. This

[22:52] includes rapid transit

[22:53] by bus,

[22:54] light rail,

[22:55] trams,

[22:56] express trains, and the

[22:57] like, which fall

[22:59] under Amendment No. 3.

[23:00] We have one project in

[23:02] this amendment.

[23:03] The project is located on the West

[23:04] Davis corridor and aims to

[23:06] address both need and

[23:07] funding, specifically

[23:08] in the stage of

[23:10] financial constraints. The project is the

[23:13] West Davis Corridor intersection

[23:15] at Highway 1525

[23:17] Westbound. There is currently an

[23:19] overpass at this

[23:20] location on the West

[23:22] Davis Trail. The

[23:25] Utah Department of Transportation (

[23:26] UDOT) wants to upgrade the

[23:28] overpass into an intersection.

[23:29] The project is currently classified

[23:31] as Phase III, and

[23:32] is a project of

[23:33] urgent need and not funded under the

[23:36] current Regional Transport Plan (RTP).

[23:37] The project will cost approximately

[23:39] $20 million and will be

[23:41] funded by the

[23:44] state's Transportation Investment Fund, which is linked

[23:46] to the

[23:48] I-15 Interstate Reconstruction Project.

[23:52] Yes, this is correct. I think I can

[23:57] see Glovers Lane,

[23:59] but it's

[24:00] in the southwest part

[24:01] of Farmington.

[24:03] When you reach

[24:04] Legacy Parkway, if

[24:06] you are heading north, you will

[24:07] reach approximately the first corner

[24:08] , and you will find an

[24:10] overpass there. It will pass

[24:11] underneath it, but there is no

[24:13] outlet. I think the

[24:15] next access point is 950

[24:19] south, then the next one is 200

[24:21] north towards Sisville.

[24:23] There are two intersections to the north,

[24:25] but they are very far apart.

[24:28] This will provide a

[24:30] new entrance to the

[24:31] western part of Farmington.

[24:34] amazing! Thanks.

[24:35] Jouri, may I ask you another question

[24:37] ? Is this the

[24:39] Shepherd Lane bridge that he's crossing

[24:41] over?

[24:41] no. Shepherd Lane,

[24:44] I-15 is

[24:46] currently under construction. It will connect to an

[24:51] existing intersection on

[24:53] West Davis Road. It will be a

[24:55] new corridor connecting

[24:57] West Davis and I-15 once the

[24:59] Shepherd Lane project opens

[25:01] . It

[25:02] may still be in the

[25:04] cleaning stage, but I remember you can

[25:06] get out of

[25:07] there. Mayor Rory, it

[25:09] might be helpful to explain the

[25:11] source of funding, especially

[25:12] after we initially showed a slide

[25:14] to some

[25:15] new members about the

[25:16] annual funding allocations

[25:18] and how this

[25:19] particular fund works. If

[25:20] you are new, you may be

[25:22] wondering: "Oh my God, that's a

[25:23] huge amount!" So, how is a

[25:25] project of this

[25:27] size financed? I'll be counting on you for

[25:30] that, because I have Tiffany

[25:32] PCO and Andre

[25:33] Olsen who are

[25:35] programming TIFF. But as

[25:37] I understand this project,

[25:39] there is the

[25:40] I-15 highway project, scheduled to begin

[25:42] construction

[25:44] next year, from Farmington

[25:46] to Salt Lake. This project is a

[25:49] key element in helping to

[25:51] alleviate

[25:52] traffic congestion on

[25:54] I-15 during

[25:56] construction work.

[25:57] This is called "traffic maintenance

[25:58] ," isn't it?

[26:00] During the construction work,

[26:02] some routes will be closed

[26:03] and traffic diverted

[26:04] ; this will help

[26:06] provide access for residents of the

[26:08] southwest part

[26:10] of Farmington. So,

[26:12] the funding in this case is

[26:14] tied to the

[26:17] I-15 highway project, as I understand it.

[26:19] I will look into... There are

[26:21] no revenues from the

[26:24] previously submitted budget items.

[26:26] correct. I'm Tiffany, would

[26:28] you like to add funding?

[26:29] Yes, specifically regarding the

[26:31] source of funding, it

[26:33] comes from the Transport Investment Fund

[26:34] . It is a

[26:36] government fund. As you know,

[26:40] there are multiple sources of funding

[26:42] , but it is funded by the

[26:45] state. The

[26:46] Transportation Commission funded the

[26:48] I-15 highway project from

[26:50] Farmington to Salt

[26:51] Lake City. With this

[26:53] funding, they were able to

[26:54] complete the old road. The

[26:56] old road has an

[26:57] additional lane in each

[26:59] direction, in addition to

[27:00] this intersection. Therefore, part

[27:02] of this project is to

[27:03] build these two

[27:05] other intersections to alleviate

[27:06] congestion.

[27:08] For the group

[27:09] that will vote on the

[27:10] amendment or not, we must

[27:12] understand that this is a change

[27:13] in procedures, but it is

[27:15] not necessarily a

[27:16] funding decision for us

[27:18] at this stage.

[27:19] correct. This is part of

[27:22] another project with a different capacity.

[27:24] excellent. Thank you.

[27:26] I have a question. I read here,

[27:30] under the section on benefits, the

[27:31] last sentence says

[27:33] that it was initially designed

[27:34] to be built along with

[27:35] West Davis Quarter Road. Does

[27:37] this mean that it was

[27:38] present in the

[27:39] original plans and then removed for some reason

[27:41] ? This makes perfect sense

[27:42] to me as someone who lives

[27:44] there. I think this makes perfect sense

[27:46] . Why wasn't it built

[27:47] even though the highway is

[27:49] relatively new? Why wasn't it

[27:50] originally built with it?

[27:52] I wonder about that sentence.

[27:54] Excellent question. I'm not

[27:55] entirely sure. I don't

[27:57] know if the

[27:58] Urban Development Department or

[27:59] our partners know why it was

[28:00] n't included. I think

[28:01] they were

[28:02] probably trying to cut

[28:03] costs or get it done within the

[28:05] current budget, so they had to

[28:07] cut some things. That's what I

[28:08] think.

[28:09] Yes, from an

[28:10] environmental standpoint, we obtained

[28:12] approval for this

[28:13] intersection through the

[28:14] environmental document.

[28:15] Well, at that time,

[28:17] when we created the

[28:19] first phase of the West

[28:20] Havis corridor, it wasn't

[28:22] urgently needed from a

[28:23] traffic perspective.

[28:25] But now, given that we will be doing

[28:27] work

[28:29] on I-15,

[28:31] which will require a

[28:32] great deal of effort, this will serve as a

[28:34] safety valve for that

[28:36] area sooner rather than later. Mr.

[28:39] Mayor, this

[28:41] project was included in the

[28:43] regional transport plan for a

[28:46] later stage. As

[28:51] Tiffany pointed out, and as

[28:53] the mayor explained, the

[28:55] combination of effects in

[28:57] your area means that the implementation of the

[28:59] I-15 project has accelerated

[29:01] the need to make this

[29:03] improvement before I-15. I think it's

[29:08] mainly a matter of timing, and

[29:10] this is probably

[29:11] one of the fastest intersections to be

[29:12] built because the

[29:13] overpass is already there

[29:15] , so it

[29:16] just needs ramps,

[29:17] isn't that right, Mr.

[29:18] Mayor?

[29:19] This is very close to

[29:20] Farmington

[29:21] High School. Well, I'm

[29:23] wondering from the perspective of

[29:25] the city, and perhaps the

[29:26] school district,

[29:27] whether the

[29:28] impact of this

[29:30] on

[29:31] student traffic, walkability,

[29:33] active transportation options, and

[29:35] student safety as they arrive

[29:36] at Farmington

[29:38] High School has been considered. I understand that this is

[29:40] included in the plan,

[29:41] but have we thought

[29:42] about all of this thoroughly, has the

[29:44] pace of implementation been accelerated,

[29:45] and will these

[29:46] factors be taken into account?

[29:48] I assume that all of that has been

[29:49] reviewed during the

[29:51] environmental analysis, but if

[29:52] necessary, do you have any

[29:54] additions or comments? I do

[29:56] n't know the details of this

[29:57] question, but we can

[29:59] certainly ask it and get back to

[30:00] you. It is not

[30:03] my area in

[30:05] Davis County, but

[30:08] Glover Lane presents an

[30:09] interesting challenge, in

[30:11] my opinion, for students

[30:12] who live on the

[30:13] east side of

[30:14] Farmington to get to

[30:16] Farmington

[30:17] High School via the

[30:18] freeway. There is

[30:22] significant growth on the west side

[30:23] of Farmington. Therefore, the

[30:25] movement of these

[30:27] students to and from

[30:28] high school, and the

[30:29] huge amount of

[30:31] activities

[30:32] organized by a

[30:33] large high school, is something I would like us to pay

[30:36] close attention to.

[30:37] We are currently working with the

[30:39] City of Farmington on the

[30:41] 2027 Plan.

[30:43] The City has acknowledged the need to improve

[30:45] both Route 1525 and

[30:47] Glovers, so we will be adding

[30:49] these projects to the

[30:51] upcoming 2027 Plan. Therefore,

[30:53] the city expects to make

[30:55] additional efforts, and I am

[30:56] sure it will coordinate

[30:58] with schools to ensure that

[31:00] both

[31:02] active transportation and roads are completed

[31:04] there as well. These are

[31:05] great comments about

[31:06] Farmington

[31:07] High School. Part of my

[31:08] thinking about the feasibility of this

[31:10] project relates to

[31:10] Farmington

[31:11] High School. All residents of

[31:13] West Keysville do not have a

[31:14] convenient route

[31:15] to get to their

[31:16] high school in the morning, as it

[31:17] takes them a

[31:18] long time, so

[31:19] this project may help

[31:20] solve this problem. But

[31:21] Kate is absolutely right;

[31:24] active transport and

[31:25] pedestrian traffic

[31:26] associated with the

[31:27] high school there must certainly be taken into account. Well,

[31:29] in that context, I don't

[31:30] know if you always take

[31:32] these things into

[31:33] account, and I don't

[31:35] want to be accused,

[31:36] but the whole intersection in

[31:38] Farmington, near

[31:40] Station Park, was built without any

[31:41] consideration for the passage of

[31:43] cyclists or pedestrians.

[31:45] Now they are forced to

[31:47] rebuild it. So please

[31:48] look at this

[31:49] active part, especially with the

[31:50] high school

[31:52] nearby, it will provide

[31:53] better access, I

[31:54] think, for their

[31:55] daily commute to school in

[31:56] the morning. I do

[31:57] n't know if

[31:57] [the relevant authority

[31:59] ] can answer this

[31:59] question, but when

[32:00] you move a project from the

[32:01] third stage to the

[32:02] first, you run into

[32:03] reality, don't you?

[32:04] Stage three means:

[32:05] "Yes, we might need

[32:06] this, what if?" I believe the

[32:08] questions raised are

[32:10] very important, and they push us

[32:12] to explore

[32:13] revenue sources related to

[32:15] active transport, because the

[32:16] goal is clear: any

[32:18] investment in a

[32:20] major highway or even a

[32:22] regular road, we are now focusing more

[32:23] on active transport.

[32:25] I remember joining the

[32:27] Wasatch Front Council as a member around

[32:28] 2005

[32:29] . The

[32:31] Active Transport Committee was in

[32:32] its early stages, and the process was

[32:34] also in its early stages. Is this the

[32:35] right moment for

[32:37] the team to provide

[32:38] valuable feedback?

[32:39] Can we now consider

[32:41] active transfer, and

[32:42] reach out to the University of

[32:44] Delaware to make sure we are

[32:45] moving in that

[32:46] direction, and link

[32:48] the two programs? Perhaps

[32:49] our next decision will be to

[32:51] activate the Active Transportation Project

[32:52] to address

[32:54] high school problems and

[32:56] other community needs. Well, this is a

[32:59] great conversation, and to

[33:01] clarify, what is being presented

[33:02] to you today is a request for

[33:04] your approval to put this

[33:06] topic up for

[33:07] public comment. Good. The aim

[33:10] is to continue

[33:12] the dialogue about

[33:13] the needs

[33:14] you have identified and that

[33:15] Tiffany has explained, and this is the kind of

[33:17] feedback that is

[33:19] needed. So, I look forward

[33:22] to Tiffany, Andrea, and

[33:24] Jory, and as you mentioned

[33:26] earlier, Tiffany,

[33:27] gathering more

[33:29] information about

[33:31] pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and then

[33:33] sharing it with you, and hopefully

[33:35] answering some of these

[33:37] questions. We are certainly concerned about these

[33:40] effects as well. So,

[33:42] we can have more

[33:44] dialogue on this

[33:45] subject during the

[33:47] public comment period, and then at the

[33:48] end of the

[33:50] public comment period,

[33:52] when this project is returned for

[33:54] final approval, I would like to say,

[33:56] Mayor Wilson, you have indicated that,

[33:59] years ago, we have made

[34:01] remarkable progress since the

[34:03] Active Transport Commission was established. It's not

[34:04] perfect, and we're not finished

[34:06] yet, but we've made

[34:07] amazing progress in

[34:08] providing choices

[34:10] and thinking about all these

[34:11] things related to

[34:12] roads, public transport

[34:14] , pathways, pedestrians,

[34:15] and how they work together.

[34:17] There is now funding specifically allocated to

[34:18] track projects that did not

[34:20] exist before,

[34:21] and all of

[34:22] these things must be considered at the same time

[34:24] . So, my

[34:26] basic reaction to all of this was

[34:27] yes, let's look into it

[34:29] . I know that the University of

[34:30] Delaware has researched this

[34:32] with local communities

[34:33] , and we can provide

[34:34] more information. Please come in

[34:37] . I

[34:41] was a member of the

[34:44] City of Cessville Urban Planning Commission in

[34:45] my first public service position

[34:47] , which began in

[34:48] January 2014. Within about a year

[34:50] , both

[34:52] Cessville and Farmington

[34:53] applied for and received a

[34:55] Wasatch Front

[34:56] Regional Council Active Transit Grant

[34:58] .

[35:03] Both cities had a

[35:04] number of employees,

[35:06] in addition to

[35:08] council members and a planning committee.

[35:12] In any case, it was a

[35:13] very strong group, and there was a

[35:15] planner who attended the

[35:17] meeting representing

[35:18] the city. Tomlar was in

[35:20] charge at the time. In

[35:22] any case, they

[35:25] promoted the project and

[35:27] received a lot of

[35:28] public feedback about it.

[35:30] Hundreds of people participated in

[35:32] Cesville and Farmington,

[35:34] thanks to the tremendous efforts

[35:35] made to gather

[35:37] public feedback,

[35:39] opinions, and ideas. It

[35:41] took some

[35:42] time, but he succeeded in

[35:44] engaging the community

[35:45] effectively, and that didn't happen

[35:46] in six months. This was over a

[35:49] longer period of time. I believe that

[35:51] these two cities had

[35:52] formed that

[35:53] committee. In any case,

[35:54] I would just say that it is

[35:56] likely that

[35:57] all cities and many

[35:59] communities will have a

[36:02] similarly strong response to engagement.

[36:04] But there is indeed a

[36:06] history of Keysville and

[36:07] Farmington

[36:08] collaborating and working hard to

[36:10] respond to and

[36:11] gain the support of the community. It was

[36:14] really enjoyable for those gathered. So,

[36:15] once that seed is planted,

[36:17] I bet it will come

[36:18] right back to us, you

[36:20] know, if we

[36:21] really find a way to inform the

[36:23] public. I am quite confident

[36:26] that the active transport element is

[36:27] included in the

[36:29] West Davis corridor. The

[36:31] entire project participated in the

[36:32] study, a

[36:34] multi-year environmental study, and

[36:35] numerous conversations

[36:37] with Farmington, Cesville,

[36:39] and all the communities in the

[36:40] western part of

[36:42] Davis County here. So

[36:43] , as I said, we can

[36:45] check and make sure

[36:47] , but there is a path. I know

[36:49] there are

[36:50] equestrian trails along West

[36:51] Davis; There are crossings;

[36:53] There are walking trails along the

[36:54] road. I drove there

[36:56] yesterday.

[36:58] Fine,

[36:59] thank you.

[37:01] As part of our

[37:03] regional

[37:04] population census project, we conducted

[37:06] technical studies.

[37:07] We've talked about a lot of them

[37:09] here. As for those we did not

[37:10] mention, there was little

[37:12] change,

[37:14] as they were merely upgrades

[37:15] to intersections.

[37:17] Looking at the

[37:18] regional scope of the West

[37:19] Fremantle Regional Hub from

[37:20] Brigham Town to

[37:21] Bluffdale, there has been little

[37:23] change in

[37:24] terms of

[37:25] access to opportunities or in terms

[37:26] of VHT. It should

[37:27] also be noted that we

[37:29] adhere to all

[37:30] air quality standards

[37:31] mentioned in

[37:33] Air Quality Conformity Note No.

[37:34] 44. Both

[37:39] Regional Growth Technical Advisory Committees reviewed

[37:40] the amendment on July 29 and

[37:42] recommended that the Regional Growth Committee submit

[37:44] a proposal to issue

[37:45] Amendment 5 and

[37:48] Air Quality Conformity Note No. 44 for

[37:49] public comment for 30

[37:51] days.

[37:52] The proposal was submitted. Fine

[37:54] ,

[37:54] thank you. Therefore, you must

[37:56] state the proposal in full.

[37:58] Do we need someone to

[37:59] introduce it? Yes, we say

[38:01] that. Thanks.

[38:02] I propose that we release

[38:03] the projects contained in

[38:05] Amendment No. 5 to the

[38:07] Regional Transport Plan 2023-2050

[38:08] , and the air quality conformity analysis

[38:11] as contained

[38:13] in Draft

[38:15] Air Quality Conformity Note No. 44,

[38:16] for a public comment period

[38:17] of 30 days.

[38:19] Thank you, Mayor

[38:20] Grüberg. Good. Thank

[38:24] you, Commissioner. Okay.

[38:26] Does everyone agree? I

[38:28] agree, thank you. Anyone who

[38:30] agrees, well, good. Okay

[38:32] . Thank you very much. The

[38:34] next steps, as

[38:36] Andrew indicated, are to send this

[38:38] , in accordance with our procedures,

[38:40] to the members of the Davis County Council

[38:42] , so that the

[38:43] council, and everyone in

[38:45] Davis County, is aware of the

[38:46] project. We will review

[38:48] the comments after the

[38:50] comment period ends, which

[38:51] will start tomorrow and end, I

[38:53] believe, on

[38:54] September 21st, and then we will

[38:55] all be back, not in the

[38:57] third week of

[38:58] October, but in the

[39:00] second week. Therefore, please

[39:01] note that we will address

[39:03] this topic at the

[39:04] end. The

[39:05] meeting of the

[39:06] Regional Transport Board was brought forward

[39:07] by a week due to the

[39:08] autumn holiday in October. So

[39:09] , on October 8th

[39:11] , we will come back to you requesting a

[39:12] proposal for the

[39:13] Regional Council to approve at the

[39:14] end of the month. These are our

[39:16] current procedures.

[39:17] Thank you all. Good.

[39:19] Thank you very much. correct. The

[39:21] following item is open

[39:23] for discussion. We will talk about the

[39:25] question of whether we

[39:26] should start over. The

[39:28] secret transport weapon.

[39:30] The state of Utah has been

[39:31] very successful in building its

[39:32] transportation network.

[39:33] Despite the quality of what we do, we

[39:34] always need more

[39:35] help. It seems that the

[39:36] money is

[39:37] never enough. To what extent can

[39:38] balancing

[39:39] jobs and housing

[39:40] improve our transportation outcomes

[39:41] ? While

[39:42] Andrew is giving his presentation, I would like to invite

[39:44] Cameron Dale. Will you join

[39:45] us, Cam, because

[39:47] you have a lot to contribute to

[39:49] this discussion? Thank you,

[39:51] Andrew.

[39:51] Okay, excellent. Thank

[39:53] you, Mayor Tran. Well

[39:55] , at the Utah Transportation Research Center

[39:57] (WFRC),

[39:59] we spend a lot of time

[40:00] talking about mobility

[40:02] and how to improve the

[40:03] transportation system, right? This is the

[40:05] essence of our work. And a little secret,

[40:09] we're great at

[40:11] transportation in Utah, aren't we

[40:13] ? We are nationally known for

[40:16] our expertise in developing

[40:18] and delivering transportation services.

[40:20] But here lies the problem

[40:21] . Excellence in

[40:24] transportation is not enough to achieve

[40:25] excellent mobility. It is not

[40:27] enough. So, what I would like to

[40:30] invite you to do today is to

[40:32] think a

[40:34] little differently about transportation, and about the

[40:36] transportation weapon which is perhaps

[40:38] no secret, namely, the

[40:40] balance between jobs

[40:41] and housing. What we want to do

[40:47] today is illustrate this

[40:49] basic premise: that

[40:50] balancing

[40:52] jobs and housing

[40:53] improves our transportation system

[40:55] as much as

[40:57] building more

[40:59] infrastructure. Before we delve

[41:02] into that, what I would like to show

[41:04] you is the reality of

[41:09] our transportation system. We

[41:10] all feel this

[41:12] pain and stress resulting

[41:14] from traffic congestion.

[41:16] What you see here on

[41:17] the screen is from the

[41:20] Utah State Department of

[41:21] Transportation's Mobility Information Dashboard.

[41:23] These are the estimated delay times on

[41:24] Utah highways

[41:26] . Okay, so what does

[41:29] the delay mean? Imagine you are

[41:32] traveling at a smooth speed

[41:34] without traffic congestion, then

[41:36] if congestion occurs, you will

[41:38] slow down. This is the

[41:39] delay. To put

[41:42] the numbers into perspective, after the pandemic

[41:45] , delays on

[41:47] Utah's highways increased

[41:49] by 135%. These are the

[41:53] numbers. But that's how we

[41:55] all feel. We

[41:58] all feel this: stress, and

[42:00] wasting time due to

[42:03] traffic jams. Not only

[42:04] that, but also the

[42:06] uncertainty that

[42:07] we experience when we think: "I have to

[42:09] travel a

[42:10] long distance, and

[42:12] the trip is supposed to take 45 minutes

[42:13] , but I have to plan for a

[42:15] whole hour because of the

[42:16] uncertainty." This is something we

[42:18] all go through. Okay, so what do

[42:20] we do about this?

[42:22] How do we deal with

[42:24] these transportation problems? Three

[42:26] basic strategies.

[42:28] Well, first of all, Utah is

[42:30] building, and I've touched on

[42:32] that before, but Utah is

[42:34] great at developing

[42:36] transportation, from roads and

[42:37] public transport to

[42:38] routes and providing

[42:40] multiple options. We have a

[42:44] nationally recognized unified transport plan, as shown

[42:46] on the map here on the

[42:47] screen. We have a

[42:49] very outstanding performance record from the

[42:51] Utah Department of Transportation, and are award-winning

[42:52] from the

[42:54] Utah Transportation Authority (UTA).

[42:55] We have the highest

[42:57] per capita investment in the transportation sector

[42:58] nationwide when

[43:00] looking at all sources of

[43:01] funding. Over the

[43:04] next ten years, say before the

[43:06] Olympic Games, we will be

[43:07] developing and attracting hundreds of

[43:09] projects in the areas of

[43:10] roads,

[43:11] public transport and tracks.

[43:13] So, the idea is that

[43:14] we have abundant resources for

[43:16] transport capacity and options, and

[43:18] we use them very efficiently

[43:19] . But, and I don't think

[43:22] this is a difficult opinion or a

[43:23] fact, but it's not

[43:25] controversial, I

[43:26] think we can't

[43:28] solve the

[43:30] traffic congestion problem just by building roads

[43:32] . That won't work.

[43:33] Okay, so what should we do? The

[43:36] second strategy

[43:38] is for Utah to innovate. We are once again

[43:42] recognized

[43:43] nationwide for

[43:44] our leadership in using

[43:46] technology

[43:47] and innovation to improve the

[43:48] existing transportation system.

[43:51] For example,

[43:52] improved traffic signal timing

[43:54] ,

[43:55] connected and self-

[43:57] driving vehicles, and

[43:58] amazing developments in

[44:00] advanced air transport.

[44:02] The idea of innovation lies in

[44:03] making the most of the

[44:05] transportation system

[44:06] we have created, which we continue to

[44:08] develop. But infrastructure development

[44:14] and the use of innovation

[44:16] in it focus on

[44:17] increasing supply, i.e.,

[44:19] maximizing its use,

[44:21] but they do not address

[44:22] demand, which is the

[44:24] other driver. So how do we deal with

[44:28] this? This leads us to the

[44:30] third strategy

[44:31] : achieving a balance between

[44:33] jobs and housing in the

[44:34] state of Utah. We all

[44:36] understand this, don't we?

[44:38] But when

[44:39] homes and workplaces are far

[44:41] apart,

[44:42] journeys become longer and

[44:44] roads become more congested.

[44:46] Therefore, if we achieve a

[44:47] greater balance in

[44:51] residential and work locations,

[44:53] this will result in shorter commutes and

[44:55] less pressure on the

[44:57] transportation system. You may notice a

[45:01] question mark

[45:03] about this strategy

[45:04] , because we see in it an

[45:06] opportunity to improve transportation.

[45:10] The relationship between

[45:11] land use

[45:12] and transportation is not new to the

[45:16] Wasatch Transportation Board of Directors (WFRC); it is at the heart of the

[45:18] "Wasatch Choice" vision.

[45:20] But what we are proposing to you

[45:21] today is that this well-

[45:24] thought-out transport strategy, which

[45:26] balances employment and

[45:27] housing opportunities, is a way

[45:30] to actually improve mobility

[45:32] over

[45:33] time. It's not about

[45:35] transportation itself, but about

[45:36] thinking about job opportunities,

[45:38] housing, and the balance

[45:39] between them. Why are we focusing

[45:40] only on job opportunities?

[45:42] Of course, we travel

[45:43] for many reasons, but

[45:44] work and daily commuting

[45:46] represent peak

[45:47] demand, and it is when the

[45:48] worst

[45:49] traffic congestion occurs. Therefore,

[45:51] we focus on this aspect.

[45:54] Before I move on to the

[45:55] next point, I want to make it

[45:57] absolutely clear that we are

[45:59] not talking about restricting

[46:01] anyone’s choices

[46:02] regarding their travel destination or

[46:04] place of work. Good?

[46:07] People should have the freedom to

[46:09] choose their destination, when

[46:11] they travel, and where they work.

[46:13] What we are talking about is

[46:15] trying to give people

[46:16] more opportunities to live and

[46:18] work in places closer together, and

[46:19] to reduce the distances they

[46:21] travel. Good.

[46:23] Again, Jordan, to tie

[46:24] all of this together, there are

[46:26] three

[46:27] basic strategies for a high-

[46:28] performance transportation system: building, that is,

[46:30] adding more capacity

[46:31] and options to the system.

[46:33] We are good at that.

[46:35] Innovation, i.e., improving the

[46:36] system. We are good at

[46:38] that too, and we are working on

[46:39] it. And balance. There is an

[46:41] opportunity for improvement in this

[46:42] area. And now, I'll turn

[46:44] to Bill Harr from

[46:46] our analytics team.

[46:47] Bill will share with you some

[46:51] new data and analysis, presented

[46:53] here for the first time, that

[46:54] can help us

[46:56] make our

[46:57] future decisions. After

[46:59] Bill finishes, I will return

[47:01] to discuss how to improve

[47:04] the balance between housing

[47:05] and work. Bill: Thank

[47:12] you, Andrew. It is a

[47:19] pleasure to be here. I

[47:20] usually spend my day in

[47:21] front of a computer, so it's

[47:23] nice to see people

[47:24] face to face. In a few moments,

[47:26] we will begin a journey together

[47:27] through this

[47:28] electronic application.

[47:31] This application helps us understand the

[47:32] regional impact of the

[47:33] housing-

[47:35] employment balance in

[47:36] our communities.

[47:39] The app relies on data from the

[47:40] statistics office showing

[47:42] where people live

[47:43] and where they work.

[47:47] Our focus in this tool is

[47:48] on business trips.

[47:50] And why business trips?

[47:51] Andrew has spoken about this

[47:53] before. Business travel

[47:54] is the main cause of

[47:55] traffic congestion during

[47:57] peak hours. We have

[47:58] designed our transportation system

[47:59] to handle these

[48:01] busy times.

[48:02] If we can reduce the

[48:04] pressure on our roads

[48:05] during this time, we will make a

[48:07] big difference. But

[48:10] before we start using

[48:11] the app, let's think a

[48:13] little about what the balance

[48:14] between housing and jobs looks like in our

[48:16] region and communities.

[48:18] Every morning, thousands of

[48:20] people leave your city for work

[48:22] , and thousands

[48:24] more come to it. So, let me ask

[48:27] you this question:

[48:28] Looking at the

[48:30] Wasatch Front area, what

[48:31] percentage of people

[48:33] live and work in the same

[48:35] city? And what about

[48:39] your city? What is your opinion? On

[48:42] average, city by city

[48:44] , what do you think? 40%

[48:47] live and work in the same

[48:49] city. Do you have any

[48:51] other guesses? I'll guess,

[48:57] because we have some

[48:59] big cities, 70%.

[49:02] Good. I

[49:04] was guessing a lower percentage. This is

[49:06] very optimistic.

[49:07] I think we're approaching the

[49:08] upper limit here. Yes. I

[49:10] would just say it might

[49:12] be 20%.

[49:13] So, I think

[49:14] Salt Lake City is approaching

[49:15] that, and approaching the

[49:17] upper limit in your city

[49:18] . Yes. I

[49:20] will return it.

[49:21] Speaking on the

[49:22] other side, I would say we're at

[49:24] Harman 10% or less. So

[49:25] I say, and perhaps I'm not speaking

[49:27] uniquely, I would say 10.

[49:28] That's what I would do

[49:30] too,

[49:30] but that applies to

[49:31] Morgan County. Since I do

[49:33] n't know the methodology you

[49:34] use, I will present some

[49:35] interesting data

[49:36] . Yes,

[49:38] Salt Lake City has a

[49:40] nighttime population of about 215,000

[49:42] , while

[49:43] its daytime population is double that

[49:44] number. The population of

[49:46] Murray at night is

[49:47] slightly less than 50,000

[49:48] , while its

[49:50] daytime population, including the

[49:51] workforce, is around

[49:52] 120,000. In

[49:57] Park City, less than 10% of the

[49:58] population is employed. These are

[50:00] just extreme, individual examples

[50:02] . As for

[50:03] Tula County, I

[50:05] recently saw that about

[50:06] 75% of its residents commute

[50:07] daily outside the county

[50:09] for work.

[50:09] Yes, 75% of the population is

[50:11] leaving Tula County and

[50:13] coming to the Salt Lake Valley

[50:15] . Again, since I do

[50:16] n't know the methodology

[50:17] you use,

[50:18] these are just a few examples

[50:20] of how the data appears

[50:21] by location. Good.

[50:23] The answer is that, according to

[50:24] our methodology,

[50:26] about 10% or less

[50:28] on average live and work across the

[50:29] region in the same

[50:31] city. This means that 90

[50:43] % of people are leaving

[50:44] their city to work

[50:46] elsewhere. This puts a

[50:48] lot of pressure on our transport network

[50:50] , our roads, our

[50:53] public transport, and all of that. Therefore,

[50:55] we will do something that should

[50:56] never be done in a meeting: a

[50:58] live demonstration.

[51:05] Good. The reason is that I have to

[51:08] stop

[51:09] sharing because I am

[51:11] only sharing the window, and I will start

[51:12] sharing the screen. Good

[51:24] . Here in the web application,

[51:26] in the middle, you will see that

[51:28] this is our area, and

[51:30] you can see the lines

[51:31] on the map that show

[51:33] where people move to and from

[51:35] . And now, as you can see,

[51:37] this is the area of the Two Holy Mosques.

[51:39] I believe the mayor of the Two

[51:40] Holy Mosques is here.

[51:42] Okay, let me explain the

[51:44] transportation route between Herman and

[51:45] Salt Lake City. The

[51:48] longer the line, the more

[51:50] users it has. Therefore, the

[51:51] Salt Lake City-

[51:52] Herman-Salt Lake City route is a

[51:54] very attractive destination.

[51:55] Here at the top left we can see

[51:56] the number of people

[51:58] who leave Hermann

[52:00] daily to commute, which is

[52:02] about 29,000 people.

[52:04] This number also appears here

[52:05] on the side. We have 29,000

[52:08] people. But we also have

[52:11] about 5% of the population

[52:12] living and working

[52:14] in Herman, that is 1,600 people.

[52:20] That is, they reside within the

[52:21] city. We can also

[52:24] change this display

[52:25] to see where

[52:27] people come from to work at Herman's

[52:28] . We have 5,800 people who work

[52:32] in Herman or live

[52:34] and work in other cities

[52:36] , and that number is

[52:37] here. So,

[52:43] the bottom line is that 95% of

[52:45] Herman's residents leave

[52:47] the city using the

[52:49] transportation network to reach

[52:51] other destinations. But

[52:58] we can also explore

[52:59] other communities. So, is

[53:01] there anyone from outside

[53:03] Salt Lake County who would like

[53:04] to see his community? We can

[53:06] take Bounty Fall as an example.

[53:09] Bounty Fall. Good. In

[53:19] Bounty Fall, 19,000

[53:21] residents are leaving their community.

[53:25] Make sure they don't forget their

[53:27] wallets and bags.

[53:31] We are pleased to contribute from

[53:32] Davis County as a whole to

[53:34] supporting your region,

[53:36] whether we head north or

[53:37] south. Welcome,

[53:39] Mayor. In Bounty Fall,

[53:44] according to the

[53:46] regional average,

[53:48] 10% of the population lives and works within

[53:50] Bounty Fall, while

[53:51] 11,000 workers come to it.

[53:59] To illustrate how to improve the

[54:05] work-

[54:07] housing balance, how

[54:08] this can reduce

[54:10] commuting times, and to see the

[54:11] difference it can

[54:13] make, we used a

[54:16] regional travel demand model. We looked at what

[54:22] would happen, in a

[54:24] hypothetical scenario. What would happen

[54:27] if 10% of the

[54:28] city's residents who

[54:30] leave found a job, i.e., a

[54:32] new opportunity, within it, and

[54:34] stayed to commute?

[54:38] For Hiraman,

[54:39] this will amount to approximately 3,000

[54:41] residents who have found a new opportunity

[54:42] within the city and have not had to

[54:44] travel outside of it.

[54:45] If we applied this

[54:47] same logic to the

[54:48] entire region, that is, every city

[54:50] along the

[54:51] Wasatch Front, up to and including

[54:52] Salt Lake City, attracted an additional 10%

[54:54] of the population,

[54:55] what would happen to

[54:57] our transportation system? Here we have

[55:00] one in 10 people

[55:01] leaving who will stay, and this will

[55:03] result in a 23% reduction in

[55:05] traffic congestion

[55:07] . I would like to point out

[55:10] that even if we look

[55:12] at the bigger picture, the

[55:13] number will remain almost the same

[55:15] . For example, if it is

[55:16] limited to a

[55:17] group of cities, the

[55:19] reduction in

[55:20] congestion will still be significant. So,

[55:22] if you think we can’t

[55:23] apply this to

[55:25] every city, the situation remains the

[55:27] same.

[55:27] correct. correct. Good.

[55:32] 23%, that's a significant decrease.

[55:36] Imagine the scale of investment

[55:37] required in the transport sector

[55:39] to achieve a similar reduction

[55:41] in delays. We have studied

[55:46] many numbers.

[55:49] Excuse me, why such a

[55:50] big impact?

[55:53] Well, roads behave

[55:57] differently when they are

[55:58] congested. When you take

[56:00] the road early in the morning and

[56:01] find no one,

[56:02] you can add more

[56:04] cars without causing

[56:05] any significant problems.

[56:07] But when

[56:08] the road is nearing full capacity,

[56:10] any

[56:11] additional traffic, i.e.,

[56:12] new cars on the road,

[56:13] has a significant impact.

[56:15] It exceeds the

[56:16] allowed limit, and this is where the

[56:18] congestion

[56:18] and delays arise. The same applies

[56:20] in the

[56:21] opposite direction. When you reduce

[56:23] the number of

[56:24] cars by even a small amount, the

[56:25] impact is significant.

[56:27] Long journeys are particularly important

[56:29] , as they strain road capacity

[56:30] in our region during

[56:32] peak times. Therefore,

[56:33] providing more

[56:34] options near

[56:35] home relieves the pressure.

[56:37] As our model shows, this

[56:38] can

[56:40] significantly reduce the delay.

[56:41] Is this model available for

[56:42] us to use or

[56:43] test on the

[56:45] website, or is it for

[56:47] internal use only? The

[56:48] web application is available

[56:49] on the

[56:50] website and anyone can

[56:51] use it. I think it was

[56:52] in our newsletter

[56:53] a few

[56:53] months ago.

[56:54] Oh, really? Well, I

[56:55] missed that.

[56:56] Yes, we can send it. It was

[56:58] so and we will send it

[57:00] again, and you can

[57:01] click on your community,

[57:03] county or

[57:05] legislative district and view

[57:06] the numbers in both

[57:07] directions. You can

[57:09] see not only the total

[57:10] flows, but also the

[57:12] other communities

[57:13] that people travel to

[57:14] . It is a rich source of

[57:16] data. Cameron is

[57:17] already excited about it.

[57:19] Okay, we'll send it

[57:20] again and everyone can

[57:21] check out

[57:22] their own community or any

[57:24] other community to explore the area.

[57:25] Thank you all. Okay, we've

[57:29] looked at a lot of

[57:33] great data, information, and charts, but we want to

[57:35] change the subject a bit.

[57:37] What we were talking about affects

[57:39] people, it affects

[57:41] everyone in our area.

[57:42] This affects our lives

[57:44] and how we live them. So

[57:47] , I'm going to share with you the story of

[57:48] Cameron, who lives in

[57:50] Harman. Cameron is

[57:54] an accountant at a

[57:55] medical logistics company here in the

[57:58] nearby Gateway area. Her

[58:00] daily commute to

[58:01] Herman during

[58:03] peak hours takes 39 minutes in the morning

[58:04] and 51 minutes in the afternoon to

[58:06] return. That's 90 minutes

[58:08] a day on our roads.

[58:10] Cameron had hoped to

[58:12] get a job at a

[58:13] company that had recently moved

[58:14] to Herman's city center to

[58:17] shorten her commute time, and she

[58:19] got that

[58:20] job. What a

[58:22] fantastic thing for Cameron! Now,

[58:23] her journey time is

[58:26] only 15 minutes a day. That means she

[58:29] can now

[58:31] spend 75 minutes with her family. She

[58:32] could also spend

[58:34] more time on

[58:35] her hobby of

[58:36] pottery making. She makes the cups

[58:37] and hopes to sell them at the

[58:39] Herman craft market at the weekend

[58:41] . It also

[58:43] travels

[58:45] 45 miles less per day on our

[58:46] road network. This saves

[58:49] her money on her

[58:50] car's upkeep and fuel.

[58:54] But it's not

[58:56] just the woman who benefits; she also benefits

[58:57] because her shorter commute

[58:59] reduces pressure on the roads.

[59:01] All her neighbors, who

[59:03] still have to travel

[59:05] that long distance

[59:06] to get to their jobs

[59:08] outside the city,

[59:09] benefit because she works

[59:10] close to them. This reduces

[59:12] pressure on the roads.

[59:15] Now imagine, whether

[59:17] all of us or some of us,

[59:19] this happening across the

[59:20] region. Having more

[59:22] people work

[59:23] closer to their homes

[59:24] could make a

[59:25] big difference to the efficiency of

[59:27] our transportation system. This will help us make

[59:30] better use of the routes

[59:31] and other transport options

[59:33] available to us, as well as the

[59:34] improvements we are

[59:36] planning. Well done,

[59:43] Bill, thank you very much.

[59:45] I am very impressed with

[59:46] the data and analytics we

[59:48] can produce to

[59:50] help us make

[59:51] better decisions. So,

[59:53] here's the

[59:54] basic premise again, right

[59:56] ?

[59:57] Balancing jobs and

[59:58] housing benefits

[59:59] our transportation system as much as

[1:00:00] building more

[1:00:01] infrastructure. This

[1:00:02] is the main point.

[1:00:04] Okay, so what do we do

[1:00:06] ? How can we improve that?

[1:00:08] Let me preface this

[1:00:09] discussion a little

[1:00:11] by pointing out who

[1:00:12] changes the slides? Bill

[1:00:14] is changing the chips. Okay

[1:00:15] , now I'm referring to

[1:00:16] Jordan. Nothing happens.

[1:00:18] Good. First, let me

[1:00:21] point out that we were

[1:00:22] talking about the geography of

[1:00:24] the city, right? But

[1:00:26] this is only to illustrate this

[1:00:29] dynamic. But

[1:00:30] addressing these issues

[1:00:32] requires achieving a

[1:00:34] better balance, which will require the participation of all of us.

[1:00:36] This is not

[1:00:38] just a case for one city. It is

[1:00:39] essentially a regional issue

[1:00:41] concerning the interaction of

[1:00:43] transportation systems. Therefore,

[1:00:44] local governments,

[1:00:45] transport authorities and

[1:00:46] government agencies,

[1:00:48] landowners and

[1:00:49] developers, and

[1:00:51] economic development bodies are

[1:00:52] all stakeholders,

[1:00:54] including us. We all

[1:00:56] have a role to play in this. So

[1:00:58] let's talk about this. I'm

[1:01:00] going to give you two

[1:01:02] main ways of thinking about

[1:01:03] this, and then let's have a

[1:01:05] conversation about how to

[1:01:06] address improving the balance

[1:01:08] between jobs and housing. The

[1:01:11] first idea is to

[1:01:12] identify

[1:01:13] strategic locations to achieve a

[1:01:15] balance between housing and

[1:01:17] job opportunities. So, think about where

[1:01:18] we can add jobs in

[1:01:20] areas with

[1:01:22] large populations,

[1:01:23] giving them the opportunity to

[1:01:24] work close to

[1:01:25] their homes. Mr. Mayor

[1:01:27] Hammond, I am thinking of

[1:01:28] Grantsville and

[1:01:30] Tilla County, and as you mentioned

[1:01:31] earlier, how many

[1:01:32] people

[1:01:33] travel on

[1:01:35] I-80 to

[1:01:36] Salt Lake County in the morning and then

[1:01:38] back? Well, there is a

[1:01:40] lot of talk about creating a

[1:01:41] nuclear complex that will have thousands of

[1:01:43] jobs, and we hope that

[1:01:44] these jobs will be for

[1:01:46] the residents of Tilla County,

[1:01:47] so that the residents of

[1:01:48] Grantsville can work

[1:01:50] there, reducing

[1:01:52] their commuting time. Think of

[1:01:54] our friends in Saratoga

[1:01:55] Springs and Eagle Mountain

[1:01:57] , where there is ample housing available

[1:01:58] , and what they have accomplished in

[1:02:00] this area is amazing, but

[1:02:02] job opportunities are

[1:02:03] relatively few, and this

[1:02:04] greatly impacts transportation.

[1:02:06] So, where are the

[1:02:08] strategic locations to achieve a

[1:02:10] balance between housing and

[1:02:12] job opportunities? This is

[1:02:13] clearly embodied in a large part of

[1:02:15] our work in the vision of "Wasatch

[1:02:17] Choice". Secondly, coordinating

[1:02:20] our efforts. Incentives for

[1:02:23] economic development, for

[1:02:25] example, where do we incentivize

[1:02:27] job creation? Where do we seek

[1:02:31] to stimulate and attract jobs?

[1:02:34] What is the location? Connecting

[1:02:35] roads to the public transport network

[1:02:37] . If

[1:02:38] we have more

[1:02:39] jobs in the Two Holy Mosques

[1:02:40] , Your Excellency the

[1:02:42] Mayor, how can we ensure that

[1:02:43] the residents of your city can

[1:02:44] move around easily within it

[1:02:47] ? Therefore, we support your efforts to

[1:02:49] promote communication within the

[1:02:51] city. And finally,

[1:02:53] of course,

[1:02:54] land use procedures, your

[1:02:55] master plans, zoning, and

[1:02:58] development agreements that

[1:02:59] you negotiate with

[1:03:01] developers. All these

[1:03:02] things are important. Okay, what

[1:03:05] obstacles are

[1:03:06] you facing? What

[1:03:08] measures are

[1:03:09] you taking to achieve a

[1:03:10] better balance? What

[1:03:12] can be done to help?

[1:03:14] We have a few minutes,

[1:03:15] let's start the discussion. Mr.

[1:03:17] Mayor, if you would allow me,

[1:03:18] we will discuss the matter.

[1:03:19] certainly. I would say

[1:03:20] that one of the things we are

[1:03:22] working on, and in which

[1:03:23] the University of Delaware has been a

[1:03:24] great partner,

[1:03:26] is studying the different access points

[1:03:27] and challenges

[1:03:29] facing the city and the

[1:03:30] transportation sector, and having

[1:03:31] fruitful dialogues about

[1:03:33] how to move forward in

[1:03:34] these areas through

[1:03:36] collaboration, and having

[1:03:37] fruitful discussions about

[1:03:38] facilitating traffic flow, and

[1:03:39] providing access to

[1:03:41] business development areas and

[1:03:42] areas where

[1:03:44] businesses can thrive.

[1:03:45] Good.

[1:03:46] Andrew, may I have a word? I have to

[1:03:48] go now to a

[1:03:49] meeting at 10:30,

[1:03:51] and I will call you when I leave

[1:03:52] , but I really like this

[1:03:53] topic.

[1:03:54] Madam

[1:03:56] President, may I have a moment,

[1:03:58] please? Well, about

[1:04:08] six to eight

[1:04:10] years ago, we

[1:04:11] updated our overall plan,

[1:04:14] and we did a

[1:04:15] job analysis, and it was a moment of

[1:04:17] realization for me when I learned

[1:04:19] that two-thirds of the jobs, I

[1:04:21] think, in

[1:04:23] Salt Lake County were west of, or

[1:04:31] sorry, east of

[1:04:33] Highway 15,

[1:04:34] right? The

[1:04:35] other third is in the

[1:04:36] western region.

[1:04:40] This was one of the most

[1:04:41] impactful things when I looked at

[1:04:43] how the

[1:04:44] county could get involved through

[1:04:45] increased taxes and other

[1:04:47] measures to support

[1:04:49] development with developers and

[1:04:50] our various cities. I

[1:04:54] looked at Mayor Palmer

[1:04:56] , who, not as

[1:04:58] mayor, was involved with perhaps the

[1:05:00] most

[1:05:01] controversial project I was involved in as a

[1:05:03] council member, the

[1:05:05] Olympia Hills development project

[1:05:07] . The Olympia Hills project was designed as a

[1:05:10] mixed-use complex that

[1:05:11] provides many

[1:05:12] functions, according to the

[1:05:15] mixed-use concept. You will create, and I have been

[1:05:16] pressing hard on the

[1:05:18] developers for many years

[1:05:20] , during those

[1:05:21] discussions, to make sure that we

[1:05:23] will build in a way that

[1:05:25] ensures that the

[1:05:26] existing Haraman region, after its

[1:05:28] later annexation, will benefit from this

[1:05:30] feature. There are cities in

[1:05:31] my county, and that's one of the

[1:05:33] reasons I love my job, but

[1:05:34] we have very small ski towns

[1:05:36] , we have

[1:05:37] Salt Lake City, and we have

[1:05:39] Harrah's. We have put a

[1:05:40] lot of effort

[1:05:41] into this

[1:05:43] development with Haraman to ensure the efficiency of the

[1:05:44] transport systems. It

[1:05:46] goes both ways

[1:05:47] ; they need to be

[1:05:49] easily accessible

[1:05:50] if we want to create

[1:05:52] business hubs in developing communities that have

[1:05:54] not had this

[1:05:55] investment. Therefore, I

[1:05:56] truly commend your tireless efforts

[1:05:58] in this regard, which have served as a

[1:06:00] guide for me

[1:06:01] in addressing the lack of

[1:06:03] job opportunities on the

[1:06:04] west side of Salt

[1:06:06] Lake County. This has been a

[1:06:08] fundamental principle for me

[1:06:09] even in our discussions about the

[1:06:11] entertainment center, and where

[1:06:12] and how to build the

[1:06:14] infrastructure.

[1:06:15] Salt Lake County is involved in

[1:06:16] some matters, and determining whether

[1:06:20] or not we will provide tax incentives to cities and developers

[1:06:22] depends largely on

[1:06:23] job opportunities in the areas

[1:06:25] where we need them, and to a

[1:06:26] lesser extent on the East Side.

[1:06:28] Frankly, there are

[1:06:30] other development measures, and on the

[1:06:32] eastern side, we find that

[1:06:34] our programs focus more on

[1:06:36] rehabilitating

[1:06:38] existing urban areas, and

[1:06:40] on modifying the transport system

[1:06:42] or improving roads. Therefore,

[1:06:44] all appreciation to you for

[1:06:46] taking on this task. Yes,

[1:06:48] I have spoken about this

[1:06:50] fundamental spatial imbalance, which we call the

[1:06:52] spatial imbalance

[1:06:53] between job

[1:06:55] and home locations in

[1:06:56] Salt Lake County, and this is evident

[1:06:58] throughout the

[1:06:59] Wasatch Front and Wasatch

[1:07:01] Back areas, and even in

[1:07:02] Telangana. Thank you

[1:07:04] all. I will participate

[1:07:06] remotely. Thank you, Mayor

[1:07:08] . We have someone online right now,

[1:07:10] Red Ewing, who has a comment

[1:07:11] .

[1:07:12] Professor Ewing:

[1:07:13] Hello. Well, we conducted a

[1:07:17] study about ten

[1:07:19] years ago, at the beginning of

[1:07:24] my time here at the University of

[1:07:26] Utah, about the balance between

[1:07:28] work and housing. This

[1:07:32] balance is important, but

[1:07:34] there is another factor that is no less

[1:07:36] important, which is the alignment

[1:07:38] between income and skills.

[1:07:41] The jobs should be appropriate

[1:07:43] to the skill level of the

[1:07:44] population, whether they are

[1:07:46] residents of the city or

[1:07:48] workers in it.

[1:07:51] This has proven to be just as

[1:07:53] important as the

[1:07:54] numerical balance between jobs

[1:07:56] and housing. Therefore,

[1:07:59] this is an important point to

[1:08:00] consider when thinking

[1:08:02] about this topic. Do

[1:08:05] you want

[1:08:07] high-skill jobs in a

[1:08:09] high-skill society,

[1:08:11] or low-skill jobs

[1:08:16] in a

[1:08:18] low-skill society?

[1:08:19] This has proven to be just as

[1:08:21] important as the

[1:08:23] numerical balance between jobs

[1:08:24] and housing.

[1:08:25] Professor, thank you. This is a

[1:08:27] very important point, and

[1:08:29] I think there is no

[1:08:30] better example than

[1:08:32] Park City to illustrate this,

[1:08:34] where many

[1:08:35] jobs are held by people who

[1:08:39] cannot afford to

[1:08:40] live there. Therefore, they

[1:08:42] travel

[1:08:43] long distances. So, thank you,

[1:08:45] Professor, for this

[1:08:46] really important point.

[1:08:53] Yes, I would also like to

[1:08:55] mention that, as I just

[1:08:58] mentioned regarding Park

[1:08:59] City, Morgan is the

[1:09:01] same way because

[1:09:02] the majority of

[1:09:04] our workforce comes from the

[1:09:06] Lower Valley. For this reason,

[1:09:09] our transportation systems

[1:09:12] , such as I-

[1:09:14] 84, cannot be expanded,

[1:09:16] yet we still have

[1:09:19] needs. One of the

[1:09:21] needs I have been trying to address for the past

[1:09:23] five

[1:09:24] years is convincing

[1:09:26] the province to recognize

[1:09:27] our need for

[1:09:29] public transportation. We need some kind of

[1:09:32] public transport

[1:09:33] that crosses that valley,

[1:09:35] so that it is not affected by a

[1:09:40] large truck accident that passes through it.

[1:09:43] These are problems we face

[1:09:44] because people cannot

[1:09:46] afford to live

[1:09:47] in Morgan County.

[1:09:49] Those who wish to

[1:09:50] stay there

[1:09:51] cannot afford the cost of

[1:09:53] living. So, it's

[1:09:58] not about higher

[1:09:59] taxes, because it isn't

[1:10:01] . What is worrying

[1:10:03] is the rising

[1:10:04] land prices, which are rising at an

[1:10:06] unbelievably rapid rate

[1:10:07] , because all the residents of the

[1:10:09] West Side want

[1:10:11] to move to

[1:10:12] Morgan County, and this is what happened

[1:10:14] with Park City. I

[1:10:16] lived for many years

[1:10:18] , like the professor, and I lived

[1:10:22] most of my life in the state of

[1:10:23] Utah and in that region.

[1:10:26] So, I look at history

[1:10:27] and how things have gone, and I

[1:10:29] think we need to take

[1:10:31] some

[1:10:33] history into account when planning

[1:10:34] such projects.

[1:10:36] What do we want? What are

[1:10:38] we prepared

[1:10:40] to accept?

[1:10:40] Yes.

[1:10:41] This is what

[1:10:43] Morgan County will have a

[1:10:45] problem with.

[1:10:46] Thank you, Commissioner.

[1:10:48] I just want to emphasize

[1:10:50] one point from what you just

[1:10:51] mentioned. You are saying that

[1:10:53] we need

[1:10:54] more transportation

[1:10:55] in that area. Improving

[1:10:58] the balance between jobs

[1:10:59] and housing is not something that should be done

[1:11:01] instead

[1:11:02] of enhancing transportation capacity,

[1:11:05] options, and innovations.

[1:11:07] We have to do all of that, and

[1:11:08] in the state of Utah we are making

[1:11:10] tremendous efforts to provide

[1:11:11] more

[1:11:13] transportation options, increase their capacity, and

[1:11:14] connect them

[1:11:16] to each other, as we mentioned

[1:11:17] earlier. But this is not

[1:11:18] enough. We also need to

[1:11:20] strike a balance, and

[1:11:22] we saw

[1:11:23] at the last committee meeting

[1:11:26] , or

[1:11:28] last week,

[1:11:29] development projects that want to provide

[1:11:31] housing for school teachers

[1:11:35] coming from the

[1:11:37] lower valley. We are trying to

[1:11:41] create the

[1:11:42] right conditions for that, but the

[1:11:43] conflict

[1:11:45] between the old and the new still exists.

[1:11:47] Yes, understood. Based

[1:11:49] on history, I see everything

[1:11:51] . I saw it myself, and

[1:11:54] I, you know, come

[1:11:56] from Davis County. I

[1:11:58] originally came from (B).

[1:12:01] No, I will not return. I can

[1:12:04] tell you why I didn't stay.

[1:12:09] Because my wife is from Morgan.

[1:12:12] Good. Thanks. Thanks.

[1:12:16] Anyway, these are

[1:12:17] my thoughts on this decision

[1:12:20] .

[1:12:20] Thanks.

[1:12:20] I believe that everything should

[1:12:22] be balanced,

[1:12:24] not just small parts of it

[1:12:26] . Balance must be achieved

[1:12:27] in everything.

[1:12:29] And if job opportunities are created,

[1:12:31] you will also face a problem.

[1:12:33] Creating jobs requires

[1:12:34] providing more

[1:12:35] housing. correct. As

[1:12:37] you know, transportation is a

[1:12:38] big problem.

[1:12:39] actually. Thank you. As

[1:12:40] for the

[1:12:41] other comments, Mr. Mayor,

[1:12:43] I would like to say, with all due

[1:12:44] respect, even to what

[1:12:45] Mayor Wilson said: We have

[1:12:47] tried to attract

[1:12:48] employment centers, and we—and I have no

[1:12:49] objection to any

[1:12:50] particular entity in this

[1:12:51] room or anywhere

[1:12:53] else—can talk at

[1:12:54] length here. But until

[1:12:55] the state accepts

[1:12:56] the need to preserve

[1:12:57] areas in our

[1:12:59] various regions, as you know

[1:13:00] , for this type of

[1:13:01] project, and not the

[1:13:02] continuous pursuit of building

[1:13:04] more housing. We

[1:13:05] tried. We tried to

[1:13:06] preserve these

[1:13:07] areas. We have a

[1:13:09] West Herman partner who may

[1:13:10] also own a large

[1:13:12] open-pit mine, and we are trying to

[1:13:13] persuade him to set up an

[1:13:15] industrial employment center there.

[1:13:16] correct.

[1:13:18] The state has asked them to build more

[1:13:20] housing. This is

[1:13:21] the message they receive, and

[1:13:22] we strongly desire

[1:13:24] projects in the west,

[1:13:25] because this is what we have realized. We

[1:13:26] all commute daily.

[1:13:28] We must maintain

[1:13:29] our presence in our region of the

[1:13:30] valley, and acquire

[1:13:30] more. It's not

[1:13:31] just about jobs

[1:13:32] , we need

[1:13:33] sports fields, and everything else we need

[1:13:34] .

[1:13:36] Herman will have a population of 110,000. I should

[1:13:37] never

[1:13:38] leave my city, should I

[1:13:39] ? There are cities

[1:13:40] throughout the state with

[1:13:41] populations of 110,000,

[1:13:42] where

[1:13:43] all their needs are met. We

[1:13:44] should never

[1:13:45] leave our community. But

[1:13:46] as a state, we are pushing

[1:13:47] projects in

[1:13:48] these employment centers to the top of the

[1:13:49] mountain in the city center. We

[1:13:50] need to distribute them. I am

[1:13:52] from Bryce, and I grew up in

[1:13:53] Carbon County. When

[1:13:54] the governor took office for his

[1:13:55] last term, he talked about moving

[1:13:56] more jobs to

[1:13:57] rural areas of

[1:13:58] Utah. I still haven't

[1:13:59] seen much of that, have I

[1:14:00] ? Where we can

[1:14:01] relieve a lot of the pressure

[1:14:02] on the Wasatch Front area

[1:14:03] , and I don't know how we do

[1:14:04] that in this context, do I

[1:14:05] ? I think what I

[1:14:06] mean is that I like what we're talking about

[1:14:08] here. I don't know

[1:14:09] how to convey this message.

[1:14:11] I think we understand it,

[1:14:12] but how do we get it across to

[1:14:14] our partners who we work

[1:14:15] with and who are following up on the

[1:14:17] matter?

[1:14:18] Well, I'll admit that we don't

[1:14:20] know either. But perhaps the

[1:14:24] new way

[1:14:26] we think about this is as a

[1:14:29] transportation strategy. If

[1:14:31] we can, in some way,

[1:14:34] invest a lot of

[1:14:36] energy in transportation, then

[1:14:38] achieving this balance will

[1:14:39] help us maximize

[1:14:41] our transportation system as

[1:14:43] well. You are absolutely right, Mr.

[1:14:45] Mayor, and I am not attacking

[1:14:47] anyone, but we need

[1:14:49] all these

[1:14:50] partners to work with us

[1:14:52] to address these

[1:14:54] issues. Know. We will conclude

[1:14:56] here, as this is the

[1:14:57] last item on

[1:14:58] our agenda. We will conclude

[1:14:59] our discussion here shortly,

[1:15:01] but I would like to invite

[1:15:02] Commissioner Camus to comment.

[1:15:03] Cameron, Ted, as a

[1:15:05] member of the North Salt Lake City Council

[1:15:06] . If you would

[1:15:08] like to comment as well,

[1:15:09] you are

[1:15:10] certainly welcome. Jason, if

[1:15:11] you'd like to participate,

[1:15:12] or...oh, Mayor

[1:15:13] Day, please.

[1:15:14] Mayor, why aren't you

[1:15:14] speaking? She hasn't spoken yet.

[1:15:16] Help yourself.

[1:15:17] Always very fast. No, that

[1:15:18] was a

[1:15:20] very interesting point from Mayor

[1:15:20] Palmer. They are ahead of us

[1:15:21] in Clinton,

[1:15:22] but we are working on our

[1:15:23] overall plan and we have also tried

[1:15:25] to say: "What if

[1:15:25] we set up a

[1:15:26] business or jobs center

[1:15:27] here?" Yes. The

[1:15:29] developers told us: "Oh, no, no

[1:15:30] , no, you know

[1:15:31] this won't sell. You won't be able

[1:15:32] to do that.

[1:15:33] Why don't you build

[1:15:34] housing or

[1:15:35] commercial projects or something like that

[1:15:36] ?" Yes.

[1:15:38] So, how do we overcome that?

[1:15:39] Are they economic incentives?

[1:15:41] What is the best way

[1:15:42] to achieve this?

[1:15:43] I wonder if this

[1:15:44] effort, led by Laura

[1:15:46] Hansen, is necessary, and whether

[1:15:48] this

[1:15:49] discussion should be seriously considered within

[1:15:50] that group? Is it

[1:15:52] connected to the internet? Yes

[1:15:54] , she is

[1:15:55] connected, and I would consider

[1:15:56] embarrassing her, but I feel

[1:15:58] this group is the most

[1:16:00] appropriate.

[1:16:00] Yes, yes. It

[1:16:02] seems as though I gave

[1:16:04] you the opportunity

[1:16:05] to say that, but I didn't

[1:16:06] . Thank you so much

[1:16:08] for saying that.

[1:16:11] I believe this dialogue is

[1:16:12] moving in the

[1:16:14] right direction. As you know,

[1:16:15] Mayor Palmer, you're

[1:16:17] talking about how we've

[1:16:18] tried, but we're having

[1:16:20] some problems. And also

[1:16:21] Mayor Dorty, and I think

[1:16:27] there is a need to

[1:16:29] understand the concept and the promise

[1:16:31] , which has started today,

[1:16:32] but perhaps we need to

[1:16:34] analyze it further, perhaps even

[1:16:36] at the sector level. As

[1:16:40] you know, what kind of

[1:16:41] industry needs

[1:16:43] what kind of

[1:16:47] workforce, what locations have

[1:16:48] access to

[1:16:50] transportation, and how do we align

[1:16:52] these things to meet

[1:16:54] their needs where they

[1:16:55] need them, so that

[1:16:57] we take their point of view into

[1:16:59] account even as we

[1:17:01] think from the perspective of the municipality

[1:17:03] , etc. Do you understand what I mean?

[1:17:08] Let me add another point:

[1:17:10] I think many

[1:17:11] industries prefer

[1:17:13] conglomerates, don't they?

[1:17:15] Therefore, it seeks to be located

[1:17:17] near other companies

[1:17:18] with similar orientations.

[1:17:20] This is, in a way,

[1:17:22] related to the concept of

[1:17:24] city and town centers, but it's

[1:17:26] different, isn't it?

[1:17:28] Town and city centers are

[1:17:29] traditionally referred

[1:17:30] to as places that are

[1:17:31] easy to navigate

[1:17:32] on foot and

[1:17:33] have

[1:17:34] diverse uses. Does

[1:17:39] the center need to be a certain size and located in

[1:17:41] specific places to be

[1:17:43] truly attractive to

[1:17:45] certain industries? What

[1:17:47] practical outcome can we

[1:17:48] achieve, which we

[1:17:50] not only expect the

[1:17:52] local government to achieve

[1:17:54] through good planning

[1:17:55] and zoning, but

[1:17:57] we also need

[1:17:58] state support and support for the

[1:17:59] transport sector? It's a

[1:18:00] precise strategy. This is what's

[1:18:02] on my mind.

[1:18:06] Andrew Bradshaw. Well, much

[1:18:08] like Ted and the commissioner, I

[1:18:12] spent enough time in the

[1:18:14] state capital to see

[1:18:16] how the state dealt with

[1:18:17] all of the incentives

[1:18:19] many times, from changing

[1:18:21] the way retail incentives are delivered

[1:18:22] ,

[1:18:24] through CRAAS and RDAs

[1:18:25] , to TIFF

[1:18:27] red programs and others.

[1:18:33] I think that, in

[1:18:35] many ways, they have used some of the

[1:18:36] tools that

[1:18:38] we might use to attract

[1:18:39] companies, because the focus

[1:18:41] over the past 10

[1:18:43] to 15 years has been

[1:18:44] on the need to

[1:18:46] build housing, and

[1:18:47] our desire to incentivize

[1:18:48] companies to do so. Therefore,

[1:18:52] middle-income housing plans

[1:18:53] and CRAAS programs are pushing us in

[1:18:56] this direction. Our ability

[1:18:57] to provide economic incentives is often

[1:19:00] referred to the Office for

[1:19:03] General Economic Development (GOED). I think

[1:19:07] many of our cities do not

[1:19:08] pay

[1:19:10] enough attention to the Office of

[1:19:11] Public Economic Development,

[1:19:13] or how to implement it.

[1:19:18] Even when I look at the

[1:19:20] Wasatch Front area

[1:19:21] and the targeted industries

[1:19:23] that are offered

[1:19:24] incentives, I find that they are

[1:19:25] industries that need

[1:19:27] vast areas of

[1:19:28] land, which is a

[1:19:30] real challenge

[1:19:31] for many of our communities,

[1:19:33] those

[1:19:34] existing communities that do

[1:19:36] not have vast areas

[1:19:38] of land. There are some

[1:19:39] areas in our region

[1:19:41] that will be allocated

[1:19:42] large areas for development

[1:19:44] , but there is great pressure

[1:19:45] to confine them to housing.

[1:19:47] So, how can we

[1:19:48] achieve that? If we want

[1:19:50] people who

[1:19:52] currently commute to work

[1:19:55] in their cities to consider foregoing

[1:19:56] commuting, we will really need a completely

[1:19:58] different set of tools than the one

[1:19:59] provided by the

[1:20:01] Legislative Council. Herein lies

[1:20:03] the challenge and the opportunity

[1:20:04] to try to find a solution.

[1:20:06] Okay, do you have any

[1:20:07] other quick comments, Kim

[1:20:09] ?

[1:20:10] Thank you, Andrew, and

[1:20:11] thank you for this

[1:20:12] discussion. I am not an

[1:20:13] elected official,

[1:20:15] but I am honored

[1:20:15] to listen to

[1:20:16] elected officials

[1:20:18] throughout the state

[1:20:19] who face many

[1:20:21] of these questions. Therefore,

[1:20:22] in my opinion, no problem can be solved

[1:20:24] until it is

[1:20:26] precisely defined. Therefore, what I would like to

[1:20:27] add in the

[1:20:29] next few minutes is

[1:20:30] just additional obstacles.

[1:20:32] When we talk about how to

[1:20:33] improve this situation,

[1:20:34] here are some other elements to

[1:20:37] consider.

[1:20:39] The commissioner briefly referred to what

[1:20:41] I will call the "postal code problem

[1:20:42] ". The problem of

[1:20:44] the postal code relates

[1:20:46] to the cost of land, but it is

[1:20:48] much broader than that;

[1:20:50] it includes influential market forces

[1:20:51] . Since the

[1:20:53] COVID-19 pandemic, we have not seen any

[1:20:55] new

[1:20:57] Class A office space, which has led

[1:20:58] to a stagnation in our market. But

[1:21:00] looking at the

[1:21:01] general plans drawn up a

[1:21:02] decade ago, we find several

[1:21:03] plans with

[1:21:05] local communities in the

[1:21:06] Wasatch Front area to create

[1:21:07] more

[1:21:08] Class A office space,

[1:21:09] which could form the

[1:21:10] cornerstone of

[1:21:12] future employment centers for

[1:21:14] office jobs, given the

[1:21:14] radical change that has

[1:21:16] occurred in the market since the

[1:21:17] pandemic.

[1:21:18] Downtown Salt Lake City is still

[1:21:19] suffering from stagnation,

[1:21:21] let alone the construction of

[1:21:22] new office complexes in

[1:21:23] Grantsville or Clinton.

[1:21:25] Therefore, we need to

[1:21:26] reconsider how we

[1:21:27] plan for

[1:21:28] future jobs in light of the

[1:21:30] spread of working from

[1:21:31] home. The

[1:21:33] second related point

[1:21:34] is the legislative

[1:21:35] and market pressures related to

[1:21:37] housing, which

[1:21:38] Mayor Palmer referred to.

[1:21:40] I could list many

[1:21:41] communities that have designated

[1:21:43] areas for

[1:21:43] future jobs, whether

[1:21:45] industrial or commercial

[1:21:46] , but are facing

[1:21:47] significant pressure from market forces,

[1:21:49] property owners, and

[1:21:50] others who say, "

[1:21:51] We want to rezone this

[1:21:53] area because we

[1:21:54] currently need more

[1:21:55] housing, and I, as a

[1:21:57] property owner,

[1:21:58] can make a profit, and

[1:21:59] that's not a bad thing

[1:22:01] ." But this is the

[1:22:02] real pressure point;

[1:22:03] once that

[1:22:04] land is developed, it disappears. I could

[1:22:06] point to community after

[1:22:07] community where they fought battles

[1:22:09] to preserve those

[1:22:09] lands because they were thinking

[1:22:11] about the future, twenty

[1:22:12] years ahead, not just the

[1:22:13] present. If

[1:22:14] we look at different parts of the

[1:22:16] country, we find that

[1:22:17] Florida is just one example among

[1:22:18] many.

[1:22:19] California is another example

[1:22:20] where the legislature intervened

[1:22:21] and allowed

[1:22:22] housing to be built in

[1:22:23] commercial areas. So

[1:22:24] imagine,

[1:22:25] virgin landowners

[1:22:26] trying to plan

[1:22:27] for the future, how much damage it would do

[1:22:28] you if

[1:22:29] you couldn't plan

[1:22:30] any future business projects

[1:22:31] because

[1:22:32] residential construction would be

[1:22:32] allowed there. This does

[1:22:34] not mean that

[1:22:35] housing should not be built in

[1:22:35] commercial areas;

[1:22:36] everything has its time and place.

[1:22:37] But this is just

[1:22:38] another obstacle that must be taken into

[1:22:40] account. The third element is the

[1:22:42] demographic composition. When we look

[1:22:44] at the challenges

[1:22:45] facing Harman, a

[1:22:48] relatively young community, we find that they are

[1:22:49] fundamentally different from the

[1:22:50] challenges

[1:22:51] faced by other

[1:22:53] established cities such as South Salt

[1:22:54] Lake, as Mayor

[1:22:55] Wood noted, where residents are

[1:22:57] aging,

[1:22:58] schools are closing, and the like.

[1:23:00] We talked about all the

[1:23:01] travelers to Salt

[1:23:02] Lake, and I pointed out the problem of

[1:23:03] overpopulation

[1:23:04] there.

[1:23:05] Salt Lake City's nighttime population is at its highest

[1:23:07] level ever recorded

[1:23:08] in Utah's history,

[1:23:10] while

[1:23:11] its school population is at its lowest level

[1:23:13] since before

[1:23:14] World War II. Therefore

[1:23:16] , part of this

[1:23:17] alignment is identifying

[1:23:19] the locations of

[1:23:20] current jobs. How can

[1:23:22] more residents be attracted

[1:23:23] to live near these

[1:23:24] jobs while these

[1:23:26] cities are experiencing a

[1:23:27] population decline?

[1:23:29] This demographic aspect is

[1:23:31] also extremely important, because the

[1:23:33] younger generation does not settle

[1:23:34] for one job. Therefore, a

[1:23:38] large-scale employment center could be established in a community

[1:23:39] like Herman, and Cameron might move

[1:23:41] to the

[1:23:42] Hermantown center for a few

[1:23:43] years. Then, if she is in

[1:23:45] her thirties

[1:23:46] , she will go somewhere else, and

[1:23:47] they will move quickly from

[1:23:48] place to place, which is very

[1:23:49] different from what it was

[1:23:51] 30

[1:23:51] years ago when we were planning for

[1:23:53] society. So, as we

[1:23:54] ask this question,

[1:23:55] I think it’s important to have a

[1:23:56] comprehensive picture

[1:23:57] because these are the things I

[1:23:58] hear from

[1:23:59] mayors and council members across the

[1:24:01] state.

[1:24:02] Yes, great. All of them are

[1:24:04] excellent observations. Okay,

[1:24:06] perhaps we can conclude this

[1:24:07] conversation for the

[1:24:08] Regional Growth Committee now. Well, I

[1:24:12] see people pointing that way

[1:24:13] , so I'm just making sure we're

[1:24:15] okay to wrap things up

[1:24:16] now. Ted,

[1:24:20] I just want to connect the dots with the programs

[1:24:21] that

[1:24:24] Megan mentioned at the beginning.

[1:24:25] Good.

[1:24:26] If a community or

[1:24:29] group of communities thinks,

[1:24:31] if you think, you

[1:24:33] know, that we are

[1:24:34] ready to delve into this as a

[1:24:36] pilot project,

[1:24:37] we can do so

[1:24:39] by linking the use of

[1:24:40] transport corridors. So I

[1:24:42] just wanted to

[1:24:43] suggest that one way to

[1:24:44] explore this is

[1:24:46] through a pilot project, and

[1:24:48] that's a viable option. I'll get back to you,

[1:24:50] Ted. Thank you very much. In

[1:24:53] conclusion, I would like to point out

[1:24:55] that this is a complex issue

[1:24:57] with many dynamics

[1:24:59] , some of which have been identified

[1:25:01] here. What I don't want is for us

[1:25:06] all to give up and say, "

[1:25:08] There are so many things

[1:25:10] happening and we can't

[1:25:12] do anything about them."

[1:25:15] From a transportation perspective

[1:25:17] , if we want our transportation system to operate

[1:25:19] efficiently in

[1:25:20] the future, we need to

[1:25:21] address this issue.

[1:25:23] In addition to building housing,

[1:25:25] developing transportation, and

[1:25:26] innovating in it,

[1:25:28] we must work on the

[1:25:30] demand side, i.e., achieving a

[1:25:31] balance between job opportunities and

[1:25:33] housing, and this has

[1:25:35] many benefits, including transportation.

[1:25:36] So, looking

[1:25:38] ahead, our intention

[1:25:39] at the West Florida Transportation Research Center

[1:25:40] (WFRC) is to

[1:25:42] continue talking about this

[1:25:43] topic over the

[1:25:44] next few months. We plan

[1:25:46] to have this type of

[1:25:47] dialogue

[1:25:48] next week at the

[1:25:50] full WFRC Council meeting. I know

[1:25:51] some of you will be there too.

[1:25:53] Welcome, everyone. The

[1:25:57] University of

[1:25:58] Delaware Government Transportation Conference, the

[1:26:00] League of Cities and Towns Conference

[1:26:01] , the American Planning Association Conference, and the

[1:26:04] Planning Conference, we want to have

[1:26:06] this conversation, and

[1:26:07] I hope that people,

[1:26:09] as we discuss this, will realize,

[1:26:10] when thinking about

[1:26:12] transportation, this

[1:26:13] key point: that improving

[1:26:15] the balance between jobs

[1:26:16] and housing can

[1:26:18] help us improve

[1:26:19] transportation as much as

[1:26:21] building more

[1:26:22] transportation. Then we work together

[1:26:24] to find ways to develop

[1:26:26] policies or make

[1:26:27] investments to improve that.

[1:26:29] So, let's work on it

[1:26:31] together as we move

[1:26:32] forward. Well, the floor is

[1:26:34] yours, Madam President.

[1:26:35] Thank you. This is a

[1:26:37] great discussion, and I know we will

[1:26:39] continue it. Cameron, I

[1:26:40] really appreciate the points you just

[1:26:42] raised,

[1:26:43] because they make very sense in the

[1:26:45] context of our conversation. Okay, we've

[1:26:47] arrived at the

[1:26:48] scheduled time. I will make a

[1:26:49] suggestion, or rather, I don't think it's a

[1:26:51] suggestion. I think we have

[1:26:52] adjourned the session. The

[1:26:54] next meeting is on

[1:26:56] October 15th, and we hope to see you

[1:26:58] there. No no. Oh,

[1:27:00] October 8th.

[1:27:01] Yes,

[1:27:02] October 8th is the date of the

[1:27:03] next meeting.

[1:27:04] No problem. Good. Thank

[1:27:07] you all. It was a

[1:27:10] truly fruitful discussion.

Regional Growth Committee Meeting - August 20. 2026

Transcript