It’s been a year since the County Courthouse launched a community-wide visioning project to help guide future decisions, and the results are in.
Housing, open space, recreation and community character were, unsurprisingly, listed as the top concerns for residents. Summit County planners received around 8,500 responses, which represents around 20% of the population.
A nearly complete version of the Our Summit Community Vision and Strategic Plan was presented to the Summit County Council last week for review before it’s finalized in January. The project was created to better understand the community’s desires and to develop a framework for how to move forward.
“Summit County embraces growth thoughtfully and navigates change with integrity by upholding community identities through proactive planning,” the document stated. “Decisions … are made responsibly to ensure communities remain affordable, healthy, and inclusive to current and future generations.”
The strategic plan was designed to help guide how the county responds to objectives the community thinks should be prioritized. It addresses how to manage natural resources, promote healthy living, preserve unique identities, create inclusive communities and grow responsibly.
Officials hope the strategic plan will allow stakeholders to develop various strategies based on the objective, which in turn helps determine what projects are addressed first.
Possible examples include measuring how open space in the county is preserved, developing an Open Space Preservation Master Plan to identify crucial lands or making a similar plan focused on parks and recreation, supporting sustainable initiatives, establishing a regional housing authority, updating the housing needs assessment, finding gaps in social services, creating zoning regulations for outdoor watering or implementing flexibility in the land use code.
Each action may differ depending on whether it’s taking place on the East Side or in the Snyderville Basin. There was equitable representation for residents in North Summit, South Summit and the greater Park City area with response rates at 19%, 17% and 14%, respectively.
County Council Chair Roger Armstrong said he’s noticed commonalities between the East Side and the Basin, particularly when it comes to the need for affordable housing. He said the county should explore collaborating with the mayors in Coalville, Oakley or Francis as it has with City Hall to be better aligned.
Members of the County Council characterized the plan as a big undertaking to implement because of how dense it is. They said it needs to be used rather than “put on a shelf,” but it was unclear in what capacity.
It’s possible the visioning project could be used as a framework for the county work plan, which determines what staffers are working on for the year. Department heads are also expected to review the document and determine how it could be incorporated into their goals.
Planners recommended the County Council update the general plan, monitor the outcomes of the strategic plan and continue to engage with the community.
A final version of the plan will be available on the Summit County website by Jan. 12.