Observations by the Utah Association of REALTORS®

As The Voice for Real Estate™ in Utah, the Utah Association of REALTORS® recognizes its obligation to provide guidance on issues affecting the land within our borders and the people who own, buy, sell, pay taxes on and enjoy that land. Moreover, the UAR believes that land use policy affects the quality of life in Utah. To that end, in 1998 the UAR formed an Open Space Task Force to study the issues relating to growth, land-use planning, and the preservation of open space, and evaluate proposals to address the aforementioned issues.

WHAT IS OPEN SPACE?
The term "open space" means different things to different people. Open space could be a park in Murray City, a farm, a cemetery, a "riverwalk" along City Creek in Salt Lake City or the Jordan River, or wilderness. However, to foster predictability in land-use planning, the UAR believes that it is incumbent upon local governments to define what "open space" means for their communities.

The UAR appreciates the efforts of groups like Envision Utah to inform citizens how growth patterns affect land consumption, population density, and infrastructural costs. Some facts, however, must be considered when addressing open space in Utah.

Utah consists of approximately 54,335,500 acres (84,916 square miles). As of 1992, 1.0 percent of the land in Utah had been developed. (By comparison, 1.8 percent of the State of Oregon had been developed in the same year.) (Source: Natural Resources Conservation Service.) Envision Utah’s scenarios A, B, C and D for total land consumption along the Wasatch Front in the year 2020 range from 516 to 840 square miles (newly developed land ranges from 85 to 409 square miles). (Source: Envision Utah.)
The federal government owns or controls approximately 67 percent of the land in Utah (including land controlled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs). The State of Utah owns or controls approximately 10 percent of the land within its borders (including lakes and trust lands). A substantial portion of the remaining 23 percent of land in Utah is not developable because of geographic or legal limitations (e.g., slope, wetlands, instability, and/or conservation easements). (Source: School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration.)
In 1996, the Los Angeles metropolitan area had a population density of 5490 people per square mile and the New York metropolitan area had a population density of about 4119 per square mile. By comparison, the 1996 population densities per square mile for Salt Lake City, Provo-Orem, and Ogden are 2441, 1831, and 1542, respectively. (Source: Federal Highway Administration.) Envision Utah’s scenarios C & D indicate a population density on the Wasatch Front in 2020 of about 4838 per square mile and 5222 per square mile, respectively. (Source: Envision Utah.)

The UAR believes that the definition of open space may not be as important as those policies that authorize government action to preserve open space.

PRESERVATION OF OPEN SPACE
Private individuals and organizations, both alone or with some government assistance, are already doing much to preserve open space. The creation of land trusts and conservation easements are some of the many ways people are using their own initiative, resources, and creativity to establish an environment they want.

What shouldn’t be done to preserve open space? In the early 1970s, the Utah Association of REALTORS® joined with most Utahns in rejecting a proposal for statewide land-use planning, and that opposition continues today.

The State of Utah and the federal government should minimize their involvement in land use decisions and not withhold government grants and programs to enforce their policies.

The UAR believes in the fundamental right of all private property owners to determine the highest and best use of their land, working through appropriate governmental entities, preferably at the local level.

Programs of resource, land and historic preservation designed to protect aquifers, agricultural lands, wetlands, scenic vistas, natural areas, historic properties and open space, may have a positive effect on the quality of life and environment in towns, counties, and municipalities. Land use laws and regulations enacted for the purpose of protecting and enhancing these resources provide benefits to the general public and the costs should thus be borne by the general public.

The UAR recognizes that local governments may require funding to preserve open space. We encourage local governments to find creative ways to finance open space preservation that reduces reliance on tax revenues. The UAR believes that new tax sources to preserve open space must be subject to voter approval.

Planning for the classification and use of land must adequately consider the needs of housing, agricultural, commercial and industrial growth, as well as quality of life and a healthy local economy. Land-use planning should also take into account the impact of planning on housing affordability.

Each community in Utah should provide its fair share of affordable housing, rather than export their posterity to neighboring cities. To that end, the UAR supports the current state requirement on local governments to report on their efforts to provide affordable housing in their communities. The UAR would also support the reform of local zoning ordinances which currently forbid more efficient uses of land, such as "clustered housing" developments.

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