Visit www.envisionutah.org to choose Utah’s future.
By Robert Grow, President & CEO of Envision Utah
Utah is growing, and we need you to set the direction for that growth. By 2050 the state’s population is projected to almost double; Box Elder and Weber Counties' will triple or even quadruple.
Will we have clean air to breathe? Enough water for our needs? Transportation choices that promote a high quality of life? An affordable cost of living, with good housing options for everyone? Open space, including natural lands, agriculture, and recreational options? Quality jobs for all of us? An educated population? Affordable energy supplies that don't damage our air and environment? The answers to all of these questions depend on the choices we make, and Envision Utah is bringing these questions to every Utahn to answer at www.envisionutah.org.
Your Utah Your Future was launched and endorsed by Governor Gary Herbert in October 2013. Envision Utah assembled a small army of 400 state leaders and stakeholders to serve on Action Teams in eleven focus areas. Their research and knowledge populated the five scenarios that are included at www.envisionutah.org. Each scenario includes all eleven topics. You can choose your favorite outcomes for each topic, as well as your overall favorite scenario.
To date, over 40,000 Utahns have shared their voice by choosing a scenario. That’s a lot, but it’s not enough. We want to hear from 50,000 Utahns. Only 1,891 people from Box Elder, and 1,563 from Weber County have weighed in. You only have until the end of May to make your voice count. So share your voice today, if you haven’t already. And invite everyone within your influence to do the same – your friends, coworkers, employees, and family. If you mark your community school’s name when you take the survey, that school will receive a $1 donation.
Envision Utah’s largest project, Your Utah Your Future, is an update of our successful Quality Growth Strategy of the late ‘90s, which resulted in lasting benefits we all appreciate today, like our passenger rail system, more compact growth, infrastructure savings, and reduced water consumption. It continues to pay big dividends.
The scenarios present real, concrete choices. For example, how far are you willing to go to reduce water consumption? Are you willing to have no grass in your yard? Do you want to price our children and grandchildren out of this market through our zoning and transportation decisions?
Don’t leave the future to chance, and don’t let others decide the future for you. The vision that results from Utahns’ choices will guide policymakers – from the state to your local city – for many years to come. Help ensure our children and grandchildren continue to enjoy a high quality of life
