When West Haven was founded in 1991, the our General Plan required all residential lots to be at least one acre. That lot size requirement was in effect for a long, long time and everyone who built here was required to have at least an acre of land. In 2002, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council a few changes to the General Plan. These changes included adding both develop commercial buildings and homes on smaller lots. This recommendation came about because two landowners who wanted to develop their property for commercial uses and homes on smaller lots threatened to de-annex and annex into Roy. West Haven City officials at the time chose to allow the smaller lots.
As a result, subsequent City Councils have voted to add a variety of housing to the General Plan. I have met and talked with residents in every residential zone. Everyone is happy to be here in West Haven! We have created a place where people can grow up, move out, raise a family of their own, and then retire...without leaving their home town. Not long ago, we were losing some of our aging life-long residents to other cities. There was nowhere for them to go once they just couldn't keep up their acre of land. It's a sad thing to think that anyone would feel like they no longer belong in their hometown community.
So, with all of today's different lot sizes and variety of residents, is it possible to keep West Haven "country?" I believe it is! There are many things that help us to maintain that country atmosphere. One is our rich horseman heritage. We are proud to have one of the most beautiful horse arenas in Northern Utah. It is used 7 days a week by organized groups as well as drop in riders. In addition to West Haven Days, we added a second rodeo to draw people to our arena. We also have an outdoor recreation program unlike any other city. Along with mainstream sports such as baseball, basketball, etc, we have a fishing club and an archery program. We also sponsor hunter safety classes throughout the year. Besides facilities and programs, West Haven has several community events that bring residents together to enjoy each other's company. West Haven Days has become a 4-day event with something for everyone. We also have an Easter egg hunt and pumpkin walk for kids. A few years ago, we added the Heart of the Holidays event where residents come together to kick off the holiday season at City Hall. When I took office four years ago, I began hosting community seminars at City Hall. Topics have ranged from chocolate dipping to fly-tying to estate planning. It's been a great way to involve the community and give us all opportunities to meet and socialize with our neighbors as well as learn valuable information. I also began hosting senior luncheons for our most treasured residents.
Really, lot size has little to do with how you feel about your community. I've talked to a lot of people who say they like "living in the country" even though they live on far less than an acre of land. We also still have many horse properties available in our city for those who want them. West Haven is a wonderful community of diverse people who all belong, and that's what makes it such a great place to call home.
Open Space
One comment I have heard while talking with residents is, "I wish they would stop taking our open space." Let's break this down and discuss it. Who is "they" and whose is "our?" I believe that there may be a misconception that "they" is the city of West Haven and "our" refers to the residents in the area. I'll tackle this misconception by starting with the second pronoun. Most large areas of open space in our city exist because individual land owners are still farming their property or have livestock on it. Some of this open space has natural vegetation and some is planted in crops. This type of open space belongs to the owner of the property and not to anyone surrounding it. So, “our” = individual property owners.
Now, who is "they?" They are also the individual property owners like you and your neighbors! In actuality, these owners are not taking anything from anyone else - they are exercising their property rights in developing their land. There are various reasons why private land is sold and developed - the price and/or the time is right, the land owner is ready to liquidate an investment, or the landowner does not need the land for his own use any more. At any time, a property owner can approach the City and ask what he can do with his land. By referencing the General Plan, city staff can explain potential uses to the property owner. The owner then chooses which use to request and initiates the rezoning request process. If the request is granted (which it legally must be if it is in accordance with the General Plan), the property owner can change the use of his open space to whatever uses are allowed under the new zone.
There is also a different way to talk about open space, and this definition does allow for the city to promote its development. This type of open space is a public open space. Public open spaces consist of parcels of land that are planned to be left open and available to the public; they don't belong to any one person. Our parks are open spaces. Our trails are open spaces. Any open land that is owned by West Haven City is open space to be enjoyed by everyone.
In recent years, the City Council approved two major developments that will include significant public open spaces. By encouraging property owners to exercise their rights in a manner that will also create public open spaces and preserve access to them, we are acquiring some beautiful natural public open spaces. A few months ago, the current City Council purchased a little over four acres of open space in a new housing development to preserve for a future trail.
In the past, most public open spaces in West Haven have been traditional parks. Our trails by the Weber River are the closest thing to natural vegetation public open space that we currently have. However, the Pheasant Cove and Green Farm developments are planned to add more naturally vegetated public open space to our city. In the Pheasant Cove subdivision, all of the allowed homes will be built on roughly half of the available acreage, leaving the rest as public open space. There are 29 homes on 29 acres. There were two options - 29 one acre lots or 29 smaller lots with 12+ acres left open with trees and natural vegetation. The Hooper Slough Trail will run along the development and the open space will be there for the public to enjoy and as a haven for wildlife. In the Green Farm subdivision, all of the homes will be built on 140 of the 200 acres, leaving 60 acres of true public open space. In this area there will be fishing ponds, streams, and walking trails with connections to our larger trail system. This beautiful public natural-state open space will allow all of our residents an opportunity to enjoy outdoor recreational activities close to home. In fact, some of our outdoor recreation programs will even take place within this new public asset.
Careful planning of development within the city and collaborative preservation efforts will provide true public open spaces that will be enjoyed by residents for many years to come.
Acre Lots
One question I have heard while talking with residents is, "Why can't I subdivide my acre lot?" Some people who have an acre utilize every bit of it and others create a backyard and leave the rest unlandscaped. Some have outbuildings and some have animals. There are a variety of uses for an acre of land, but many residents wish they didn't have so much. A couple have officially requested to subdivide their acre, leaving them less to care for. The City Council rejected one Planning Commission recommendation to do so and subsequently adopted an ordinance to disallow this in completed subdivisions. The premise is that we need a variety of lots throughout the city and there will always be a need for some larger ones. Recognizing that a future city council could overturn the decision, the current council has chosen to protect the A-1 subdivisions.
City Parks
Another question asked of council candidates but not mayoral candidates was about city parks. The first park in West Haven was built in the center of the city on 3300 South. It was built by residents who donated their time and equipment to turn the 46 acres into what is now the Country Park. Later, there was a land trade with Weber School District and the 40 acres we acquired became the Sports Park. These are currently our two major parks in the city. At least one more is on the radar as we watch large parcels of land that will be developed in the north end of the city. We also have five smaller parks built as part of housing developments and dedicated to the City as public open space. One of these other parks is Stonefield, a seven acre piece in an R-1 zone. The R-1 zone allowed the developer to cluster the density into smaller lots and construct a beautiful public park which houses a local girls lacrosse team, several West Haven Grizzlies football practice fields, a playground, and a bowery. Another large park in an R-1 zone is Windsor Farms Park. This 17 acre park is being completed as a disc golf course.
In 2008, West Haven City hired its first fulltime parks director. I was a volunteer member of the parks & events committee at that time. I remember the meeting when Tim Jensen, the councilmember over parks and trails, passed the baton to Brock Randall. Brock took over those meetings and eventually the committee was redirected through a resolution. It is still in tact, but the volunteers are now event planners.
This was an important change, allowing the expert to do his job. With utmost appreciation for the time and effort that volunteers put into the parks, we recognized that there were things that would have been done differently. One example is the construction of the two football fields at the Sports Park. Both fields face east/west, resulting in one team always playing into the sun. An expert knows that football fields face north/south for this very reason.
As our parks have continued to develop, our parks director is on the pulse of what is popular and in demand. This is why our unused sand volleyball courts have been replaced by new pickleball courts at the Country Park. This change and the construction of the disc golf course are both direct results of citizens making suggestions to our parks director. So, although the volunteer parks committee is no longer functioning, resident input is still valuable and vital.
High Density Housing
Q: Are you going to stop the high density building?A: First of all, let's look at the definition of high density and other densities of housing:
Low density - 1-5 homes/acre
Medium density - 5-15 homes/acre
High density - 15+ homes/acre
It is important not to confuse housing developments such as patio homes and retirement communities with true high density uses such as apartments.
In response to the question, all apartment complexes that have been or are currently being built in our city were planned as part of the 2002 General Plan. This general plan, the existence of which is required by state law, was updated by the planning commission and adopted by the City council in 2002.
There is still some remaining acreage that was designated on the 2002 plan as “high density”. What this means is that property owners in those specific areas are allowed, but not required, to develop their land for higher density uses. These areas are adjacent to or near the major transportation corridors in West Haven. The next revision to the 2002 General Plan changes was made in 2005 with the rezoning of the "Walmart property" on the southwest corner of 4000 S and Midland Drive. At that time, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that some smaller lots be permitted in the Canterbury Crossing subdivision as part of the master plan for the entire area of 4000 South and Midland Drive. This recommended change was accepted by the city council.
The next major Plan revision in 2008 added the R-1 zone. This zone is for a density of one house/acre, averaged over the entire parcel of land, but allows developers to cluster homes on lots smaller than one acre in order to create community open space. In 2014, the R-2 zone was added. This zone is similar to the R-1 zone, but allows an overall density of two homes/acre. These two zones are key in our efforts to preserve public open space. Since prohibiting development altogether is illegal, these zones provide a way to encourage property owners to develop in such a way that meaningful "open space" can be preserved for all to enjoy. They felt that enough areas of multi-family housing existed in the western part of the city.
Law Enforcement
One frequently asked question of city leaders is about law enforcement. Although we have done an inhouse analysis about the cost of law enforcement every year during our budget season, in the 2020-21 budget, we funded a law enforcement study. We recently contracted with a third party analyst to help us understand the costs of continuing our contract with Weber County Sheriff's Office and starting our own police department. To this point, it has always been more cost effective to continue the contract. Also, in our recent resident survey, results showed overwhelming support for the Sheriff's contract.
Culinary Water Service
Q: How is the water district going to handle the water growth in the city without buying water from Weber Basin water? If so, who is going to base the cost? By district or distributed throughout the city?
A: West Haven City, unlike other cities, does not operate a culinary water improvement system. There are four different water districts in our city - Bona Vista, Hooper, Taylor-West Weber, and West Haven Special Service District. Residents are served culinary water based on where they live. The growth mentioned in the question is in reference to the apartments along and near Midland Drive (clarified in a private conversation with me following Meet the Candidates). The apartments are serviced by the Special Service District with water purchased from Roy City. Any additional cost associated with the density there would be passed along to the residents in those areas. The new water tower on Hinckley Drive is not related to water at the apartments nor does Taylor-West Weber service any apartments in our city.
Managing Growth
The number one issue facing our city, and the concern of many residents, is the growth we are experiencing. The challenge for city leaders is to allow property owners to exercise their legal rights while working with them to create the best possible developments. The fact is, none of us own rights to our neighbors' land. Our property rights end at our own property lines. The General Plan was adopted to guide the use of land in our city. Most recently, the R-1 zone was created. This is a zone that allows a density of one home per acre, but gives the option of shifting the housing to smaller lots to create public open space. The City Council has used this and the R-2 zone on two major projects within the last year. Both have large public areas that truly fit the definition of "open space." These community designs with smaller lots give residents who want to live here less yard to care for and can be more pleasing to surrounding neighbors.
Full acre lots are not necessarily the best option to preserve open space. (See diagram above.) They don't provide the flexibility needed to guarantee complements or enhancements.
Another concern is about the high density housing in our city. Though many areas of our city are being developed by property owners, the apartments in particular are high profile. They are easy to see, but they are no more prevalent than other developments further to the west. When major changes were made to the General Plan fifteen years ago, high density housing was slated to be built on the eastern edges of West Haven, near the main roadways. The last two times the General Plan was open for discussion and change, these areas remained unaltered. All apartments that are being built or have been built are right where the founders of this city planned for them.
Q: How is the water district going to handle the water growth in the city without buying water from Weber Basin water? If so, who is going to base the cost? By district or distributed throughout the city?
A: West Haven City, unlike other cities, does not operate a culinary water improvement system. There are four different water districts in our city - Bona Vista, Hooper, Taylor-West Weber, and West Haven Special Service District. Residents are served culinary water based on where they live. The growth mentioned in the question is in reference to the apartments along and near Midland Drive (clarified in a private conversation with me following Meet the Candidates). The apartments are serviced by the Special Service District with water purchased from Roy City. Any additional cost associated with the density there would be passed along to the residents in those areas. The new water tower on Hinckley Drive is not related to water at the apartments nor does Taylor-West Weber service any apartments in our city.
Managing Growth
The number one issue facing our city, and the concern of many residents, is the growth we are experiencing. The challenge for city leaders is to allow property owners to exercise their legal rights while working with them to create the best possible developments. The fact is, none of us own rights to our neighbors' land. Our property rights end at our own property lines. The General Plan was adopted to guide the use of land in our city. Most recently, the R-1 zone was created. This is a zone that allows a density of one home per acre, but gives the option of shifting the housing to smaller lots to create public open space. The City Council has used this and the R-2 zone on two major projects within the last year. Both have large public areas that truly fit the definition of "open space." These community designs with smaller lots give residents who want to live here less yard to care for and can be more pleasing to surrounding neighbors.
Another concern is about the high density housing in our city. Though many areas of our city are being developed by property owners, the apartments in particular are high profile. They are easy to see, but they are no more prevalent than other developments further to the west. When major changes were made to the General Plan fifteen years ago, high density housing was slated to be built on the eastern edges of West Haven, near the main roadways. The last two times the General Plan was open for discussion and change, these areas remained unaltered. All apartments that are being built or have been built are right where the founders of this city planned for them.
