Main Menu

SMART GROWTH OGDEN
A positive approach to Ogden's future!
P.O. Box 1347
Ogden, UT 84402
801-394-2252

View and download the PDF Trifold Version of this page.

Smart Growth Ogden was formed by a diverse group of residents who care about Ogden and want to improve our city.

We value the quality of life that we enjoy in Ogden, and we're committed to maintaining our city's uniqueness as well as enhancing it with well-planned, innovative growth.

We believe that maximizing positive growth necessarily requires open, constructive dialogue with the public, and educated decisions by our leaders.  We therefore offer ideas and facts to help you participate in envisioning a viable future for Ogden.

We suggest projects that we believe would contribute to sustainable, positive growth for Ogden -- smart growth.

We believe that people can come together with different ideas, from different sides of issues, and work together to improve our community.

We also believe that fundamental to smart growth is the need for city government to create a business friendly environment to attract large and small businesses.

We believe that because Ogden's General Plan and its associated community (neighborhood) plans were produced with extensive citizen input and approved by the City Council, these plans should be the foundation of our growth. We support public awareness of the vision, priorities, goals, and strategies included in the plans.

We encourage Ogden City to complete the remaining two community plans (Gibson and Mt. Ogden) with the same consideration as afforded the first seventeen.

We want to involve our entire community as stewards of our public land and tax dollars to ensure that as Ogden grows we protect our quality of life, open space and access to public trails.

Our web site- www.smartgrowthogden.org will help you evaluate facts related to critical issues facing Ogden, link to other sites including Ogden City where you can read the entire General Plan, and then make informed decisions.

Above all, we encourage you to ask questions and get involved. Ogden's future depends on it.

Downtown:

To ensure that our downtown continues to be the heart of the City, we support reinvigorating the downtown area by:

Creating streetscapes, especially on Washington Blvd., that minimize conflict between pedestrians and vehicles, that slow traffic, and that beautify the area.

Emphasizing mixed uses including retail, residential, restaurants and entertainment.

Increasing downtown gathering places and promoting walking and biking opportunities in the heart of the city.

Prioritizing redevelopment to serve Ogden residents first, tourists second.

Capitalizing on Historic 25th Street and Union Station as a shopping, entertainment, museum, and tourist destination.

Encouraging a strong local arts community and expanding community celebrations including those that recognize Ogden's rich cultural diversity.

Services and Facilities:

We support capital investment in Ogden's infrastructure, including roads, water and sewer, and investment in emergency services, including police and fire services by:

Encouraging the City Council to invest a portion of lease revenues from Business Depot Ogden into City infrastructure.

Assuring that money budgeted for services and facilities is expended, and that any proposal to divert funds be fully disclosed with an explanation of how the capital projects and/or services will be impacted.

Natural Environment

We support preserving and maintaining our urban trails, east bench trails, mountain trails and river corridors by:

Asking that the City provide paid trail crews for a few weeks each spring to augment the work of volunteers.

Preserving in perpetuity, public access to long-established trails on private lands historically zoned as open space.

Keeping public parks and golf courses under full public ownership and control for the benefit of Ogden residents.

Making sure that development of mountain property within Ogden City and Weber County is consistent with existing City and County sensitive area zoning ordinances and Ogden City's General Plan.

Completing Ogden's portion of the Ogden/Weber River Parkway (The Centennial Trail) and encouraging other Weber County communities to do likewise.

Mass Transportation:

We support developing an effective mass transit system for our citizens by:

Implementing the recommendations of the UTA/WFRC study, to serve Ogden's long-term transit needs.

Suggesting for the interim, an express neighborhood bus system with the same stops at the same locations.

Establishing dedicated buses during ski season from downtown to Ogden Valley ski areas.

Requiring full disclosure of the urban gondola proposal including its effectiveness as mass transit, costs and funding sources, neighborhood impact, long term ownership and maintenance, and responsibility for making up any shortfall in revenue.

Economic Development:

We support attracting individuals and businesses to Ogden by:

Emphasizing local outdoor recreation opportunities, including trails, ski areas, sightseeing, hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, water sports, bicycling and rock climbing.

Providing accountability and transparency from City government on government funded economic development projects.

Encouraging the Mayor to work openly with the City Council in facilitating new business development.

Smart Growth Ogden. "Who we are."
801-334-9680; P.O. Box 1347, Ogden, UT 84402
We are not affiliated with any other state or national group. We are Ogden residents, volunteers, etc., who love our city and are not embarassed to say we live here...