There’s been a lot of buzz around the Rio Grande Plan lately, including a reference last week by Mayor Erin Mendenhall at her "State of the City" address.Join us Monday, February 6, at noon, either in person at the AIA Utah Office, or online (see link below), to hear from the civil engineer and landscape architect team, Christian Lenhart and Cameron Blakely, who authored this idea-provoking and fascinating urban design concept. See more information below. Best regards - Soren Simonsen, FAIA, ...Continue Reading

Good afternoon Utah planners.  Having served 15 years on the APA Utah Executive Board, I feel qualified to openly share my experience working with the Western Planner organization. First, Western Planner is a magnitude of scale (or two) smaller than National APA.  They focus on small, western community issues.  They don’t pretend to be anything else. Second, I have submitted and been published twice by Western Planner.  One article was on the revitalization of historic downtown bountiful and oth ...Continue Reading

All,   I am wondering if any of you have attended the Western Planner Conference, and would be willing to share privately, your assessment of the value that the Conference provides, especially in comparison to other Conference, such as the APA National Conference.   My experience is that I have appreciate my opportunities to attend the National Conference, however, I haven’t always found all of the session relevant enough to suburban, rural, or micropolitan issues that many communities in states like Utah ...Continue Reading

Are you considering, contemplating, or chewing over becoming AICP certified? If so, you are invited to attend the Utah Chapter’s AICP Study Sessions. The first Study Session for Spring 2023 will be held Saturday 1/21/2023 @ 9;30 AM via Zoom. Join Zoom Meeting https://utah.zoom.us/j/94604503108?pwd=d1lYY3pKeTRQKzZOUmwrT0xpekMvZz09  Meeting ID: 946 0450 3108 Passcode: 928599   The first Study Session will cover an introduction to AICP certification and examination & experience requirements. All are welc ...Continue Reading

You’re probably right.  There is a State Transportation Commission, but I don’t think they own title to property.  Title should be UDOT. *Paul Larsen AICP MSARP* *Community & Economic Development Director* 20 N. Main Street Brigham City UT  84302 (435) 734-6603 *From:* Brandon Bell via Utah Chapter APA Listserv <utahapa@PROTECTED> *Sent:* Thursday, January 19, 2023 12:12 PM *To:* Utah Chapter APA Listserv <utahapa@PROTECTED> *Subject:* [EXTERNAL][UAPA] State Road Commission CAUTION: ...Continue Reading

All,   Kind of an unusual question, but we are working with a property owner, who is considering developing their property. However, adjacent to their property is a parcel, used for a canal, that is listed as being owned the “State Road Commission”. The property owner considering developing their property, may seek to provide access to their property through that parcel owned by the State Road Commission. Does anyone know if this entity/agency still in existence? I can’t find evidence that it is, via Internet s ...Continue Reading

All,   I am helping a smaller community in my area by expanding its ADU policies. Their Planning Commission and City Council have asked about putting together a deed restriction for ADUs and requiring owner occupation. I am wondering if any of you have a good example.   Thanks!   /Stephen Nelson, //AICP/// /Hurricane City/ /Planning Director/ /(435) 635-2811/ // / / ...Continue Reading

The City of Bluffdale is seeking a qualified planning consultant to provide services and deliver a new City of Bluffdale Parks, Trails, Recreation, and Open Space Plan. RFP attached. *Judi Pickell***Executive Manager *Phone*: 801-450-2659  *Email*: admin@PROTECTED* *PO Box 1264American Fork, UT 84003* **www.apautah.org**@apautah* *       *     ...Continue Reading

Hello Utah Planning Community,The Utah Division of Water Resources has recently produced a helpful guidebook for communities working to better integrate water into their land use planning.  This is a great resource for local governments as you're working on developing a Water Use and Conservation element to your general plans, as required by SB110 from the 2022 General Session.Along with the guidebook, DWR hosted a Growing Water Smart Workshop last November, and more are planned for the future.  ...Continue Reading

The first meeting of the AICP Study Group for the Spring 2023 AICP Examination period (May 1-25) will be Saturday, January 21 at 9:30 AM via Zoom. The purpose of the Study Group is to prepare candidates for the AICP examination, learn together, share information and resources, maintain a study schedule, and enjoy convivial banter. Everyone is welcome to attend, free of charge. For Spring 2023, AICP exam preparation sessions will be held each Saturday from 9:30 AM-11:00-ish AM until May 1st. The Zoom meeting link for ...Continue Reading