Envision Utah launches survey, wants Utah voices


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SALT LAKE CITY — Future planning for Utah communities starts right now, and state leaders and Envision Utah want to hear Utahns' voices and want them to weigh in during the next two months.

"Weigh in as soon as you can and express your views," said founding Envision Utah board member and President Robert Grow.

On Tuesday, Envision Utah launched the survey, which is touted as nation's largest public outreach planning effort. It's called "Your Utah, your future." Envision Utah, under the direction of Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, wants 50,000 Utahns to share their opinions and their blueprints for the future of our communities and our state.

"In Utah, we don't believe in sitting back and seeing where growth will take us," said Herbert. "Growth requires us to look forward proactively and take a thoughtful approach to ensure we maintain a high quality of life and strong economy in the decades to come."

"Having 50,000 Utahns share their voice will be the most powerful direction-setting thing we can do in the state," said Grow. "We are providing people with the widest selection of ways that Utah could turn out in 2050 they will ever see."

By then, Utah's population will have nearly doubled from 2.9 million to 5.4 million people. Envision Utah wants help from the public to chart that course.

"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to weigh in and tell us, express your voice, on what you would like Utah to be like for your children and grandchildren," he said.

The survey asks Utahns to choose among alternative futures that impact the following eleven areas:

  • Air quality
  • Education


In Utah, we don't believe in sitting back and seeing where growth will take us. Growth requires us to look forward proactively and take a thoughtful approach to ensure we maintain a high quality of life and strong economy in the decades to come.

–Utah Gov. Gary Herbert


  1. Energy
  2. Housing and cost of living
  3. Jobs and economy
  4. Public lands
  5. Recreation
  6. Agriculture
  7. Transportation and communities
  8. Water
  9. Disaster resilience For example, Envision Utah already knows from previous surveys that Utahns consider air quality a big problem and want solutions. "It is clearly a health issue, but it's an economic development issue too," said Lonnie Bullard, Chairman of Jacobsen Construction Company and co-chair of the Utah Clean Air Action Team, a group of scientists and business leaders who developed recent policy recommendations for the governor and legislature.

Their work is woven into the survey. In part, Bullard says it recognizes the technology Utahns choose for their homes and their cars impacts air quality.

"It's not my neighbor, and it's not the business down the street that is causing the air to be polluted. It's the choices that I make," said Bullard.

Go to envisionutah.org for that survey, or look for that link online at KSL.com. After two months, Envision Utah will gather the data and put together a document that it will share with policymakers.

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Jed Boal

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