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HURRICANE, Utah (AP) -- Mayor Tom Hirschi, Councilwoman Ethelyn Humphries and four city employees recently took a developer-paid trip to Maryland and Washington, D.C., to see examples of "New Urbanism" -- urban design that stresses walkable, compact communities.
City Manager Clark Fawcett, who also went on the trip, said he did not feel the trip violated the city's policy on accepting gifts.
Fawcett said that because new urbanism is a new concept for the city, it was important to see the idea in practice.
"When you are trying to look at it on paper, it doesn't work," Fawcett said. "We felt we should look at it firsthand to make the determination if we want it in our community."
The trip was paid for by McNeil Development, which plans to use the new urbanism concept for its proposed 2,500-acre Elim Valley development in Hurricane.
Police Chief Lynn Excell, Fire Chief Ed Campbell and public works director Mac Hall also went on the trip from April 23 to April 27.
City Attorney Fay Reber said the trip did not violate any city or state policies because it was educational rather than recreational.
The trip included a day of sightseeing in Washington, with a tour of the White House.
The St. George City Council also has been checking out the New Urbanism planning concept and several council members, along with the mayor and city manager, took a city-paid trip to Georgia and Maryland two months ago.
McNeil Development representative Gene Sturzenegger said the company's chief executive, Rollie Walker, paid for the trip to show the Hurricane representatives the concept behind New Urbanism.
Sturzenegger said the trip was definitely not a vacation, and the group's day started early and ended late.
One of the places that both the St. George council and Hurricane group visited was The Kentlands in Gaithersburg, Md., which was built in 1988 on 358 acres. The Hurricane trip also included a similar development called the Lakelands.
Fawcett said that in hindsight, the group might have done it a little differently.
"If we approve it (the development) now, people may say we were bought off and I understand that," Fawcett said. "But on the other hand, we could not have felt good about including it in our community without seeing it."
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Information from: The Spectrum, http://www.thespectrum.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
