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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah officials have unveiled six potential sites for a new state prison, but local officials and residents who got early word that the facility could be coming to their communities are already lining up to oppose it.
The six sites identified Wednesday afternoon at a meeting of the Prison Relocation Commission are in Salt Lake, Tooele and Utah counties. The commission has been reaching out to local officials in those communities, some of whom have already publicly announced their objections.
The sites were culled from a list of 26 locations that the commission has been eyeing as it looks to relocate the current facility in the Salt Lake City suburb of Draper. Proponents of the move argue the Draper facility needs modernizing and more space, and the current location is eating up valuable real estate as high-tech firms are moving in nearby.
After studying the issue for years, Utah legislators decided earlier this year to rebuild the prison elsewhere, which is expected to cost at least $450 million.
At least 40 protesters from Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain attended the meeting, carrying signs and wearing shirts and badges opposing two Utah County sites that would put the facility near their cities.
Jan Memmott, a Saratoga Springs resident and spokeswoman for the group, said moving a prison near her fast-growing city would hurt home values and development. State officials should consider building the prison in a much more rural location where it won't impact existing communities, Memmott said.
"It has to go somewhere," said Rep. Greg Hughes, a Draper Republican and the newly elected speaker of the House.
The commission is looking for a location that won't face the same problems as the Draper spot in the future, but the facility can't be so rural that it's difficult for prison workers and volunteers to access it, Hughes said.
The commission offered only rough details Wednesday about the sites, which are all on private land that would need to be purchased by the state. It's unclear how much each parcel would cost.
Consultants working for the commission said almost all of the sites are relatively isolated plots of about 500 acres or more, and several border areas such as wetlands, a mine or Utah National Guard facilities, which would limit future development nearby.
Mayors and city officials from Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain, Salt Lake City and West Jordan have all come out against the prison moving within or near their city boundaries.
In a statement Wednesday, West Jordan Mayor Kim Rolfe said he hopes the commission reconsiders the site east of his city, saying it would disrupt the development of homes, parks, churches and businesses.
"I will fight this with every resource at my disposal," Rolfe said of the proposed location near the intersection of state Route 48 and Route 111.
On Monday, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker outlined his opposition in a letter to the committee, calling two locations within his city "wholly inappropriate." One of the sites is north of Salt Lake City International Airport and the other is near Interstate 80 and 7200 West.
The location in Tooele County sits directly east of the Miller Motorsports Park.
Kaysville Republican Rep. Brad Wilson, a co-chair of the Prison Relocation Commission, said the commission's members appreciate the feedback, and community support is one factor among many they're weighing.
The commission members said Wednesday that they plan to do a much deeper study of the six sites and don't expect to recommend one until sometime next year.
Sen. Jerry Stevenson, a Layton Republican, said sites could fall off the list and the commission is open to any suggested additions.
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