From Deseret News archives:
The good and bad of growth
This can be viewed as both good and bad. A healthy construction market means more jobs and opportunities. It also means, for the most part, that Utah is attracting growth and that people here are thriving enough to afford new houses. On the other side, however, it also could mean that the state is getting caught in the nationwide real estate boom that some experts are calling a bubble.
This already has struck Nevada and Arizona, sending average home prices there to astronomical heights. That sort of boom is fueled in large part by speculators who have little interest in the long-term health of a community, as opposed to most traditional homebuyers. It leads to a host of collateral problems. In Phoenix, for example, teachers, firefighters and other service personnel are being forced into distant suburbs because of rising rents and purchase prices. That means long commutes. It also means difficulty attracting people to those jobs. Likewise, all low-income people and the homeless have less of a chance to find decent housing anywhere.
But the biggest drawback to rapid growth is that it tends to catch local governments off guard. If they don't have intelligent planning policies in place, they quickly could see prime open space disappear forever as concrete and asphalt spread like weeds.
City councils and planning commissioners should take time now to promote walkable communities and to set aside land for parks and recreation. Despite the need for tax revenue, they should not approach rapid growth like a starving person at a buffet table.
Utah's history is one of steady growth. The larger the state's population becomes, the quicker the pace of that growth also becomes. But, generally speaking, a community has only one chance to develop itself the right way.
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