CLEARFIELD — The city wants to be a place, not a project.

As commuter rail starts stirring up dirt, city officials in Clearfield are wanting to change their stop's location. Like many cities along the line between Salt Lake City and Ogden, Clearfield sees the stop as an opportunity to lure people off the stop and into the community.

Officials met last week to consider moving the stop, currently located at Main Street and Falcon Drive (1000 East). The other option, dubbed "Option 2," is across from the city building at State and Center streets.

The proposed move could cost the city more than $300,000 in money already spent for the original stop, but some see the good outweighing the bad.

It comes down to three letters: TOD, or transit oriented development. The City Council wants to put the stop in the best place possible so when the rail is built, developers will want to settle in Clearfield along the rail line and hopefully revitalize the city.

Studies nationwide have shown the benefits of TOD, and others on the line are jumping on, too.

The largest will be Station Park in Farmington. Near the Park Lane interchange, the development will feature a movie theater, fitness center, retail, offices and housing. Layton is looking at a TOD as well, another reason Clearfield wants to move its station. City officials want their stop to be more in the middle of the Roy and Layton stops so it can attract everything in between with its amenities.

Option 2 is also unique in that it is already part of an RDA-funded project.

"We've got the nucleus there," City Manager Jack Bippes told the council. The stop's location would already have a base, and city leaders hope that the existing retail would bring more. The stop's current location means starting from scratch, though it is an area the city wants to focus on redeveloping eventually.

"(UTA) is not in the development business," public works economic director Kay Chandler said. "We have to get into the development end of it."

Moving the station would come with struggles on both sides. It may not even be possible, though UTA commuter rail manager Steve Meyer said that UTA is talking to the city and working something out.

The expense would hit the city. The Utah Transit Authority covered the cost to evaluate the first location. Should the city opt to change the location, the expense would rest on Clearfield.

"The key thing for us is to keep the project on schedule and do the right thing for everybody," Meyer said.

Next for city leaders is a meeting with UTA. Should the decision be deemed possible, then the City Council must move quickly to keep UTA on its tight spring 2008 deadline.

"We need to become the driving force behind the development," Bippes said about the city's involvement. "We can't sit back and let UTA do that. We're not going to like the outcome."

---

E-mail: nandrews@desnews.com