The cooperative's officials want to become well informed about their options. Davis said development will wait until owners decide it's in their best interests to sell.

"We certainly do not want to push current owners into some use they're not prepared for," he said. "When time does come, we'll have a plan."

Kent Sulser, Davis County's manager of economic development, said the effort presents real possibilities for creating new jobs that bring living wages to northwestern Davis County.

Currently, about 45 percent of Davis County's work force commutes out of the county for work. More than 37,000 people drive to Salt Lake City for work, Sulser said.

Not only does that mean those people are spending their money in Salt Lake County, Sulser said, but they clog the freeways twice a day during their commutes.

The cooperative presents an opportunity for job growth in Davis County that may keep more of the work force local, he said.

"If we don't preserve land for a job base," he said, "we're going to hurt ourselves in the future."

---

E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com