Syracuse's rapid growth could outpace funding

SYRACUSE — The farmland here is fast disappearing.

Each year, about 680 new single-family lots are approved. Population has more than doubled in the past five years, with new residents arriving at growth rate of about 22.7 percent.

From a planning perspective, that number offers a unique challenge — providing services to a burgeoning population with limited resources and few dollars.

There's also the issue of zoning for the future.

"Keeping our heads above water is probably what a lot of us do," said city planner Roger Worthen. "I have barely enough time to review and make sure the public is following today's ordinances."

A new study from Brigham Young University shows that Syracuse will face a funding crisis in the coming years. Residential development has far exceeded a "healthy balance" with commercial development, according to the report.

Without additional sales tax, property tax rates will need to go up.

"They're not doing too great right now," said Scott Sellers, a first-year student at the BYU Romney Institute of Public Management and team leader for the study.

"They realize they need to build — and they have all these capital projects on the back burner, but there's no way to fund projects without an increase in property tax or commercial."

Syracuse Mayor Fred Panucci said he is well aware of the crisis. As available land in cities like Farmington, Bountiful and North Salt Lake has been developed, the population has shifted west toward the Great Salt Lake.

Commercial development has not had time to catch up with the residential boom, Panucci said. But opportunities are fast approaching.

Over the years, city officials have worked with growth experts like Envision Utah to develop a plan for a Syracuse Town Center. The center will act as a core, or "downtown," according to city master plans. It will utilize a mixed-use development plan, including housing, small and large retail and landscaped pedestrian areas.

Wal-Mart has already signed on as a key tenant. City officials say the retailer will help shape their plan for the Syracuse Town Center.

"The No. 1 source of revenue for every city in the state of Utah, with one or two exceptions, is sales tax," said Panucci. "When you have an imbalance like we do, it presents challenges. Fortunately we have a Town Center that is developing, and it looks like within the next two years, there will be quite a change in commercial development."

There are questions, however, whether Wal-Mart is the right type of growth for Syracuse.

Nontraditional planners are now touting high-density, mixed-use walkable communities as the way to manage growth. It's a planning theory known as "new urbanism" and was included in the BYU study.