This state’s powerhouse economic growth has made it the envy of other states and is one of the key features of life in today’s Utah. But with that growth comes challenges and a constant stream of pivotal development decisions. It puts land use decision-making at center stage in the theater of public policy.
Utah Foundation addresses the importance of development decisions in a new report, Building a Better Beehive: Land Use Decision Making, Fiscal Sustainability and Quality of Life in Utah. How communities develop affects the short-term and long-term costs to governments — and thereby to taxpayers.
A top concern with regard to long-term costs is quality of life. Neglecting quality of life considerations in the name of short-term fiscal gain will ultimately reap a bitter harvest as degrading community quality leads to diminishing returns. For this reason, Utah Foundation examines land use decisions simultaneously through two lenses: fiscal sustainability and quality of life. We look for land use strategies that can accommodate both.
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