Resolving Conflicts

Can you provide examples of situations where you have successfully built consensus or resolved conflicts in a diverse and potentially divided community?

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Three examples jump out at me.  With a particular development in City Center, we had a councilmember who felt very strongly that we needed to preserve larger lots in that area. I agreed.  The project the developer brought before the Council wasn’t bad, but it did not meet the desired land use for that area.  Instead of just voting yes or no as is, I met with that developer and the other councilmember.  We worked through the concerns and desires of both the landowner and councilmember, and ultimately found a way to increase the average lot size without stripping the landowner of the value and use of his property. 

Another example is when we were working on getting the code created for the Wildlife Corridor Overlay Zone and one of the first developments to adopt the Wildlife Corridor-friendly components. I remember talking to a very supportive landowner and developer that had reached the end of how much he could bend and accommodate the wishes of those in support of the Wildlife Corridor.  He was getting worn out from that back and forth and was close to just giving up on the discussions and moving forward with the development as vested.  In listening to both sides of that issue, I knew we were super close and both side just needed someone to hear and help the issues along.  It wasn’t my doing that finally got it over the finish line, it was a total group effort, but sometimes in situations like that, both sides just need a little nudge, or sympathetic ear and ideas for creative solutions. 

The last example was when one neighborhood was subject to some really impactful and even damaging activity in their neighborhood. We found ourselves in a really tough spot because the activity was partially done and if we made the developer and excavator halt the work, it would have left a huge mess for those neighbors.  We had to listen to the residents to hear their biggest concerns and then also hear what efforts could make the problem better.  We were able to create code to prevent that situation from ever happening again, we were able to get compensation for those that sustained damage, and also were able to get some additional park amenities funded by that developer to help mitigate the inconvenience, damage, and frustration.  We couldn’t undo what had started, but we could facilitate a path forward. (I use the word we because it was a group effort.  I was able to help contribute to the solution with some of my skills, but that solution was not only from my work, it was a combination of residents raising concerns, city staff helping provide context and the understanding of what could legally be done, and the elected officials repeatedly going to the neighborhood and listening so we could help make this situation better.)

Vision of Eagle Mountain's Future

What is your vision for our city in the next five to ten years? How do you plan to involve residents in shaping that vision?

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Eagle Mountain is such an amazing place to live and work. When I think of some of the awesome things we have accomplished together here, it reminds me of the term originally coined by Early American, John Winthrop, and later adopted by the great Ronald Reagan, “we shall be as a city upon a hill”. We have 50+ square miles of some of the most beautiful land around and home to some of the smartest, most talented, and most caring people in the country.  For decades people have called this area “the Crossroads of the West” and recently I heard a successful business leader say, we have developed into “the Crossroads of the World”.  There is a great deal of truth to that statement, but there is also a huge responsibility to get it right. We can be special and different. We can choose creative solutions over a cookie-cutter approach, and we can create that shining city on a hill that was spoken of over 400 years ago.  We need to preserve the city's unique character while meeting the needs of a growing population. With a focus on innovative practices and thoughtful planning, we must ensure that the city's infrastructure, transportation, and public services keep pace with the demands of the community. We will plan ahead, use industry best practices, and implement the most crucial responsibilities of the government–public safety, roads, and life-sustaining infrastructure. The reality is, growth is going to happen, we get to decide if we help to manage that growth in a responsible way or if we just become subject to whatever outside forces dictate.  We have to be intentional about creating safe and adequate roadways and fostering jobs and resources right here in our community. 

As for how I will involve residents in the shaping of that vision, I will do what I am known for–being with the people, listening to them, being available to them, and being their voice at City Hall.

Property Rights

Can you balance property rights while protecting residents from predatory development behavior?

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I always tell my kids, “the most expensive mistakes are the ones we do not learn from.” There have been situations councils over the last 25 years have found themselves in and felt like their hands were tied, by a previous council’s decision, by not foreseeing how a situation would play out, or by constraints that the state has put on cities. The important thing is that we learn from those opportunities and improve. One of the most important ways to protect residents from predatory development behavior is to enforce the code already in place. Another important way to protect both property rights and residents is to regularly review our code and look for inconsistencies and areas that code has not yet addressed. This is an area in which we can lean on both our trained staff and our boards and commissions. We need to be intentional in giving direction to the other bodies in our city and asking them to review a certain area of concern or code and bring a recommendation to the City Council.

Housing - Needs vs. Wants

In your opinion, what type of housing is needed in Eagle Mountain?

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Eagle Mountain needs a balance of housing and one of the types of housing we still lack is “move up” housing. For many years, Eagle Mountain was known as the place you can get more house for less, and “starter homes” for a great price, largely because of the distance to retail, goods, and services, which has steadily improved during the last few years. Many families moved here and grew here, but as they began to outgrow their first or second EM homes, they found themselves looking for a place to move up into. In the last 5 years, we have made a lot of progress in working with the development community to help encourage more “move up” homes. To have a fiscally healthy and stable community we need a mix of housing types. We need to continue to work to make sure the various types of homes don’t get out of balance.

Rural Living

In a survey [from Cedar Valley Sentinel], one of the biggest reasons people move to eagle mountain is for a “rural living”. What is your definition of rural living?

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There are plenty of legal descriptions of rural. Some are based on population, some are based on proximity, and some are based on characteristics. When Eagle Mountain people talk to me about “rural living” they are talking about a place that is rural in character. They are talking about a place where people can still ride their horses or horse power and you see a horse in line at the drive thru of McDonalds.

“Rural Living” is a place where you can raise chickens, and grow fruit trees and a garden.

“Rural Living” means you can step just outside your neighborhood and access a trail to hike a mountain.

“Rural Living” means your kids can just go outside and play on the grass or in dirt because you have space to do so.

“Rural Living” means you can see stars at night. The people of Eagle Mountain may not meet all of the legal definitions of rural, but they are talking about a lifestyle and sense of community.