New Mayor in Town

What the New Mayor Means for Homeowners

There is a new mayor in town with an ambitious plan (and a myspace profile ). Good leadership in the city can help each individual home and property owner by maintaining property values and increasing quality of life. I think the new city administration is going to be effective in two key areas that will go a long way towards achieving these goals. 1) Developing downtown and 2) fixing transportation.

Develop Downtown Even More

Becker plans on “revitalizing” downtown. One step he will take towards this objective is to restructure the Planning Department. I hope that he will make the Planning Department more transparent and the rules clearer. My limited experience with the department last year was frustrating because I was given the run around when trying to find out the standards for doing a condo conversion. When the rules are clear and the developer knows what he or she needs to do, then more money will be invested in the city. More money into the city is like your neighbors remodeling their home; it helps your property values.

Transportation

As Becker writes on his website, he plans to organize “a world-class network of urban trails, accessible to everyone, tying our foothills, neighborhoods, parks, Jordan River, and maybe the Great Salt Lake into a connected necklace.”

This network of trails is already in highly developed. Just last year, Parley’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge was constructed over I-215 as part of a planned Parley’s Creek Corridor trail to connect the Bonneville Shoreline Trail with the Jordan River Parkway Trail. These kinds of projects will continue under Becker’s leadership.

Becker also plans to: 1) expand light rail to the airport 2) Synchronize our lights, and 3) put the pedestrian first 3) and build a neighborhood-oriented circulator system.

Any idea want a neighborhood-oriented circulator system is?