During the recent Utah legislative session, lawmakers gave what amounts to a general mandate to towns and cities in the state to get ahead of expected population growth and the housing and transportation concerns sure to come with that.
Many cities in Cache Valley, like Providence, have been struggling with how to manage that growth. On KVNU’s For the People program on Tuesday, Richmond city councilman Tucker Thatcher who also assists with planning and zoning says his city is no exception.
“We do have some space up here and we certainly enjoy our open space. I’m fortunate enough to live and work here in Richmond and we have people in (occasionally) from all around the world. They’ll look out the conference room window in our building and they will say ‘this is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been’ and I always joke with them and tell them ‘Don’t tell your friends’.”
Thatcher said it is a great town but growth is inevitable, he said “that’s something we have to take a serious look at and then we’ve got to figure out a responsible way to manage that growth that protects the residents that are already here but also frees up some space for other people to live here”
He said the town promotes family values and those are the types of places that attract move-ins. Thatcher said that’s the reason he chose to stay in Richmond to give his family the same opportunities that he had growing up.
He said he thinks there is a way to do this and manage growth properly but admits how exactly to do that effectively is still a mystery. You can give input and find out more information at Richmond-utah.com or on the city’s Facebook page.