LAYTON -- The west side of Layton contains the most undeveloped land in the city and has the potential to increase almost eight-fold in population before it reaches a "build-out stage."
As such, city planners are beginning a citizen review process now to determine the best way to plan for enormous growth in what is essentially Layton's last frontier.Peter Matson, a Layton planner, wants to organize a committee of residents in the area. He envisions the group's first meeting being held in May or June, with its recommendations being presented to the Planning Commission and City Council in late summer.
Sometime in April, Matson said, he hopes to mail information to all 800 households on the city's west side to inform them of the study and recruit possible committee members.
The committee would examine residential growth and zoning but it would also study commercial possibilities. "I want to pin down a neighborhood commercial area in the next five years," Matson said.
He said he fears if a commercial area isn't designated soon, it will be lost to housing. For example, a new home on west Hill Field Road recently destroyed the possibilities of that area becoming a future shopping center.
Matson now believes that 3200 West and Hill Field Road might be the best choice for a future retail area. However, Hill Field Road currently ends at 2200 West, and the city's five-year plan doesn't even yet include an extension of that road to the Syracuse border.
Containing some 2,200 acres west of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Tracks, west Layton will also likely someday include another 2,700 acres of unincorporated Davis County land, too.
Matson estimates the current population of the area to be 2,400. However, it could grow to as many as 18,000 total residents -- depending on the zoning for the area.
When west Layton was first threatened with residential subdivisions, a similar study on the area was conducted by a citizen committee in 1994. Matson said he's hoping many of those former committee members will again be involved in the study.
Since 1994, the city's west side has had two new major subdivisions -- Windsor Meadows and Chelsea Park. It also has a new fire station and 45-acre Ellison Park, set to open this spring. The City Council recently outlawed hunting in west Layton, too, because of the recent housing growth.
There is currently a very limited amount of culinary water available to west Layton. The city has banned any more subdivision growth until a new water tank is built in Clearfield and water transmission lines are in place.
Matson said that means he has at least 18 months -- maybe two years -- to get things in place before growth in the area skyrockets.
"Everything is on hold as far as large-scale development goes," he said.
Still, he believes plans need to be made for the area, and developers need some idea of what the city envisions for the Layton's last frontier.
Matson said there is also a significant number of absentee property owners in west Layton. That is, they own land there but live outside the city.
For more information on the west Layton citizen committee or on the plan for the area, contact Matson at 546-8524.