Kennecott Utah Copper Corp.'s proposal for a planned community is a good example of the private sector working with government to benefit people.
To ensure that the 4,000-plus acre area, which is on the extreme western side of South Jordan, is safe for families, Kennecott has moved more than 24 million cubic yards of soil and waste. The removal, which took place in the mid-1990s, has been monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Both government and industry officials have assured South Jordan Mayor Dix McMullin that the planned community, called Sunrise, will be safe for human habitation.
The project is even being enthusiastically endorsed by the government. "It's the kind of thing the EPA likes to see," said Eva Hoffman, a spokeswoman for the EPA. "To take ground ruined by earlier industries that didn't know what they were doing when they did it but then to take the hazards off the land and reuse it rather than let it sit there and not be an economic benefit to the area . . . To see something planned like this, it's exciting." Hoffman is also monitoring Kennecott's massive $250 million groundwater cleanup project.
With the population along the Wasatch Front expected to triple in the next 50 years, managing that growth is critical to Utah's future. Eventually, Sunrise may be home to as many as 40,000 people. The development, which includes light rail, 1,800 acres of open space and a pedestrian-friendly community, would bring industry and commercial ventures to create 10,000 to 20,000 new jobs.
Open space, including developed park land, green space buffers next to transportation corridors and a trails network, is a key component to the project, according to a Kennecott spokesman.
The first phase of the planned community involves building 6,581 dwelling units, which includes homes, a hotel and village and town centers on 2,248 acres.
A lot of people both inside and outside of Utah will be monitoring what Kennecott does. Kennecott, with its resources and heritage has a chance to set the proper tone for growth in the 21st century in Utah. Initial actions indicate it's on the right path.