Bringing The Envision Utah Message to the Upstate

by Brad Wyche

     Before Upstate Forever even started, I had been hearing and reading about the remarkable Envision Utah program for the Salt Lake region. The more I read and learned, the more impressed I became. Finally, I decided it was time to take a trip and see this program first hand. I was delighted that Dr. Barry Nocks, Director of Clemson University’s Center for Community Growth and Change, and Sam Konduros, Executive Director of Upstate Alliance, joined me for the visit.

I came back from that visit absolutely convinced that the Envision Utah model, among the several regional models being used in the country, was the best one for the Upstate.

     We talked with a lot of people while we were there, including Robert Grow, the founding chairman of Envision Utah; several members of the Envision Utah staff; the president of the Utah Homebuilders Association; and the mayor of Layton, the second largest city in the region. The latter two told us how they tried to stop the Envision Utah program when it was first announced. The mayor thought it was a “power grab” by Salt Lake City, while the homebuilder viewed it as a guise for more restrictions on development. Both now concede that they were wrong—in fact, they consider Envision Utah one of the best things that has ever happened in their region.

     I came back from that visit absolutely convinced that the Envision Utah model, among the several regional models being used in the country, was the best one for the Upstate. The article that I wrote with Senator Thomas (on the following page) explains why and describes the basic elements of the Envision Utah program.

     The next step was to bring an Envision Utah spokesman to the Upstate, and we could not have had a better representative than Utah State Senator Greg Bell, who succeeded Mr. Grow as chairman. During the two days that he was here, Senator Bell spoke to the Upstate Alliance Board of Directors, made a public presentation at the Palmetto Expo Center, and addressed a breakfast meeting attended by state and local elected officials. His presentations were sponsored by Upstate Forever, Upstate Alliance, Clemson University and the Greater Greenville Forum. Special thanks to the Forum for covering all of the expenses!

     At each meeting, Senator Bell was preceded by Dr. Nocks, who presented the preliminary findings of a growth impact study of the Upstate region. Those findings dramatically show the urgent need for a program like Envision Utah here:

  • The Upstate will be home to 340,000 more people by 2025. These additional people will:
  • Need new office space equivalent to the entire office space in downtown Greenville
  • Need new industrial space equivalent to 135 Wal-Mart Super Centers or 12 BMW plants
  • Need 7,100 new hotel rooms
  • Discharge 30 million more gallons of sewage every day, requiring additional wastewater treatment capacity equivalent to 7 Western Carolina Lower Reedy facilities
  • Need $158 million worth of new active parks
  • Need new elementary schools equivalent to 68, 500-student schools, new middle schools equivalent to 15 Greer Middle Schools, and new high schools equivalent to 12 Greenville High Schools
  • Need 3,000 more teachers
  • Land is currently being developed in the Upstate at the rate of over 40 acres per day––the equivalent of a brand new Haywood Mall every two days. If this rate continues, an additional 1.7 million acres will be developed by 2050–the equivalent of over three Greenville Counties.

     We asked the attendees at each event to complete a short questionnaire. The results indicate overwhelming support for an Envision Utah type program for our region:

  • How important is it for the Upstate region to plan for future growth and development?
    99% said “very important.”
  • Do you believe that a program similar to Envision Utah would be effective in addressing growth and development issues in the Upstate?
    61% said “highly effective”
    31% said “effective”
    8% said “somewhat effective”
  • If such a program is established in the Upstate, over 60% said they would like to serve on a committee or task force.

     Efforts are now underway to establish such a program in our region, and Upstate Forever is actively involved.

     Stay tuned!

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