Envisioning The Upstate’s Future: Lessons From Salt Lake

by Senator David Thomas and Brad Wyche

Senator David Thomas, shown here introducing Senator Bell, co-authored this article with Upstate Forever Executive Director Brad Wyche. Senator Thomas has served in the South Carolina Senate for 20 years, representing District 8. This is a slightly expanded version of the guest editorial that was published in The Greenville News on June 21, 2004. It is reprinted here with permission.

     The Upstate is one of the fastest growing and most rapidly changing areas in the United States. Our ten county region’s population now exceeds one million and continues to increase at the rate of 44 people per day. Land is being developed at the rate of over 40 acres per day — that is the equivalent of a brand new Haywood Mall being built every two days.

According to the initial findings of a growth impact study for the Upstate performed by the Clemson University Center for Community Growth and Change, there will be 340,000 more people living in the Upstate in less than 25 years. These residents will require 132,000 more houses, drive 260,000 more cars, need 7 million more square feet of retail space, add 60,000 students to our schools, and each day discharge 30 million more gallons
of wastewater.

Please read the preceding paragraph again and think about the enormous impact of such growth on our region. It is truly hard to comprehend.

Certainly we need growth to keep the economy strong and to provide good jobs and new opportunities for our citizens. The issue is not whether the Upstate is going to continue to grow–that is inevitable. Rather, the issue is how and where this growth will be accommodated. It is, indeed, one of the most important issues our region will ever face.

Will we become a polluted, traffic-choked area like Atlanta or Dallas, or will we maintain the quality of life that makes us one of the best and most attractive places in the country?

The “scenarios” represent four options on how to accomodate the next one million people in the Salt Lake region and dramatically reveal how thoughtful planning can save enormous amounts of both land and money. From History of Envision Utah, p. 37 (reprinted with permission).

Some rapidly growing regions across the United States are tackling this issue head on. One of the best examples is “Envision Utah,” the widely acclaimed, award-winning program for the Salt Lake City region. We were honored to have Utah State Senator Greg Bell, the former chairman of Envision Utah, visiting our area in May to describe the program in detail. This short article is no substitute for Senator Bell’s eloquent and compelling presentation, but for those who were not able to hear him, we hope this will inspire you to learn more.

Although 1,700 miles away, the Salt Lake region is remarkably similar to the Upstate. Both regions are politically conservative, topographically blessed with spectacular mountains and rich farmlands, have the same number of counties (ten), and are governed by a complex structure of hundreds of local councils and special purpose districts. Both regions, too, face the immense challenges associated with rapid population growth.

A scene from one of the Envision Utah workshops. Many different views were represented at each table so the developer sat next to the environmentalist and the Republican was next to the Democrat. It worked well because the participants did not have an issue to fight over, they had a common problem to solve – What are we going to do with the next one million people?

Envision Utah does not employ a heavy-handed, regulatory approach. To the contrary, the program is entirely voluntary and educational, providing information, resources and support to local communities and service providers throughout the region on growth and development issues.

One of Envision Utah’s first steps was to host “How to Grow” and “Where to Grow” workshops for the public. Citizens sat at tables covered by a large map of the region and were asked to solve this basic dilemma: During the next 20 years, the region’s population will increase by 1 million–where are they going to live?

Senator Bell spoke to a group of state and local elected officials at a breakfast meeting on May 21.

Based on the input from these workshops, the next step was to publish four “Scenario Maps” for the future of the Salt Lake region. Two of the maps (called A and B) basically showed what the region would become if current development patterns remained unchanged, while the other two (C and D) showed the result if development was made more compact and walkable (see “Scenario Comparisons” on previous page.)

Senator Bell explains the “Scenario Maps” during his Palmetto Expo speech.

They compared the costs of the four scenarios and found a staggering $15 billion difference in the cost of public infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, utilities, etc.) between scenario A ($38 billion) and scenario D ($23 billion). Utah Governor (and now EPA Administrator) Mike Leavitt’s comment – “We can’t afford this!” – earned front page headlines.

The study also showed a breathtaking difference in the amount of new land consumed by development: 409 square miles for scenario A, and only 85 square miles for scenario D. Yet there was only a one-tenth of an acre difference in the average residential lot size between the two scenarios (one third of an acre for scenario A and one-fourth of an acre for scenario D).

Upstate Forever Board member and Greater Greenville Forum President Erwin Maddrey welcomes a full house to the Palmetto Expo presentations.

The maps were widely publicized throughout the region, and the public was asked to weigh in. There was overwhelming support for a future that is less sprawling, less land consumptive, more fiscally responsible. and more pedestrian friendly. In fact, less than 10 per cent supported scenarios A and B.

The good news for us is that their approach is not unique to Salt Lake –it can work in any region. Envision Utah provides a wonderful model by which our region can come to grips with the formidable challenges posed by rapid growth and change.

It’s time to “Envision the Upstate.”