Circuit Rider Program

Planning grants have been awarded to communities that have demonstrated a desire to preserve and/or enhance their quality of life and plan for the future. As a result, the projects have varied in scope. Although there is no one right way to achieve the goals established by a community, a majority of the funds appropriated have been used to develop General Land Use Plans.

The Circuit Rider Planner Grant Program is a tool to provide planners and other planning assistance to groups – or consortiums – of rural communities and counties that would otherwise be unable to dedicate the resources necessary to obtain professional planning aid.

In 1998, Governor Leavitt and the Governor's Rural Partnership Office extended an invitation and a challenge to rural cities, towns, counties, and Indian tribes to engage in the planning and development processes that will lead to designation as a 21st Century Community. This challenge includes a call for rural leaders to look to the future and begin to develop a game plan for community prosperity and success. It is a call to:

Evaluate the forces of change that are shaping the future,
Assess community needs and opportunities,
Improve leadership skills and knowledge, and
Develop strategies to resolve problems and achieve community goals.

Completed in 2003, the Planning Grant Inventory consists of two primary components. The planning grant summary and planning grant survey. The summary provides an overview of the project and compares it to the Quality Growth Principles that have been adopted by the Utah Quality Growth Commission. The survey evaluates what has been accomplished to date and how the plan, project or survey has impacted the community.

Planning Grant Summary
Planning Grant Inventory