Program Overview

The State of Utah encourages communities to plan for future growth needs, and to minimize spending on public infrastructure and services. Planning grants are offered to communities committed to exploring the efficient use of land and the efficient expansion of infrastructure and public services. Where communities share boundaries, cooperative planning between jurisdictions is encouraged to avoid land development decisions based on competition and haste.

A Guide to Quality Growth
To facilitate responsible growth and increase the return on investment, communities are required to use the following principles as a guide to planning:
· Local Responsibility
· State Leadership
· Economic Development
· Efficient Infrastructure Development
· Housing Opportunity
· Conservation Ethic
State planning grants are reviewed by a commission of Governor-appointed individuals from private and public sectors, who rate planning grant applications based on multiple criteria.

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.

Projects have included:

General Plans (newly created and amended)
Downtown Revitalization Plans
Performance Zoning Plans
Water Conservation Plans
Open Space Conservation Plans
Transit-Oriented Development Plans
Agricultural Preservation Plans
Transfer of Development Rights
Economic Modeling Tools
Land Evaluation and Site Assessment Tools

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 iimpacted the community.

Planning Grant Summary
Planning Grant Inventory