Developing in Provo a challenge, maybe for good reason

PROVO (Daily Herald) -- After the Municipal Council meeting two weeks ago, Dave Gardner was ready to celebrate. His 300 acres on the west side of Provo had just been annexed into the city and rezoned for development.

Gardner has yet to make a profit, find any buyers or even finalize plans for his little subdivision. But the 5-year-long process of getting the go-ahead from the city was finally over, and that was reason enough for the celebration.

He's an extreme example, but others say developing in Provo presents something more of a challenge than in other cities. Taylor Oldroyd, executive director of the Utah County Association of Realtors, said he has talked to many Realtors and developers who think Provo is the hardest city in Utah County in which to develop. Both mayoral candidates say they have heard complaints, including how the amount of time and money invested before a final answer is given can hinder development.

Gardner, who is behind the 300-acre Villages of Celebration project just approved in northwest Provo, said this city is harder to deal with than many others in the county because of a lack of predictability in the process. He can't always tell if the city is in favor of or opposed to development, or how long a process will take, or how much money he'll have to invest without knowing if he's going to be able to develop.

"It's the political side of things where things get a little screwy," he said.

Planning development

"All cities are hard right now; it's not just Provo," said Wayne Ross of Arrowstar Construction.

Utah cities experienced significant growth in the last decade or so and now are trying to figure out who they are, which is challenging, he said. That leads city officials to want to develop well, not just develop.

"We don't want just a free-for-all development scenario," said Council Vice Chairwoman Sherrie Hall Everett. "What we want to end up with is really good quality development."

City officials say in the last year the city has implemented a development review process to speed things along. Hall Everett said the council wants to fix the problems and the perceptions, and they are taking some steps while waiting for the big-picture recommendations. Gardner's experience is that the process is gradually getting more difficult.

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