North
Logan considers how to balance development, open space
By Alice Bailey
January 23, 2009 | NORTH LOGAN
-- Creating a connection between development and open
space was the topic of a presentation given at City
Council meeting Wednesday.
The presentation was given by Rick LeBrasseur and Sumner
Swaner of Center for Green Space Design (CGSD), a non-profit
organization based in Salt Lake City that is aimed at
preserving open space.
"We're not coming in and saying
we have the answers and you need to do this, and conserve
this and prioritize this," LeBrasseur said. " No, every
community is different and has a set of values. It's
just gleaning those values out and we find this community
visioning process,"
The Center for Green Space Design
uses the acronym CEDAR to identify different types of
green space that can be preserved during the developmental
process of land. CEDAR stands for cultural, ecological,
developmental, agricultural and recreational. The organization
attempts to identify each of the elements of CEDAR when
trying to optimize green space.
LeBrasseur and Swaner said the city
should get an idea of the desired locations for development
and the desired locations for conservation, and to encourage
these two to come together. Through this the city can
create policies that guide developers in preserving
green space. LeBrasseur said most real estate developers
write hundreds of pages on building heights and sewer
systems, but don't write anything about preserving green
space.
Swaner said sprawl is an insidious
process and affects communities without their knowing
it. He said CGSD's plan is meant to keep communities
aware of what is happening and is density neutral.
"What that means is, property
rights being what they are, we don't want to toy with
people's property rights. We leave those net densities
alone, so all you zoning categories stay exactly the
same," Swaner said.
Concern was raised by the council
because CGSD's plan emphasizes conservation subdivisions,
and most of the city consists of private land owners.
The city is also concerned that these policies, put
into action, might discourage developers.
For more information on CGSD visit
www.greenspacedesign.org.
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