Process for Creating the Vision

To create a vision for the future of housing and cost of living in Utah, a team of experts gathered over a two-year period to share knowledge and extensively research and discuss options for improvement. Members of the Housing and Cost of Living Action Team were selected by Governor Gary Herbert and Envision Utah to represent a spectrum of professional experience and political affiliations. Team members included developers, legislators, affordable-housing advocates, and other experts from across the state. From 2013 to 2015, the action team met to identify Utahns’ choices related to housing, create scenarios for public input, and synthesize a vision for the future. The process of creating this vision also included the following components:

The action team used this information to create four different scenarios for the future of housing and cost of living in Utah. These scenarios differed in the variety and inclusiveness of housing options in communities, people’s proximity to public transportation, how close the housing built matches what people and the market want and need, and the proximity of amenities and services to where people live. These scenarios were presented to the public in the Your Utah, Your Future survey in spring 2015, and 52,845 Utahns weighed in.

After receiving public input on the four scenarios, the action team met to frame a vision, including goals and strategies, to achieve what Utahns said they wanted for housing and cost of living in 2050.

Housing & Cost of Living Action Team

Co-chairs

Members

• Dan Adams
  Vice President and Community Reinvestment Act Officer, CIT Bank
• Stuart Adams
  Utah Senate
• Michael Akerlow
  Director, Housing & Neighborhood Development, Salt Lake City
• Steve Akerlow
  Morgan Stanley
• Robert Allen
  Mountainland Association of Governments
• Kerry Bate
  Executive Director, Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake
• Mallory Bateman
  Utah Foundation
• Lori Bays
  Director, Salt Lake County Human Services
• Brent Beesley
  Trustee, Brent and Bonnie Jean Beesley Foundation
• Julia Borst
  Senior Vice President, Guaranteed Rate Mortgages
• Richard Brockmyer
  Strategic Planner II, UTA
• Darin Brush
  Executive Director, Utah Division of Center of Disease Control
• Julie Bucholz
  GE Capital
• Rebecca Chavez-Houck
  Utah House of Representatives
• Cody Christensen
  Planning Director, Uintah Basin Association of Governments
• David Clark
  Risk Management of Pitney Bowes Bank
• Dave Conine
  United States Department of Agriculture
• Mike Coulam
  Sandy City
• Joselyn Cousins
  Regional Manager, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
• Kim Datwyler
  Executive Director, Neighborhood Nonprofit Housing Corporation
• Mike Desimone
  Logan City
• Becky Edwards
  Utah House of Representatives
• Ross Ford
  Homebuilders Association
• Mike Gallegos
  Salt Lake County
• Chris Gamvroulas
  Ivory Development
• Bryson Garbett
  Garbett Homes
• Maria Garciaz
  Executive Director, Neighborworks Salt Lake
• Gladys Gonzalez
  President, HMC-La Agency
• Jonathan Hanks
  Utah Housing Corporation
• Ted Knowlton
  Wasatch Front Regional Council
• Janet Louie
  Senior Vice President, Zions Bank
• Dave Mansell
  Utah Realtors
• Ben McAdams
  Salt Lake County Mayor
• Ronda Menlove
  Utah House of Representatives
• Michael Merrill
  Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce
• Heidi Miller
  Cedar City Housing Authority
• Chris Nelson
  Metropolitan Research Center
• Fraser Nelson
  Executive Director, Community Foundation of Utah
• Wayne Niederhauser
  Utah Senate
• Jessica Norie
  Artspace
• Nick Norris
  Salt Lake City
• Alan Ormsby
  AARP
• Mike Plaizier
  President, Utah Center for Neighborhood Stabilization
• Luz Robles
  Utah Senate
• Tara Rollins
  Executive Director, Utah Housing Coalition
• Amy Rowland
  National Development Council
• Jim Schulte
  Executive Director, Restore Utah
• Kip Sheppard
  Wasatch Advantage
• Wesley Smith
  Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce
• Rhoda Stauffer
  Housing Specialist, Park City Corporation
• Michalyn Steele
  BYU Law School
• Doug Thimm
  Architectural Nexus
• Blaine Walker
  Walker & Co.
• Gordon Walker
  Director, Utah Housing and Community Development
• Danny Walz
  Director, Redevelopment Agency of Midvale City
• Todd Weiler
  Utah Senate
• Ray Whitchurch
  IBI Group
• Brenda Willis
  CRA Manager, American Express
• Brad Wilson
  Utah House of Representatives
• Jim Wood
  Bureau of Economic and Business Research
• Gary Zabriskie
  Director of Community & Economic Development, Five County AOG
• Pauline Zvonkovic
  U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development