Quality of Life

Economic development in Cache Valley through 2020 and beyond will promote and encourage a sustainable regional economy with a high quality of life. This should be accomplished through business, education, government,  and cultural activities that increase income consistent with local resources and environmental considerations.
To attain this vision it is imperative that Logan collaborate with its neighbors to develop an Economic Development Strategy that includes goals and objectives that will 1) maintain and enhance the quality of life; 2) increase income for city residents; 3) keep the valley’s agricultural economy vital; and 4) increase cultural, heritage, and outdoor recreation tourism.

The high quality of life in Cache Valley is our greatest economic asset and we must maintain it is we are to prosper. Logan City must:

1. Collaborate and coordinate land use policies to foster smart growth, maintain open space, and protect environmental quality.
2. Implement land use policies and economic development activities that discourage sprawl, reduce vehicle miles traveled, reduce traffic congestion, and reduce air pollution.
3. Encourage in-fill and use of existing buildings for future commercial and industrial development.
4. Identify lands most appropriate for commercial and industrial development.
5. Promote the most efficient utilization of existing infrastructure.
6. Consider acquisition of development rights along major corridors to limit access and maintain traffic flow.
7. Support changes in the sales tax distribution, to allow either inter-local agreement or change in state statute, that would promote sound planning and growth.
8. Encourage mixed use and commercial neighborhood, and community centers to decrease need to drive long distances for what have traditionally been neighborhood/community services.
9. Encourage “clean” business development that will not degrade air or water quality.
10. Encourage our neighborhood cities and the Cache County Council to maintain the valley’s open space.
11. Adopt policies that encourage higher density residential development in communities with infrastructure and away from agricultural lands and other critical open lands.
12. Encourage the county to acquire development rights in high priority agricultural lands and other critical open lands.

Water

Logan City must coordinate and implement development requirements that assure protection of water resources by:

• Ensuring appropriate management of storm water.
• Maintaining water rights to assure continuation of agriculture.
• Protecting quality of culinary water supplies.
• Ensuring adequate water for commercial and industrial development.
• Ensure adequate water for fire protection.
• Encouraging the County Council to protect and maintain natural water ways and wetlands for flood management, filtration of pollutants and preservation of wildlife habitat and corridors.

Housing & Employment

Logan City must do its share to assure that there is an ample supply of affordable housing in the valley. Valley communities need to collaboratively engage in an effort to increase income and wages to enhance the quality of life and well being of our citizens. This is to be achieved by encouraging the creation of quality jobs, resulting in higher wages and incomes (measured by state and local indicators), greater job satisfaction and the reduction of underemployment.

Transportation / Infrastructure

Logan must reasonably accommodate the needs of well planned growth, and increase transportation capacity in the more densely populated urban core of Cache Valley. We must provide additional North-South road capacity as an alternative to Main Street. (U.S. Hwy 89-91). We must also improve 1000 West to a managed access 4 lane arterial. Appropriately mitigate impacts to existing development and make the necessary safety improvements. The possibility of transferring the road to the state system should be pursued.

Logan must:

• Encourage transportation alternatives such as transit, bicycle and pedestrian modes, and linked to land use planning.
• Investigate the potential of utilizing existing rail corridors for future transit.
• Explore the feasibility of adding Bus Rapid Transit and Express Bus service to the existing fixed route transit system for the Cache Valley.
• Preserve the necessary rights-of-ways for future transportation corridors.
• Expand the Cache Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Long Range Transportation Plan to include all of the Cache Valley. Achieve regional acceptance of the plan through an inter local agreement that includes provisions to insure ongoing community development activities are consistent with the plan.
• In an effort to avoid paying much higher prices in the future (especially if the land is developed), Cache County should consider using the authority it has been granted by Utah Senate Bill 8 to fund the acquisition of critical transportation rights-of-ways using a fee added to vehicles as they are registered.
• Inventory the valley transportation system to identify intersection failings, inadequate approaches, deficient roadway alignments (horizontal and vertical) bridges, pavements, and railroad crossings.
• Complete a freight study to better understand how freight (rail, truck, and air) moves in, out and through the valley and what new opportunities may exist (including those available with added commercial air service). Problem areas for the movement of freight (trucks) need to be identified and corrected.
• In Cache County, give continued support to the current access management partnership with UDOT and Local Governments on important state routes in the Valley. Major arterials roads that lead out of the valley should be managed primarily for mobility and secondarily for access.

Physical Environment: Air Quality

Logan must do its part to ensure that air quality in Cache Valley will improve and levels of fine particulate will be maintained below NAAQS standards. This can be accomplished through sustainable reductions of motorized vehicle emissions; the major cause of secondary fine particulate in Cache Valley’s air shed. Reduced levels of fine particulate will result in improved short-term and long-term physical and emotional health for the residents of Cache Valley.

Reduction of overall vehicle emissions will occur by 1) reducing emissions per vehicle mile driven; and 2) reducing the number of vehicle miles driven. This vision requires buy-in and commitment by the general public. It also is dependent on collaboration of cities and counties in planning and developing communities that require less travel (personal vehicle use) for activities of daily living. Community design and planning will include various forms of efficient and user-friendly mass transit, further reducing the need to use personal motorized vehicles. Infrastructure that encourages the use of alternative forms of transportation will be promoted, further reducing the use of motorized vehicles.

Reducing vehicle use and maintaining vehicles in good operating condition requires an educated and committed public. Sustainable reductions in vehicle use require major changes in people’s behaviors and habits. Through these actions, hopefully Cache Valley will be able to avoid “non-attainment” status and thus continue to manage its own air shed into the indefinite future.

Logan should support efforts to notify the public concerning air quality and daily levels of fine particulate. This is the Yellow and Red air day notification campaign. This action will be carried out during the winter season and will consist of media announcements, use of electronic signs on Main Street and use of colored flags in schools and internet based notification.

Logan should continue educational efforts directed at helping the general public understand the nature of Cache Valley’s air quality problems and solutions. This will include public presentation of local research data on air chemistry, public messaging about vehicle maintenance (check engine light) and public feedback on “vehicle miles traveled.” Education will continue on the relationship between “vehicle miles traveled” and levels of PM2.5 in Cache Valley.

Logan should continue to educate the public about the personal health effects of elevated levels of fine particulate (PM2.5). We must continue education about steps to take to mitigate the adverse effects of elevated levels of PM2.5, and continue enforcement of current air quality rules concerning wood burning and smoking vehicles.

We must encourage residents to reduce exhaust emissions per vehicle mile traveled.

We must support ongoing research to better define the air chemistry that results in formation of fine particulates (PM2.5) in Cache Valley.

We should explore implementing a science-based vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program that will reduce individual vehicle emissions:
When the air chemistry resulting in the formation of secondary fine particulate (PM2.5) in Cache Valley is fully understood, appropriate interventions to reduce individual vehicle emissions should be implemented. Data collected in Cache Valley show that 10% of currently operating vehicles are responsible for approximately 45% of the emissions that result in high levels of PM 2.5. Repairing or replacing these vehicles will result in significant improvement in air quality.

Logan should promote and support local efforts to use technology that results in lower vehicle emissions:
We should promote the use of vehicles with functioning emission controls. This includes doing emissions inspections and maintaining our own fleets. We should also promote the use of low-sulfur diesel fuel and newer diesel emissions technologies in their fleets. Private enterprises and residents will likewise be encouraged to use and maintain cleaner gasoline and diesel emissions technologies in their private vehicles.

Through public education efforts, we should encourage the use of vehicles with smaller displacement engines, and/or newer vehicles whenever possible, especially during wintertime temperature inversions.

Logan residents should reduce per capita vehicle miles traveled. Reducing vehicle miles traveled on a per capita basis is a multifaceted effort. Progress in achieving this goal is measurable. Vehicle counters which are already embedded in the asphalt at various intersections on Main Street in Logan give daily counts that are reliable.

We should reduce the use of private vehicles for commuting to work by encouraging employers to educate, promote and provide incentives to employees for carpooling, use of public transportation systems, and use of alternative forms of transportation.

We can reduce the use of private vehicles for commuting to school by forming partnerships with school districts, PTA’s, Utah State University, BATC and other educational institutions. We can provide specific suggestions for educators on encouraging students to carpool, use school buses, public transportation, and other forms of alternative transportation.

We can reduce the use of private vehicles for consumer activities. Public education concerning air pollution and solutions including trip consolidation, use of public transportation, carpooling, and use of online local shopping services. Promote shopping in local stores to lessen need for personal transportation. We can support and provide input into community planning and development to make local shopping and entertainment a viable alternative. We can promote and support expanded public transportation efforts with extended routes and hours so that use of public transportation is a viable alternative to personal vehicle use.