Preparing for Growth

Our city has issued far more building permits in 2017 than any previous year, and 2018 is stacking up to be even bigger. I understand that many do not wish to see any further growth, and I personally would love to see many of our beautiful farm fields stay just as they are, but the choice to develop lies solely with the property owner. As a city, we do not ask farmers or landowners to develop their land. Development is always initiated by the landowner for their own personal reasons. Our role as a city is to properly plan and prepare for growth. To that end, North Ogden City has among the highest impact fees in the area, meaning fees that are paid on each new home or building towards our city’s water, sewer, stormwater, parks & recreation, and road infrastructure. These impact fees help ensure that new residences “pay their fair share” toward expanding the city’s infrastructure to be able to sustain the additional people. We have and are using these fees to dig new water wells, to construct new basins to hold more stormwater and to widen and improve our city roads to handle more traffic, including the upcoming widening project at Washington Blvd./2600 North. I want to assure you that city leaders and staff are working diligently to prepare our city for the growth that is happening.

Beautification program

Our program to beautify Washington Blvd. continues, with a gorgeous vinyl wrap of the historic Barker Barn on Fruitland Dr. to complete the UTA bus stop in front of Intermountain Healthcare, the first of five such stops. These provide a place for bus patrons out of the weather and help beautify and brand our city’s commercial corridor. The second phase of our new street light installation on Washington Blvd. will also begin early next year, bringing improved nighttime visibility and more flower baskets!

Brent Taylor,

Mayor of North Ogden