Resources

Resources

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Vision Iron County

Vision 2050 Public Survey (2020)

In 2019, Vision Iron County commissioned the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute to administer a survey for Iron County residents. Respondents shared opinions on future growth and development in Iron County. Results, released in January of 2020, showed that community members are in agreement that the 12 Key Focal Points should be maintained as community priorities moving forward. All verbatim comments from over 900 respondents can be found at the end of the survey.

Local Plans

The need for communities to engage in strategic planning is especially acute at a time when competitive pressures, public expectations, and rapidly changing technology call into question almost every aspect of how local economies can, will, or won’t grow, how companies do business or decide where to locate, how schools provide education, and even how people choose to spend their leisure time. Amidst all these changes and dynamic forces, Iron County is positioned for success, and we cannot let planning documents sit on the shelves and collect dust. Explore the plans below to learn about planning happening beyond general plans. We also encourage you to check out the general plans for Iron County communities, and the county as a whole, on their respective websites.

Visit Cedar City Tourism Initiatives (2019)

Tourism is tied to many components of Iron County's well-being, including recreation, economic development, and community character. Read the Tourism Bureau's initiatives in this document to learn about priorities in this industry and how they measure success across sectors.

Cedar City Parks, Trails, and Recreation Master Plan (2017)

Access to natural amenities is one of the characteristics that makes Iron County special. Explore this recreation master plan to learn about an active future for Cedar City.

Central Iron County Water Conservancy District Water Master Plan (2020)

The CICWCD Water Master Plan is a planning tool that includes recommendations on upgrading and improving the local water system, as well as water management. This document considers future growth in the CICWCD and future needs.

Cedar City & Enoch Transportation & Active Transportation Plans (2021)

In 2020, Cedar City and Enoch launched a joint effort to update and create city-wide Transportation Master Plans. Learn about the process of creating these plans, existing conditions, and proposed infrastructure at this website. Full plans are also available for Enoch and Cedar City at this link.

Analyses and Recommendations

Iron County is a very well studied community and it is important that we value this information as we move forward. The breadth of studies, research, and efforts available to better our community is one of the reasons that VIC was started in the first place. Explore some of the analyses and recommendations for strengthening Iron County in the studies below.

Iron County Population Projections (2022)

The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute is Utah's leading public policy institute. Among other demographics, economics, and public policy data, they compile population projections for the state of Utah and all 29 counties. Check out Iron County population projections and for more research, check out their website: https://gardner.utah.edu/

Ed McMahon Utah Rural Summit Presentation (2019)

Vision Iron County invited Ed McMahon to share on place value, economic development, and healthy downtowns at the Utah Rural Summit in Cedar City in September of 2019. Read through his slides from the event on the Power of Uniqueness.

Envision Utah Cedar Valley Vision (2018)

Envision Utah (https://envisionutah.org/) is a nonprofit that engages Utahns in collaborative, bottom-up decision making. In February of 2018, they put together a report that outlines the value of a visioning effort for Iron County, and steps for a successful community-supported vision.

Market Analysis of Iron County/ Cedar City (2015)

Zions Bank prepared this analysis that details market area characteristics to help evaluate real estate development opportunities in Cedar City.

NACO: Connecting the Campus & Community through a Culture Corridor (2019)

SUU and Cedar City's Historic Downtown District are large drivers of community character in Cedar City. This report evaluates creative placemaking and how it may be implemented in Cedar City.

Better City: Cedar City Downtown Redevelopment Study (2018)

This analysis from better City, an economic development consulting firm, explores the feasibility of constricting a mixed-use redevelopment project in Cedar City's downtown. This study has valuable information on existing plans and studies, advantages of such a project, and steps to make a mixed-use project happen.

2011 Cedar City Charette

The Utah State University Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Extension presents solutions to design problems in Cedar City. Read more about the process of this document coming together here: https://extension.usu.edu/laep/Charrette

Better City: Form-Based Codes in Cedar City (2018)

Mike Hathorne with the Form-Based Codes Institute presented to the Historic Downtown Economic Committee in June of 2018 on community building & form-based code. Check out his slides to explore zoning as the DNA of community and different community designs around the U.S. You can read more about this presentation in the meeting minutes here.

Cedar City Downtown Action Agenda Update 2011

The National League of Cities and HyettPalma partnered to create America Downtown, a downtown technical assistance program that helps local officials strengthen their downtown. This report explores Cedar City's current downtown (as of 2011), the community's preferred vision for the downtown space, and course of action to make that vision a reality.

2016 Roger Brooks Study

Roger Brooks is an expert on travel, tourism, downtowns, community branding, and destination marketing. In 2016, he visited Cedar City to compile a report on strengths, challenges, and recommendations for our area.

2018 Community Profile Report

The Social Explorer provides a Community Profile Report on the County detailing items such as race, household, employment, poverty, etc.

Similar Efforts

Since the inception of Vision Iron County, leaders have worked to learn from and explore existing strategies for visioning and long-term planning. We also have a lot to learn from efforts in neighboring communities to manage growth and related challenges. Vision Iron County is constantly seeking out initiatives and resources to avoid duplication of efforts and increase efficiency. Below, check out some similar efforts from other regions that focus on smart growth, intentional decision-making, collaborative data, and more.