As more people move to the Beehive state, Utah’s resources are being stretched. Gov. Spencer Cox hopes a new executive order will address some of those growing pains.
Cox announced the creation of the Blueprint for Utah’s Infrastructure, Land, and Development Coordinating Council on May 28. BUILD will bring together 12 state agencies and give 10 other entities like universities and municipalities the opportunity to add a representative if they choose to participate.
Laura Hanson, state planning coordinator and chair of the new council, said the goal is to preserve and improve Utahns’ quality of life through proactive planning.
“Thinking about all of the various different needs that we have in terms of infrastructure, transportation, water, energy, housing,” she said, “but as well as our natural resources, water, air quality, our natural open spaces, recreational opportunities.”
In a statement, Cox said the council will help leaders “make better decisions to maintain the quality of life that makes Utah exceptional” by getting them into one room to present their ideas and work together on solutions. The council builds off a joint resolution passed by the Legislature in 2024 that encourages entities in all parts of the state to consider growth impacts across state funding, policy and programs.
Natalie Gochnour, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute and a member of the new council, said the executive order stresses the need for collaboration.
“He [Cox] referenced that Utah was entering a resource constrained environment, almost as if he's hinting at a tipping point where we've got to be even more careful, thoughtful, deliberative about our water resources, our land resources, our energy development,” she said.
And Utah has its share of growing pains.
There is an active affordable housing crisis, a dwindling water supply and an ailing Great Salt Lake despite good winter years. And poor air quality continues to drastically impact the health of residents statewide. As more people come here, there are concerns about traffic congestion, resulting in plans to expand Interstate 15. Cox and the Legislature have openly discussed their concerns about the future of Utah’s energy production and not having enough power to sustain the population.
These are all topics the council will work on. Hanson said the agencies have already begun tackling these issues, but usually in smaller groups.
“We're always thinking about the future in individual silos, but we haven't yet had the opportunity to bring all of these different parties together into one place.”
She said having all these agencies at the same table is what makes this council unique. The last time there was a similar council, Hanson said, was in 1999 under former Gov. Mike Leavitt when Utah was facing similar growing pains.
The council is likely to face challenges. While Gochnour is confident that all the stakeholders will be on the same page on the biggest priorities, that won’t be the case for everything. It will be harder to agree on the right solutions for something like energy.
“We're going to need a lot of energy over the next decade,” she said. “That means you have to have an appetite for all different types of both renewable and non-renewable energy, and trying to work through that.”
Another hurdle might be how successful the council can be. Right now, it is scheduled to meet quarterly for an hour and half. Hanson doesn’t think that will be enough time to hear all the opinions around the table. The council does plan to have an executive committee that will meet more frequently to keep everything on track.
The council will compile an annual report that will include funding ideas along with program and policy recommendations. But the council itself doesn’t have the power to implement changes. It will look to the governor’s office, the Legislature and other local and regional governing bodies to approve of its recommendations.
Hanson said part of its responsibility will be to identify solutions that give the state the biggest bang for its buck. She added that there are ways around Legislative approval to get things done.
“By bringing together the decision makers within the executive branch, there are quite a few things that we can do without needing legislators to create new policy or to put money towards something.”
