The free 11-week planning class teaches about 25 students the ins-and-outs of planning, zoning and design. There was a spring session and a fall session last year; applications are now open for the third class.
“What we are doing is creating a better, more robust understanding of what this community building, community planning process is—its complexity,” Community Development Director Patt Putt said.
The program received an honorable mention in the category of public outreach from Utah’s chapter of the American Planning Association in August.
Students will meet in class 10 evenings and then present final projects where they get to apply what they learn.
“These are not fluff ideas,” Putt said. “These are real, legitimate, well-thought out proposals on how we can do things differently and how we can do things better.”
Examples of past final projects include how to leverage the Olympics to improve the county, how to plan for Oakley’s future, how to conserve the Kamas Meadows and how to improve county zoning laws.
The spring 2024 planning lab begins March 4.
Applications are due online by 5 p.m. Jan. 17. Any resident may apply; no educational or professional planning experience is required.