KAYSVILLE -- Rather than hire a full-time city planner, administrators in this city of 21,000 have opted for two very experienced, "on call" planners.
That saves the city money while also provided that extra expertise which may not be available "in house" at city hall.
That's because City Manager John Thacker and City Engineer Andy Thompson both are well acquainted with various aspects of planning, with many years of experience.
Jon Janson is planning director and assistant director of community and economic development for West Valley City. His co-worker, Steve Bastorik, is a senior planner, geographic information system specialist.
Bastorik is a Bountiful resident while Janson was on staff for several years with what is now Davis County Community & Economic Development before joining the new West Valley City government when it started in 1980.
The pair were asked to serve as consultants to the city last fall.
West Kaysville development has been some of what the two have been involved in, such as the Schick Subdivision, near the intersection of Angel and where 200 North ends.
"A lot of work had already been done before we came on the scene (on cluster subdivision planning)," Janson said.
"We used the existing standards, expanded them," he said.
"We modified the open space standard, created a new checklist that each cluster subdivision candidate has to follow."
Greater flexibility was incorporated into the process, although more details are also required of developers in the pre-approval process, Janson said.
"Cluster subdivisions allow for greater flexibility -- more variety in lot and housing types, they're not all the same. They're not all 10,000 square foot or one-half acre lots," he said.
There can be a mixture of large and small homes, even as the lot sizes can be varied. At the same time, the city can have more control over the outcome of such a subdivision, even down to exterior design issues, Janson explained.