This message was featured in the Feb. 2022 edition of the City of Orem newsletter. You can view the newsletter by clicking here.
“Do you wonder what is going on in Orem’s new City Government?
In my first 28 days, I’ve already experienced some very “interesting versions” of what is going on in our administration from the local media. Let me share with you what we have accomplished in our first month and where we go from here.
In my campaign I ran on the promise that I would listen to you, the citizens, and I would use my best judgement to lead Orem into the future. I believe that making the right decisions now is critical and will determine the environment in which our future generations live.
I’ve lived here for 31 years. We are at a tipping point. Are we going to continue to be a community built around home ownership with single family homes, townhomes and condos?
Or are we going to move further down the path of becoming a rental community by increasing our rental properties beyond the 43% they are at now? Do we really want a much more crowded community with more traffic, more high density and more high rise rental apartments?
The vast majority of the people I spoke to during the campaign were very adamant that they wanted Orem to remain a family-focused community based on family values. The voters gave us an overwhelming message that they want RESPONSIBLE GROWTH going forward.
We are working hard to make that happen. As your legislative body, we hired our own legal counsel to perform research and provide legal advice on the legislative issues and projects that we are working on. Our attorney does not replace our excellent City Attorneys but works with them, to help us, in our efforts to represent you.
Next, we changed the selection process for the Planning Commission so that a much broader base of applicants could be appointed to that service opportunity. We made some changes to the commission to guarantee that our efforts to implement a positive solution to the moratorium would not be derailed.
Our primary focus in these first 30 days has been to successfully navigate the high density housing moratorium that ends on February 8th. If we fail to make a smooth transition then the consequences for the City could be very negative. We now have all of the puzzle pieces in place to move forward past the moratorium in a very positive way.
Keep doing your part to make Orem a great place to live! Tune in again next month!”
Mayor David Young
