Kevin Payne

     I’m Kevin Payne and for the last 3-1/2+ years I have served on the Midway City Council. I’m running again and ask for your vote and support.

As you know, Midway is unique and special yet we run the risk of losing this specialness. Growth in Midway is a top issue. Citizens want the natural surroundings and our agricultural Swiss heritage preserved. Without smart planning and preservation tools, Midway will change and we will lose our precious “specialness” and our Density (crowdedness) will grow.

     With a degree in Architecture and involved in housing throughout the Western U.S. for 39+ years, I’ve seen firsthand how planning codes impact the long-term character of a community; for better or for worse. Our Zoning Codes adopted decades ago were modeled after a typical community one would find in Salt Lake or Utah Valley; an “urban” blueprint not a “rural” blueprint nor by any means a “unique” blueprint. Although some initial steps to correct this have been taken, so much more needs to be done and unless we step back and think outside of the box, we will become just like any urban city on the other side of the mountain.

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     After serving 3 years on the Planning Commission, I ran for and was elected to the City Council to help bring these much-needed changes to fruition. For example, during this time, I helped create and our City Council adopted what is called the “Density Reduction Subdivision” land use code in which land owners/developers are incentivized to build at 1/3 or less their allowable density. As a result, 5 subdivisions have taken advantage of this code thus far committing to 1/3 the density that would have been allowed otherwise and eliminating the need for additional public streets to be maintained by our property taxes.

But there is much more that we can and need to do. For example,

• Our commercial codes for Main Street need to be revised to foster historical preservation and openness so that Main St. doesn’t become another Downtown Heber City. 
• We should let the voters consider a 2nd Open Space Bond before scarce available land is developed and gone forever.
• We should increase our future annexation area east of the Provo River so that we can have a better influence on what occurs along our eastern boundary and that side of the north fields.

There is no community anywhere like that of Midway. We can pull together and assure a special Midwaynow and into the future. I believe that if elected officials are willing to be creative and involve citizens, land owners, and business owners, Midway does not need to lose itself in the sea of generic and all too common urban townships.  Let’s preserve Midway’s rural character in the right way as we grow.

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