Let me share where I stand on finding balanced solutions to growth & housing:

I'm running because I love Provo and solving problems, and balancing our growth needs while protecting neighborhoods is exactly the kind of challenge I'm passionate about tackling.

I want to help implement smart, proactive policies that address our housing and financial challenges while preserving the quality of life that makes Provo special.

Below, I'll outline why growth is essential to solving some of our problems, principles for managing it, and some possible solutions that apply these principles.

First, why growth is important:

For a city to thrive long term, it must consistently generate the funds necessary to fulfill its infrastructure obligations and provide essential services.

Provo is an older city with extensive, aging infrastructure. We currently lack the necessary city resources to maintain this infrastructure.

Smart growth helps us maintain and rebuild that infrastructure: fix old pipes, repair sidewalks, lay new roads, etc. It also helps fund new community assets, such as parks, and the expansion of essential services, including policing and zoning enforcement.

Since people want to live in Provo and we're the center of Utah County, growth is coming whether we like it or not. If we don't grow strategically, we'll get the kind of growth we don't want: high-density developments in inappropriate locations, more code violations, and increased traffic from people driving into our city from surrounding communities.

Second, my principles on how to manage growth:

I want to find solutions that allow young families and single people to establish roots in Provo while maintaining the great quality of life we have in our established neighborhoods.

In solving these problems, I will follow these principles:

I. Real neighborhood input: Neighborhood residents should have a real say in where and how growth is absorbed. This input should be representative of the entire neighborhood.

II. Incremental, not dramatic change: When growth is appropriate, no neighborhood should absorb more than the next level of density. Development should enhance existing character and genuinely improve the quality of life for current residents.

III. Consistent & proactive: Zoning should be consistent within natural neighborhood boundaries rather than creating a confusing patchwork. The city has done great work putting together general and neighborhood plans, but we have not always followed through with proactive zoning and code changes.

Lastly, here are some broad strokes of a vision and possible solutions:

Because of the unique pressure on neighborhoods close to BYU (e.g., Tree Streets, Oak Hills, Rock Canyon), we can protect them by designating some areas as truly single-family, and the City Council should provide the administration with the tools and resources to maintain compliance. This enforcement should be proactive rather than relying heavily on neighbor reporting, helping to support community cohesion rather than divide it.

Because of the immense need for student and college-aged housing, we can accommodate this need and reduce pressure on nearby single-family neighborhoods by allowing by-right construction of more mixed-use and slightly higher-density residential immediately south and west of campus. The city can do more to encourage this by implementing a Campus Mixed Use zone that helps us attain these goals.

Because we have a housing affordability problem, we should encourage affordable for-sale units through smart infill development and growth on the west side. The city should allow smaller homes, cottage lots, and ADUs by right (with proper parking and owner-occupancy requirements). We can explore letting neighborhoods opt in to this through a ballot referendum or a signature-gathering process. We can also streamline permitting, evaluate code requirements through a cost-benefit lens, provide workshops for small-scale developers, and investigate tax increment financing options.

My aim in laying out these principles and solution sketches is to clarify how I would go about finding the right balance between growth and protecting neighborhoods if elected.

I live in a single-family home and want to preserve what makes our neighborhoods great. I run a software business and have no special connection to developers (except the software kind). And I don't want high density in our District 2 neighborhoods.

I'm always listening, looking at the data, and learning. If you believe I'm incorrect on any points, let's discuss them. It's through listening and discussion that the best solutions emerge.