‘It’s way too much’: Clinton housing proposal spurs petition drive to halt development

CLINTON — The change in Clinton from the mid-1990s, when Deanna Larsen first moved to the city, to now has been dramatic.

“It’s 1,000% different,” she said. “I think everything was stop signs.”

The estimated population from 1995 to 2023 has actually gone from 9,271 to 23,588 — up 154% — according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. Still, there has been a lot of growth in a part of Davis County that has experienced explosive expansion in recent years, and Larsen and others are now saying enough is enough.

“The population infusion is just too fast,” said her husband, Adam Larsen.

The Clinton City Council’s decision to give the green light to a 341-unit housing development on open land was the tipping point. Now, the Larsens and others have launched a drive to nullify the Aug. 27 zoning change that allows the project to proceed, aiming to halt the development. They need 3,548 signatures on the petitions they’re circulating by Nov. 6; as of Thursday, they had nearly 2,900, according to Adam Larsen.

Adam Larsen worries about an unstoppable engine of growth and development, the sort of thing he and his wife were trying to escape when they moved to Clinton in the 1990s. Two other development proposals in Clinton calling for a mix of 271 new townhomes and small-lot single-family homes between them, he said, are already approved. “I think now that the floodgates are open, (development proposals) are being pushed through with too little input,” he said.

City officials aren’t saying much since the challenge by the residents, permitted in state statute, is still unfolding. If the petitioners get enough valid signatures, the question of whether to reverse the Aug. 27 zoning change, approved in a 3-2 vote, would be put to Clinton voters on a ballot next year, probably in November.

“The city respects the ability of our residents to utilize the processes available to them,” Clinton City Manager Trevor Cahoon said in a message.

The landowner and developer, though, has plenty to say. The development area in western Clinton covers 34.9 acres, including 19.7 acres annexed into the Clinton on Aug. 27, and bumps up against fast-growing West Point to the south.

“I don’t agree with them,” said Mike Hatch.

The petitioners variously worry about congested roads, crowded schools and exhausted water resources. But Hatch said the proposed development is located on an ideal piece of property. It’s near the planned northward extension of the north-south West Davis Corridor and sits near 1800 North, envisioned to become a major east-west corridor, which will allow for relatively smooth traffic flow.

Davis School District officials, he said, have advised cities to grow as they deem appropriate, leaving school construction concerns to them. The district opened a new elementary school in West Point this school year due to growth in northwestern Davis County, and a new junior high school is taking shape in West Point, to be finished next year.

As for water, Hatch said Clinton officials have “made it abundantly clear” that the city has access to sufficient water to allow for growth.

More broadly, Hatch thinks the project is about addressing Utah’s housing crunch as the state’s population grows. “That’s kind of what happens when we have kids and things like that and people need a place to live,” he said.

Growth pressures likely to persist

Regardless, the growth in the area around Clinton, notably in nearby West Point and Syracuse, is unmistakable. Excluding cities with less than 10,000 people, West Point, population 12,479, was the eighth-fastest growing city in Utah from 2022 to 2023; and Syracuse, population 37,022, was 10th-fastest, according to Census Bureau estimates. Clinton’s population, an estimated 23,588, has held relatively steady since 2020, when it totaled 23,396.

Likewise, growth pressures will probably persist.

The few pockets of remaining open, undeveloped land in Davis County are located largely in the northwestern corner of the county, where West Point, Syracuse, Clinton and Clearfield are located. Moreover, the West Davis Corridor, the limited-access roadway linking West Point and Farmington that opened last January, makes the area more accessible.

Clinton residents like the Larsens and Coombs, nevertheless, think there has to be a better way to manage growth. Adam Larsen thinks more single-family homes ought to be part of the development mix Hatch is pursuing. “Townhomes are fine, just not 266 in the same development,” he said.

Deanna Larsen, meantime, acknowledges the need for more housing, particularly more affordable housing, but thinks Clinton is bearing too much of the burden. “We can all do our part. But it’s not Clinton’s responsibility to solve Utah’s housing problem,” she said.

Correction: An earlier version incorrectly said two other development plans in Clinton call for around 350 townhomes between them. They actually call for a mix of 271 new townhomes and small-lot single-family homes. Also, an earlier version said Clinton’s population between 2000 and 2023 has held relatively steady. The population has actually held relatively steady since 2020.