By KayeLynn Van Wagenen
This past November, the City of Ivins mailed surveys to all Ivins residents. The objective of the survey was to provide guidance for updates to Ivins General Plan. The response rate was a whopping 52.7%! Most survey results return a mere 10-15% of those sent. Of the 2,244 surveys returned, 72% include comments, giving the city ample information about the issues important to residents.
A large part of the credit for the high response rate must be given to Mayor Hart, who was determined each household should receive a survey and have a chance to give their input. Councilman Scott also spent hours compiling the document listing all residents' comments. Data entry and collation was a huge task, and could not have been accomplished but for the volunteers, many of them DOGI members, who dedicated over 250 hours of their time to this monumental effort. Finally, a huge thanks to Patty Duper for bringing her 30+ years of research experience to the project, as well as her straightforward and thoughtful presentation of the survey results.
When we give credit for the success of the survey, it must be said, the heavy lifting was definitely done by the residents of Ivins. Well done, YOU! 2,244 of Ivins households took time to sit down and complete this comprehensive survey. This is clear evidence you care about your city, your home.
Every area of Ivins responded. Long-time residents and relative newcomers responded. Families with children responded. Those who are working and those who are retired responded. All of us spoke up, in good faith, trusting the leadership of Ivins will listen.
I don't intend to go into every detail of the survey results; you can find the full report on www.Ivins.com. Click on City Council Meeting December 15, 2022, Agenda item 5.A. I encourage you to review the results and the comments.
Anyone who scrolls through the many tables and graphs in the report, would find it impossible to misunderstand what is important to Ivins residents. It doesn't matter how the question was asked, or how many times it was asked. There can be no question what residents want, and what they DON'T want.
Ivins residents were clear. We want:
Open space and trails
Low-density single-family housing
Dark sky
and other things that make this place special
Ivins residents were also clear about what we don't want:
We don't want more resorts.
We don't want more tourist accommodations.
And we don't want ANY more short-term rentals!
The residents responded. Now, it is the duty and responsibility of the Planning Commission and the City Council to follow our expressed vision for the future of Ivins and act according to our wishes.
It brings up a few questions..
Will they disregard the results of the survey and return to business as usual at city hall?
Will our voices be ignored again?
Will they continue to make excuses saying their hands are tied with state mandates and county water regulations without doing any of the hard work needed to solve these problems?
Will developers instead of residents shape the future of Ivins?
Already, there are grumblings by members of the Planning Commission and the City Council dismissing the survey and indicating they will do the bidding of developers. Those members hope the citizens will become discouraged and apathetic. They hope we will stop showing up and confronting them with their responsibility to serve the citizens. If we give up, they will continue to destroy the things we love about Ivins and the reasons we chose this very special place for our home.
We must stay in the game! We must continue to show up at Planning Commission and City Council meetings. We must support the efforts of DOGI. We must hold Ivins leaders accountable. We can't give up now.
Today, tomorrow, and Thursday evenings are the annual neighborhood meetings. Please attend and make your voice heard. Make sure residents are driving the future of Ivins, NOT developers.
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