By Rodd Cayton
Many residents of the South Valley’s Mountain View community have felt neglected in the past, as development in the area has seemingly occurred without their consideration.
The next sector development plan for the area will be different, county representatives said Thursday night.
County officials and consultant Sites Southwest hosted a kick-off meeting at Mountain View Elementary School to tell the public about the process for creating the plan and urged them to offer their input.
Allison Long of Sites Southwest is the project manager for the process. She told the nearly 70 people assembled in the school cafeteria that a sector development plan includes the goals of documenting community values and establishing a way to measure progress toward community goals.
Long said having the plan in place permits the county to seek future state or federal funding for any project in the plan.
Much of the evening resembled an open house, at which visitors could stop at each of seven tables and discuss with a staffer one specific aspect of the plan.
In the parks and recreation area, attendees could participate in an exercise with real-life implications: how to spend $1 million on a new park. Guests could look at potential locations on aerial photographs and suggest necessities such as parking and fencing or amenities such as sports courts, playgrounds and a splash pad.
At the economic development table, guests used sticky notes to add their thoughts about which new businesses they want in Mountain View and list their concerns about development in the area.
Dani Wilson of Sites Southwest said the exercise will help planners understand the gaps in meeting the service needs of the area and what barriers there are to bringing in new projects.
“We ultimately want to understand where new businesses will be most appropriate,” she said.
Many of the notes listed a grocery store or a coffee shop as a desired addition, along with recreation opportunities for youth.
One resident notably marked “clean industry” as a wish.
Long said gathering input from residents is important because they’re who the new projects will serve.
“I’m not an expert on this community,” she said. “The county staff covers a very wide area. It’s really helpful to get input from the people who know the community best.”
More meetings are set for April 8 and June 7. Long said there will also be other ways for residents to provide feedback. A handout at the meeting included a QR code for a website where residents can leave comments.
County officials expect to present draft recommendations this summer, then solicit more feedback. County commissioners are expected to adopt a final plan in spring 2026.