Carbon County Emerging Area Plan

Based on the public survey and stakeholder feedback, five goals are defined for the communities throughout Carbon County which include: 

• Provide Local and Regional Transportation Options
• Expand and Diversify Economic Growth
• Expand and Diversify Small Town Housing
• Improve Community Pride and Engagement
• Improve Overall Health and Wellbeing

The following graphics present a finalized list of goals and objectives for Carbon County communities and is followed by a list of needs and actions that need to occur to meet the specified objectives. Finally, responsible parties are identified for each need/action to establish ownership for the necessary actions.

Transportation Connects the Community

The above action plan includes a holistic perspective of the community needs because transportation is the connection for all of these needs. To create a functioning transportation system, the complete picture needs to be documented and understood.

The following dashboard contains the current community transportation plans.

The following interactive table allows search and filter of potential funding sources to help facilitate items in the action plan.

The Utah Department of Transportation is working with Carbon County and communities within Carbon County to prepare an Emerging Areas Plan for the area. As part of the Utah Department of Transportation's mission to enhance the quality of life for area residents, this process allows all parties to clearly understand the unique context of each of their areas and a broader context consisting of joint goals and objectives. By combining the unique characteristics of each community and gaining a better understanding of how each community wants to move into the future, we can collaboratively define a way to continue creating and developing thriving communities. An action plan for achieving the goals was developed as an outcome of this study.  

The focus of the study is to coordinate with Carbon County communities to identify goals and steps to achieve those goals.

• Engage elected officials, stakeholders, and the public to gather details, develop partnerships, and gain ownership in the decision-making process. 
• Discuss and identify the overall planning goals of the region with a focus on transportation including land use and resource management as a strong background as they are integral to making informed transportation decisions.
• Create a regional transportation plan that fits the visioning that communities can work towards.
• Provide mapping and technical assistance to support local planning work.
• Identify available funding sources to complete work plan items.
• Develop work plans for all partners that move them toward their goals as identified in this study.

Broadly, there are three phases of the Emerging Area Plan process as shown in the graphic below:

This Emerging Area Plan builds on dozens of local and regional planning efforts conducted in Carbon Canyon over the last twenty years. These planning efforts and documents provide context to the Emerging Area Plan and help develop goals and objectives for this planning effort. Detailed information about past planning efforts can be found  here .

• SERTA
• Carbon County Commission
• Carbon County
• Price City
• Helper City
• Wellington City
• East Carbon City
• State Parks
• UDOT
• BLM
• NPS-RTCA
• USFS
• Chamber of Commerce
• Southeast Utah Health Department
• Carbon County School District
• USU Extension
• Rural Utah Project
• Four Corners Behavioral Health
• Active Re-entry
• Castledale Hospital

• Travis Hair, Project Manager for Emerging Areas
• Andrea Olson, Planning Director
• Daniel Hinckley, District Engineer, Region 4
• Jordan Backman, Urban Planning Manager
• Chris Hall, Planning Manager, Region 4

• Andrea Moser, BIO-WEST, Project Manager
• Glen Busch, BIO-WEST, Planner
• Kim Clark, VIA Consulting, Stakeholder/Public Engagement

The Emerging Area Plan process sought to learn about community context, values, and goals through a community engagement process designed to engage elected officials, other stakeholders, and the public. Study context focused on the economy, social connections, natural environment/resources, transportation, and health/well-being of residents and tourists. Furthermore, this process sought to gather details, develop partnerships, and gain ownership in decision-making through a series of public meetings, a website, a public survey, and multiple stakeholder workshops. A series of local government presentations and public workshops were undertaken

Seeking feedback at key points throughout the study is a critical step to creating ownership and buy-in. The following goals were defined for public participation;

• Seek input in a fair, equitable, and inclusive manner;
• Gather feedback regarding the identified goals, objectives, and needs;
• Collect ideas regarding short-term and long-term actions

In early August 2023, three public meetings were held in Helper, Price, and unincorporated Carbon County. Each meeting consisted of a presentation describing the purpose of the Emerging Area Plan, information about how individuals and communities could participate in the planning process, and a discussion among those present about the important aspects of their communities.

This story map has been used as a public engagement tool throughout the study. The content available here has evolved over time as the project progressed.

Along with the local government meetings and website, a public survey was made available online to all interested individuals to gather public opinions. This survey instrument was also shared during the three local government meetings and sent out in monthly utility bills for several communities.

Two stakeholder workshops were held in Price to gather detailed information from key stakeholders regarding context, values, goals, and action items.

The three meetings with local elected officials were held on August 1, 2023 in Price, Helper and Carbon County.

The online public survey was conducted in the fall of 2023. Survey responses were compiled and summarized, and the results are presented in the following graphics and charts.

The first stakeholder workshop was held on September 26, 2023. At this workshop, poster-sized maps were presented for attendees to mark locations of local needs and other pertinent information. A draft set of goals and needs were also presented for discussion and comment.

The second stakeholder workshop was held on December 5, 2023. This meeting's attendees sat around tables to facilitate open discussions on identifying solutions, actions, and responsible entities for five goals refined from workshop #1. After a presentation outlining the meeting's goals, attendees at each table were asked to discuss potential stewards who could take ownership of actions to address each defined need.

Several recent studies were undertaken by Carbon County to understand ongoing economic conditions. These studies include the 2018 Carbon County Economic Development Strategic Plan and the two websites below.

Price City, East Carbon, and Helper are three of 33 cities participating in the Utah Wellbeing Survey Project in 2022. This project is designed to assess the wellbeing and local perspectives of city residents and to provide information to city leaders to inform their general planning process.

Utah State University conducted another round of wellbeing surveys in early 2024. Results from those surveys will be added once they are available.

Price Wellbeing Ratings from the Utah Wellbeing Survey 2022.

East Carbon Wellbeing Ratings from the Utah Wellbeing Survey 2022.

Helper Wellbeing Ratings from the Utah Wellbeing Survey 2022.

Allowable land uses on private lands is determined by General Plan documents and local zoning ordinance. The following planning documents are relevant to the Emerging Area Plan.

The map below shows the current zoning for municipalities and Carbon County.

The Utah Department of Transportation’s Long Range Plan is updated every four years and includes a set of projects to address the transportation needs of rural Utah.

This Transit Feasibility Study was commissioned by the Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments and conducted by Via. The Study focuses on Carbon, Emery, and San Juan Counties.

Active Transportation Planning from the local plans and the Utah Statewide Bike Plan.