Advocates for more green space in West Valley City have lost their campaign to create more parks and trails in the community.

Proposition 3 would have provided up to $25 million via a general obligation bond for several projects, but final results showed it lost, 9,655 to 7,353.

Kevin Fayles, chair of West Valley Parks and Trails for Families, a citizen group that pushed for the measure, said he was disappointed but not surprised.

"We tried to do something visionary during the worst recession since the Great Depression," he said. "I hope in the near future we can try again before the city loses too many more potential neighborhood parks."

Mayor Mike Winder, another proponent of Proposition 3, also was disappointed but said, "We knew all along it's a tough economic climate to ask people to raise their own taxes."

Residents of an average home, valued at $177,000, would have paid an additional $25 a year for 20 years, while businesses with the same value would have paid an estimated $45.49 a year.

Proponents touted the measure as a way to provide recreation opportunities and drive economic development in Utah's second-largest city. But opponents said the price tag was too high and a tax hike would discourage businesses from locating in the community.

Proposition 3 would have funded 17 new neighborhood parks and completed the community's trail system. It also would have created a 4- to 7-acre green space in City Center, accompanying a retail project that is just west of City Hall and adjacent to a new TRAX station, which is scheduled to begin service next summer.

Tuesday was the first time in West Valley City's 30-year history that residents had the chance to vote on a general obligation bond.

pmanson@sltrib.com