They also are overflowing with opinions about what the land should and shouldn't become. And that's why Bluffdale is the latest city to become home to a signature drive aimed at supplanting the voices of the city's elected leaders with those of voters.
"It's going to totally change the nature of Bluffdale," said Nancy Lord, a resident speaking against two giant developments that could overtake some 4,000 acres of open land.
With that theory, Lord and a number of other residents in late August launched a referendum drive.
The two developments - South Farms and South Hills - aim to create homes, apartments, a golf course and commercial developments. It's that mix, along with lots that are smaller than 1 acre, that has residents worried about what Bluffdale will become.
"It will turn Bluffdale into Herriman and Draper," Lord said. "We don't want to turn into Herriman or Draper."
But at least one of the developers says the worries are unfounded.
"There are a lot of rumors floating around," said Donald Wallace, the president of Sorenson Real Estate Companies, which owns South Farms. "We've really gone to extra efforts in the design process to incorporate things that Bluffdale loves."
As far as housing densities go, plans for South Farms call for lots that are as large as 1 acre and others with as many as 12 units per acre. The higher-density land will be located near a planned interchange that is part of the Utah Department of Transportation's Mountain View Corridor. Also penned is a commercial center.
Overall, that equates to 2.6 homes for each of the 1,200 acres within South Farm's borders.
The number may be right, but residents say the area will feel much more crowded because much of the land is too steep to develop.
"Four and a half to five units per acre - that's what it's going to feel like," said Chris Brockbank, another resident pushing the vote.
The developer for South Hills didn't return telephone calls Friday.
The residents, however, are not waiting to see final plans before they attempt to block the development.
The land currently is zoned for agriculture and, unlike their counterparts in Riverton and Sandy, the Bluffdale folks aren't waiting for their City Council to change the zoning.
Instead, they are trying to get a newly created zoning category - dubbed the Special Development Plan Zone - off Bluffdale's books.
The City Council approved that zone on Aug. 23, with two absent members. Blaine GehringÂ, a Bluffdale city planner, said the city believes the zone would offer it greater control over projects larger than 500 acres.
The referendum campaign follows other Salt Lake Valley resident groups that have attacked development plans. Residents in Riverton and Sandy ran referendums to reverse zone changes approved by their city councils.
Both have been seen as successful because Sandy's is going to a citywide vote in November and the Riverton residents got a settlement that moved commercial development away from existing homes.
Because Bluffdale residents are launching their campaign earlier in the process, they have to get a larger percentage of signatures. For example, Sandy residents had to gather 10 percent of the people who voted in the last gubernatorial election. Because of the nature of the action, Bluffdale's effort must gather 35 percent of those who voted.
In Bluffdale that's 875 signatures, Lord says.
While the total number is less, the task may be more difficult in rural Bluffdale. The city has no library, grocery store or other large gathering place for Lord and her supporters to make their pitch to fellow residents.
"Mostly, it's going to be door to door," she said.
jsantini@sltrib.com
