West Jordan and neighbors oppose prison moving to high-growth area

West Jordan • City leaders don't want to see the state prison relocated to West Jordan and neither do their neighbors.

The mayors of South Jordan, Taylorsville and Herriman joined West Jordan Mayor Kim Rolfe at Sunset Ridge Middle School on Friday to announce their unified opposition to moving the state's largest correctional facility from Draper to a wheat farm.

That farm sits kitty-corner from the school and across the street from a new subdivision. The city hopes that the land near the proposed prison site will soon hold major commercial developments. On the west side of the plot, it's anticipated that more houses will sprout in the years to come.

"This really is the place for our state's future, it is not a place for a prison," Rolfe told a gathering of reporters, residents, school district officials and city workers, shortly after the school day ended.

The state Legislature is seeking to move the prison from Draper, allowing the state to build a state-of-the-art lockup and to develop some prime real estate in Salt Lake County. The question is where to move the prison. The Prison Relocation Commission announced six potential sites this week. The West Jordan location scored the highest on the initial assessment, because of its proximity to the prison workforce, courts and medical facilities, along with the lack of major environmental concerns in building on the land.

But Rolfe believes that review was shortsighted, failing to take into account ongoing negotiations with major corporations looking to move to the state, and the anticipated population growth.

The commission this week adopted new criteria that would take these components into account as it narrows the list of proposed sites at its Dec. 22 meeting. Beyond the West Jordan location, the Commission also announced that it is looking at land in Eagle Mountain and near Saratoga Springs, along with a plot in Tooele County next to the Miller Motorsports Park and two properties near Salt Lake City International Airport.

Local elected officials oppose each of these sites and Commission co-chairman Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, said the state would be open to reviewing other potential locations.

While that may be the case, West Jordan resident Nathan Kidd is concerned that the state may force the prison onto his neighborhood. He's even considering placing his home on 8200 South on the market now, because if the prison project goes forward, he'd be able to see it from his bathroom.

"As a resident, I believe criminals have more of a say than a law-abiding citizen," he said, standing near four of his family members, all of whom held hand-made signs opposing the potential prison move.

Stevenson said the public will have time to formally comment before any decision is made, but he considers public events like the one held Friday unnecessary and ineffective.

"I certainly don't want to inhibit any freedom of speech, but I'm not sure it has a lot of influence at this point in time," Stevenson said.

Rolfe and his fellow mayors all expressed confidence in the Prison Relocation Commission, even as they asked the public to reach out to their elected leaders to respectfully voice their opposition. They also said they were confident that they would prevail and the prison would be built elsewhere.

"We see a bright future for this region," Alvord said, "and that does not include a prison."

mcanham@sltrib.com