St. George expands City ranked No. 1 in growth over past six years
According to information released by the U.S. Census Bureau on April 5, available at www.census.gov, the St. George metro area is the fastest growing in the nation while the Cedar City micropolitan area is the 8th fastest growing in the nation. Dean Cox, public affairs officer for St. George, said the growth is county-wide. “Since 1965, the population of the county has basically doubled every decade,” he said. “Only now does that represent some really significant numbers.”
Not all reactions to the growth have been positive, Cox said. “We’ve been bringing in excess of 1,000 people every month,” he said. “There have been a lot of mixed reactions to that growth.” There are both advantages and disadvantages to the growth, Cox said. “It’s presented a lot more opportunity,” he said. “We’ve got a much better hospital, better doctors with different specialties and higher-paying jobs . . . for the most part, it’s been a good area. The people who have moved here have made the county better and more diverse; they’ve brought a lot to this area.”
Along with the increased population has come an increase in crime and gang activity, Cox said. The area is expecting further growth, and that could present problems, Cox said. “Estimates range that by 2035, we could have anywhere from 400,000 to 600,000 people,” he said. “One of the big (issues with the growth) is water. This is a very arid part of the country. Utah is the second-driest state in the nation in terms of precipitation. Water issues are important to us.” Problems with land are also an issue, he said. “The land ownership in Washington County between federal and state government is 83 percent,” he said. “Seventeen percent of the county is privately owned, and much of that is at elevations so high that you can’t develop. Land is a big issue.”
Cedar City Mayor Gerald R. Sherratt said the growth in Cedar City isn’t unusual. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “It was for the period of 2000 to 2006, and we’ve had considerable growth in that area.” Sherratt said he thinks the population growth stems from Las Vegas. “I think it starts in Las Vegas and moves up to St. George and now it’s moving up to Cedar City and beyond,” he said. “I think it’s slowing down for both Cedar City and St. George and certainly Las Vegas. It’s been a significant period of growth.” Sherratt said the growth was expected and the city has been attempting to deal with it. “We anticipated continued growth, and we have a general plan that is underway,” he said. “Committees are meeting so we can come up with a general plan for the city and guide it in its continued growth so we can make sure that we have a city we can enjoy living in.”
Hurricane Mayor Tom Hirschi, a city which is part of the St. George metro area, said Hurricane is preparing for more growth. “We’re working really hard towards transportation needs,” Hirschi said. “We’re working with UDOT. There are over 40,000 lots with preliminary approval.” Hirschi said Hurricane is trying to cope with the growth infrastructurally. “We’re requiring that developers build in the infrastructure,” he said. “We’re acquiring more power and water. We’re pretty frantic about getting things done and trying to do the best we can to deal with the growth.”
