JEREMY DUDA - Daily Herald | Posted: Monday, March 5, 2007 11:00 pm
While most of its neighbors to the north are bringing in massive subdivisions and retail stores, Santaquin is hoping to preserve its past to ensure its future.
The city's master plan calls for Santaquin to encourage the growth of its agricultural sector. A resolution passed by the Legislature, which declares Santaquin to be a Utah Farming Heritage District, provides state backing for the plan.
City Manager Stefan Chatwin said rising land prices have steadily turned much of Utah County's farm land into prime commercial or residential areas. Santaquin is hoping to halt that trend.
"The typical growth is you get a Wal-Mart and you build a golf course and you build a lot of houses," Chatwin said. "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but why not take a little different approachfi Why try to be like everyone elsefi"
When Chatwin says Santaquin wants to preserve its agricultural identity, he doesn't mean that the city's future is nothing more than miles and miles of cherry orchards -- the city is already the second-largest producer of tart cherries in the United States. What the city wants to do, he said, is expand on what's there now.
For example, Santaquin's South Ridge Farms has a market called the Red Barn where it sells not only the fruits from its crops, but related products such as chocolate and yogurt covered cherries, cherry and apple pies, cider and ice cream.
Santaquin wants to see more Red Barns, Chatwin said, along with business ventures such as bed and breakfasts and equestrian stables. And with its strategic location along Interstate 15, the city wants people from populous parts of Utah to view Santaquin as a getaway with all the charms of country living.
Already, some travelers along the interstate make a point of stopping at the Red Barn for apples and cherry pies whenever they pass by, Chatwin said. The city's goal is to get more people to stop for a while, maybe spend the night at a bed and breakfast, go on a horseback ride and shop the markets -- sort of a Napa Valley on the Wasatch Front.
"We think that one day you're going to see people in Salt Lake City and the bigger areas of Utah come to Santaquin on the weekend to get away from the hustle and bustle, to enjoy a little bit of the simpler, quiet life," Chatwin said.
Santaquin's plans also call for a farming heritage center that will tell the story of farming in Utah, going back to the early pioneers of the 19th century and possibly the American Indians before them.
The city is involved in preliminary planning for the center and is talking to potential investors.
The Farming Heritage District Resolution, sponsored by Rep. Patrick Painter, R-Nephi, is nonbinding, so it doesn't provide the city with any state funds. But its purpose, Chatwin said, is to "memorialize" Santaquin's agricultural designation and plans for the future.
"Anytime you establish a plan of any kind, if you don't memorialize it people begin to forget," Chatwin said. "Without this kind of strong statement, six months from now everyone forgets and moves on to other things."
Painter said the motivation behind the resolution was to recognize the efforts of the city and its fruit growers for their efforts to preserve the agricultural character of Santaquin, as well as to recognize the moves they have made to expand on the agricultural economy with things such as the Red Barn.
"We think they've done a great job with that. They've got some great ideas and we felt like they deserve some recognition," Painter said.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will be at Orchard Hills Elementary School in Santaquin on Friday to sign the resolution.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.