Washington City hires new community development director who hopes to streamline process for developers

WASHINGTON CITY, Utah (ABC4) — Washington City has hired a new community development director, and he shared his plans and hopes for his time in the role.

Eldon Gibb is the newly hired community development director for Washington City, and he told ABC4.com that he is focused on streamline the development and approval process for building permits on the city’s side in order to attract quality commercial developments.

Community development means that they are involved in long-range planning, building department aspects like issuing certificates of occupancy, code enforcement, and city planning and zoning, Gibb said. As the community development director, he will work directly with the city’s economic development team.

“Washington City is at the cuff of growth,” Gibb said. “We’ve got a lot of great forward momentum, and I hope to continue that forward momentum in this role.”

According to the most recent U.S. Census Data, Washington City has a population of 30,686 people. The median household income is $94,015, but the median home value is $511,100.

Most recently, the growth has been centered around commercial development, but there has been plenty of residential growth in the past, according to Gibb. “We’re focused on obtaining and sustaining quality commercial developments,” he said.

Gibb said that in this role, he hopes to foster relationships in the community development setting, and to establish quality of life for Washington City.

Gibb said that the city is in a great place, and he doesn’t have any major concerns, but he is hoping to improve the development process on the city’s side of things, to streamline the process to make it quicker for development.

“We’re attracting quality businesses to bring income taxes to the city, which then helps pay for police, fire, parks, all the needed infrastructure to maintain and sustain those residents in the city rather than having to increase those property taxes,” Gibb said.

He added that he is committed to doing what he can to combat high cost of living and provide affordable housing in Washington City. “It’s a collaboration of efforts from the developers, the building community, and the city as well.”

One way to do that is to streamline the process, make approval time shorter, and save developers money so that housing can be cheaper.

When asked why he chose this career, Gibb said, “Community development is exciting, just in and of itself. There’s no day that’s the same; every day is different, whether it be a code enforcement issue, strategic long-range planning and concern… There’s just so many different avenues to be involved with. The variety would appeal to anybody.”

Gibb has a unique background for this type of work, he said. He started off building houses with a framing business, but law enforcement work at Utah Tech brought him to Southern Utah.

Gibb said that he grew up in Pleasant Grove, but the environment of southern Utah brought him to Washington City. “We’re not shoveling snow! I go for a bike ride from my house, Zion’s 50 minutes away. It doesn’t get better than this.”

“We host some of the most beautiful backdrops in the city. If you look to the north, we’ve got Pine Valley Mountain, Red Rocks, Black Lava, there’s just so many unique features,” Gibb concluded. “Who wouldn’t want to move to Washington City, whether it be to bring your business to a thriving economy, or a homeowner looking to reside? I’m excited to be a part of that.”