Granger Park was Purchased by the People: CSGP tried to save it forever

Citizens to Save Granger Park “CSGP”

Granger Park was originally purchased by the people for the people, with the effort led by the local Lions Club. Decades later, the park once again became a symbol of community pride and action.

In 1986…

…., as city leaders pushed to build a new West Valley City Hall on Granger Park land, the Citizens to Save Granger Park (CSGP) was formed by a small group of determined residents, including Marna Lutton. Their mission was to protect one of the community’s few green spaces in what was already one of Utah’s most densely populated areas.

CSGP organizers used an initiative petition — a legal tool that lets citizens write and pass their own local laws — to stop the project. Unlike a referendum, which challenges an existing law, an initiative creates a new one. CSGP’s petition specifically called for a new city ordinance permanently banning any city hall, public building, or similar structure from ever being built on Granger Park.

Stan Beutler, an attorney working with CSGP, explained that the group’s petition focused on the original City Council resolution to build on the park — carefully avoiding a direct challenge to local zoning rules, which were excluded from Utah’s initiative process by state law.

The petition drive required hundreds of valid signatures from registered West Valley voters by June 4, 1986, to qualify for the November 4th ballot. CSGP volunteers worked tirelessly to gather nearly 5,000 signatures — a strong show of community support.

Despite the city’s plans to break ground for the new city hall during West Valley Days on June 28, Beutler made it clear that if the council ignored the petition and moved forward, CSGP was prepared to seek a court injunction to stop any construction until voters had their say that November.

Ultimately, the City Council unanimously accepted the resolution, honoring the wishes of the people to protect the park from development — at least for a time.

Sadly, many residents still feel that promise was broken when Granger Park was demolished to build the new Granger High School in 2013, a decision that remains controversial among those who remember the neighborhood’s hard-fought effort to save the beloved community green space.

Unfortunately….

…..despite this heartfelt grassroots effort, the park’s fate changed in later years. In 2013, Granger High School was built on the Granger Park site after the park was demolished — a decision that remains a sore subject for many who worked so hard to preserve the green space for future generations.