When Neighbors Dream Together: The Stories of Woodhaven Park & Smith Ranch Park

One of my favorite parts of serving on the Eagle Mountain City Council was listening to the dreams our residents had for their neighborhoods. When I look back on projects like Woodhaven and Smith Ranch Park, I see more than playgrounds and fields — I see neighbors who believed our kids, our families, and even our wildlife deserved something better.

The Woodhaven Story

Before Eagle Mountain had any major economic drivers like Meta or Tyson, we had to be extremely careful with our budget. Every project meant stretching dollars and making hard choices.

That’s why the Woodhaven Park project in the Silverlake neighborhood was so special. I had the privilege of serving on the steering committee with Councilmember Colby Curtis. We sat at kitchen tables, in neighborhood meetings, and in public hearings, listening to residents share what their families needed most. Parents wanted a safe, shaded place for kids to play. Teens wanted somewhere that wasn’t “just a tot lot.” Families wanted open green space where they could gather.

Piece by piece, with limited funds, we made it happen. And I’ll never forget the joy of seeing neighbors walk down to their brand-new park for the very first time.

Smith Ranch Park: Where Nature Meets Neighborhood

If Woodhaven was about neighborhood dreams, Smith Ranch was about uniting the whole city.

Smith Ranch Park sits on land once farmed by the Rose and Grant Smith family, whose names you’ll still see on nearby streets. When it came time to design this park, we knew it needed to reflect Eagle Mountain’s unique identity: a city growing fast, full of kids and young families, but also surrounded by open land and wildlife.

What made Smith Ranch Park so remarkable was the way two very different groups came together.

On one side, we had the kids (and a few determined moms) who wanted a skatepark, something designed right from the start. I’ll never forget the day a group of kids showed up to a Parks & Rec meeting with a “petition” scrawled in pen, marker, and even crayon. They weren’t skateboarders from somewhere else — they were our kids, and they deserved to be heard.

On the other side, we had passionate nature advocates who worried about the loss of critical habitat. They wanted to make sure Eagle Mountain didn’t lose what made it special — the owls, kestrels, and wildlife that share this place with us.

Councilmember Curtis and I made it a priority to bring these voices together. We invited residents to sit down with the design team from MHTN, who spent months working with us to shape the park into something unique: a place where Nature Meets Neighborhood.

The result? A park that blends the best of both worlds.

• An all-abilities playground where kids of every age and ability can play.

• A ninja course — one of the first of its kind in Utah — designed for older kids and teens.

• A skatepark built the way it should have been from the start, giving youth a safe and exciting place to gather.

• Open green space for families and community gatherings.

• Preserved wild areas with educational signage, reminding us why we kept half the park natural.

Smith Ranch Park is more than just another park. It’s a story of kids and moms who wouldn’t give up, of neighbors who spoke up for the wild side of Eagle Mountain, and of a community that found a way to balance growth with preservation.

Why This Matters Today

When I walk through Smith Ranch Park, I don’t just see playground equipment or ball fields. I see proof that when Eagle Mountain residents raise their voices, and when leaders are willing to listen and fight for those voices, amazing things happen.

Our community has always been at its best when we come together — neighbors, parents, kids, and advocates — to make sure Eagle Mountain is not just growing, but growing in the right way.

That’s the story of Woodhaven. That’s the story of Smith Ranch. And that’s the story I believe can continue to define Eagle Mountain’s future.