Salt Lake City Council debates new citywide transportation plan, increases fines for unlawful building demolitions 

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The Salt Lake City Council convened on the evening of April 16 to hold public hearings on rezones in Westpoint and adjacent to State Street, as well as on a proposed citywide transportation plan. The Council also adopted an ordinance that creates additional fees for work on a historic structure without the appropriate permits.

Connect SLC
The Council held a public hearing to discuss Connect SLC, a citywide transportation plan that would replace the current Transportation Master Plan that was adopted in 1996. The plan lays out a 20-year vision for multi-modal transportation and is focused on helping people move around the city, no matter what method of transportation they choose to utilize, according to policy analyst Ben Ludke.

“There are eight core policies called ‘key moves,’ with over 60 implementations, strategies and actions identified to advance those key moves,” Ludke said.

The ConnectSLC plan identifies five main goals: equity, health and safety, reliable options, affordability and sustainability. The eight “key moves” are “how we move to action and achieve our transportation goals,” the plan’s draft states. These moves include authentic and intentional engagement, moving toward zero traffic deaths, bolstering transit-friendly neighborhoods and healing the east-west divide, among others. The document also alludes to transformational projects that could occur in the long term—like relocation of railroads and the removal of the West Temple freeway ramp at 900 South—without formally endorsing those efforts. Additional information on this plan can be found at tinyurl.com/TransportationSLC.

Speakers supported the plan during the hearing, but asked that the plan be expanded and more comprehensive.

“The draft Connect plan is full of nice graphics. Its vision statement and five goals are good, if generic,” Jen Colby said. “Unfortunately, the strategies and actions list is underwhelming. They're insufficient to rapidly transform Salt Lake City's transportation system to meet its goals."

Colby requested that bikes and ebikes be prioritized as a means of transportation and that safe bike lanes be installed on major city streets. Jennifer Madrigal emphasized the importance of ongoing and thorough community engagement, both before and after a project’s implementation.

Several speakers spoke in support of formally including the Rio Grande Plan, a citizen-led proposal to bury the Frontrunner and Union Pacific rail lines in a “train box” on 500 West, roughly between 900 South and 300 North. The plan would also relocate passenger rail services from Salt Lake Central Station to the historic Rio Grande Depot. Similar projects have been completed in Reno, Denver and Los Angeles.

“I've been working for four years to promote the idea of grade separating our railroad crossings to make our city a safer, more coherent place to eliminate barriers between the east and west side that are created by transportation,” Christian Lenhart, one of the project’s co-authors, told the Council. Other speakers who supported the plan emphasized its potential to bridge divides between the east and west side.

After the speakers finished, Councilmember Alejandro Puy took a moment of personal privilege.

“I just want to clarify that in the state of Utah, public transportation is run by the state through UTA, which is its own entity and they set the rates,” Puy explained. “Salt Lake City has to pitch in money to expand bus lanes to west side communities and other communities that are not serviced by UTA.”

Salt Lake City is not capable of funding free transportation for everyone, Puy said. The Council voted to continue public hearings on the draft plan at a future date.

Demolition Enforcement
The Council voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance that adds and increases fines for work done on historic buildings without a certificate of appropriateness. This ordinance comes after a portion of the Fifth Ward Meetinghouse was illegally demolished over Easter weekend.

In his motion to approve the ordinance, Councilmember Chris Wharton included a requirement that a physical certificate of appropriateness be posted at historic sites where work is being done.

“I think that this provides assurance that that demolition permit has been obtained,” Wharton explained.

Westpointe Rezone
The Council held a public hearing on a proposal to rezone three properties on 2200 West from agricultural districts to light manufacturing districts. The properties are located at 2760 N., 2800 N. and 2828 N. 2200 West in Council district One, represented by Councilmember Victoria Petro, in the city’s northwest quadrant.

The applicant for the proposed change has not submitted development plans; however, the Council has outlined requirements the developer must adhere to should the rezone be approved. These requirements were developed during a Council work session on March 19.

One requirement would include a restriction from the properties being primarily used as a package delivery facility, which is defined as “a facility for the receipt, transfer, short term storage and dispatching of goods and packages.” This language is intended to limit the proliferation of warehouses. The additional requirements for the proposed rezone can be found in the online materials in the Council’s April 16 meeting agenda.

Several speakers spoke against the rezone in the hearing, citing environmental concerns.

Local community activist Terry Marasco criticized the Council’s consideration of the proposal.

“While the [Council’s] rhetoric goes that ‘we want to protect the West Side,’ we introduce these kinds of amendments, which bring in more diesel traffic,” Marasco said. “And diesel, as we know, is the most potent air pollutant that there can ever be.”

Several speakers also shared concerns that approving this rezone would have detrimental effects on the health of the Great Salt Lake, especially given the property's proximity to the Jordan River, which flows into the lake.

“I'm really tired of seeing development interests’ prioritized over the people that make our communities the special places they are,” Katie Papas expressed.

Chris Jenkins spoke in support of the rezone, claiming it would make sense given the nearby manufacturing districts. Jenkins also addressed concerns surrounding the Great Salt Lake.

“The rezoning that’s being done with these particular properties—no one’s living there, no one’s being forced out of their homes,” Jenkins said. “I love the Great Salt Lake. This is not on the shores of the lake.”

The Council voted to move action on this proposal to a future date. Afterward, Councilmember Dan Dugan took a moment to share his concerns with the proposal. He spoke to the lack of a clear definition for the wording of restricted “primary” uses.

“Is it based on revenue? Is it based on truck traffic? Is it based on the footprint of the buildings that are being used for the manufacturing?” Dugan questioned. He also advocated for the enforcement of strong compliance policies to ensure the development adheres to the Council’s requirements.

Maven State
The Council also held a public hearing for a proposed rezone of properties at 1791 S. and 1815 S. State Street, as well as 118 E. and 120 E. Coatsville Avenue, located in District Five and represented by Councilmember Darin Mano.

The applicant has not shared a formal proposal for the sites but has stated their intent to combine the properties and construct a mixed-use development called Maven State. The development is anticipated to have roughly 150 apartments, with commercial space included on the ground floor. The applicant also shared that they would like to include affordable units in the development, but “are not able to commit to them given the current financial landscape,” as stated in the Council staff report.

Speakers in the hearing shared concerns that this project would create a demand for parking that nearby streets cannot sustain, a common criticism raised against virtually all proposed housing construction.

“I am very concerned about the increased traffic and parking demands on Downington Avenue,” Arianne Gimes said.

Grimes described how Downington, located on the south side of the petitioned properties, is already so narrow that when cars are parked on either side of the street, it is impossible for two cars to pass each other at once. Another resident, Carol Hopper, described similar conditions on Coatsville Avenue. This type of design is known as a “yield street” or “yield-flow” traffic pattern, compelling drivers to move at a slower speed and cooperate with other road users.

Other speakers discussed privacy concerns, stating the new zone’s permitted building height of 75 feet would give the building’s residents a clear view of the neighboring houses' backyards.

According to this item’s council report, the petitioner has conducted shadow and solar studies to mitigate the impacts a tall building height would have on adjacent residential buildings. The Planning Commission has also forwarded recommendations that the development have a setback of 30 feet from the lot’s eastern boundary, which abuts single-family residential zoning areas. The Commission also recommended limiting building height at this 30-foot setback line and requiring landscape buffering along the property’s eastern boundary.

The Council voted to defer action on this proposal to a future date.

Nomad Alliance
< Several representatives from the Nomad Alliance, a non-profit organization that provides resources for unsheltered people in Salt Lake, spoke to the Council during the general comments portion of the meeting.

Kseniya Kniazeva, the president of the Nomad Alliance, discussed the detrimental effects of denying resources to people based on sobriety.

“What we really need is deeply low barrier housing, non-congregate housing that have no requirements for sobriety, that do not kick people out if there are drugs found in bags,” Kniazeva explained. “What we're finding right now that's really tragic is that there's a revolving door between the current pod community and the streets. That's really concerning. It's just leading to more crushed hopes and dreams.”

The Nomad Alliance’s bus, a converted food truck that can house as many as 20 people, doesn’t require sobriety tests or bag checks, Kniazeva said, and they’ve never had issues with drug use or theft onboard.

"We really need Salt Lake City to step up and be a leader in providing low-entry options and services for our unsheltered community,” Nomad Alliance volunteer Taylor Burke said.

Other representatives from the non-profit discussed the need for accessible, working and clean public restrooms.

Bradley Shields explained how he was a homeowner for 14 years before an accident left him homeless and with serious injuries. Shields discussed the deplorable conditions of the bathrooms at the Weigand Resource Center. Showers don’t work and bathroom stalls lack doors, he said.

"We do need some public bathrooms somewhere so these people can go. The water, the bathrooms were shut down at all these parks, where are these people supposed to go?” asked the Nomad Alliance’s bus manager.