Salt Lake City Council weighs changes to development ordinances after illegal teardown of historic Fifth Ward Meetinghouse facade. 

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The Salt Lake City Council convened on the evening of April 2 to address the unlawful demolition of the historic Fifth Ward Meetinghouse. The Council also voted to close a portion of 7200 West and struck down a rezone proposal for three properties located on 1300 South.

Fifth Ward Demolition
The Council and Administration took a moment during the meeting to address the partial demolition of the historic Fifth Ward Meetinghouse, first reported by Building Salt Lake. The building, located at 740 S. 300 West, was designated as a local landmark in 1979. The city was made aware of unauthorized work on the site on Easter Sunday, which saw the Granary building’s facade destroyed.

“I wanted to take a moment and thank the administration for your staff's quick work over the weekend. Your promptness saved this beautiful historic building,” Councilmember Eva Lopez Chavez said before giving the floor to Rachel Otto, the administration’s chief of staff, to explain the situation.

“Our staff immediately went to the site and issued a stop-work order that day,” Otto said.

The property owner was issued a violation for working without a certificate of appropriateness and another for work without permits. With these two violations, the property owner will incur a fine of $200 per day should the demolished portion of the building not be restored in a reasonable time. Otto explained that the city is working with attorneys to determine what a reasonable amount of time means in this situation.

Otto also discussed the administration’s work to propose amendments to city ordinance that would address similar unlawful demolition issues. Some proposed changes would include issuing increased fees for starting work on a historic building without permits and prohibiting any further redevelopment for 25 years of a property if it is not properly restored.

“This has been a truly devastating situation, I think for many, and we are taking this incredibly seriously,” Otto said.

Later, during the general comments portion of the meeting, constituent Jim Webster expressed his sorrow at seeing the partial demolition of the building. He argued that the City is too relaxed in its policies on historic preservation and has given the green light to too many developer projects in the city.

West Side Road Closure
The Council voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance that would temporarily close a mile and a half of 7200 West located between California Ave. and Interstate 80. The administration proposed the closure, which could last up to two years, to address safety concerns on the road.

“The area experiences frequent illegal dumping of bulky, hazardous and large amounts of waste due to the remote location and proximity to permitted solid waste management facilities,” a report to the City Council read.

The report also detailed costly cleanups that the city had previously initiated at the site. A February 2023 cleanup cleared over 250 tons of waste on the road at a cost of $30,000, and a December 2023 cleanup cost the city $35,000. Despite both these efforts, waste has continued to accumulate.

All three property owners at the site have issued letters of support to the Council. They will retain access to their properties during the closure.

1300 South Rezone
The Council struck down a proposed rezone for properties located at 2260 E. 1300 South, 2270 E. 1300 South and 2290 E. 1300 South. The rezoning would have changed the properties from Single-Family Residential to Community Business.

Councilmember Victoria Petro initially moved to adopt the rezone, supported by a second from Councilmember Alejandro Puy. Councilmember Dan Dugan, who represents the district these properties are in, voiced his opposition to the rezone. He cited the lack of affordable housing planned for the sites and the developer’s unwillingness to negotiate with the city on this issue.

Puy acknowledged Dugan’s stronger understanding of the matter and voted against accepting the ordinance alongside the rest of the Council. The Council then unanimously voted to reject the rezone request.

The Council also voted to initiate an annexation process for unincorporated Salt Lake County land located along 2200 West. This ordinance only initiates the annexation process, and the Council will hold a public hearing on the annexation at a later date.