PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
REGULAR/BRIEFING SESSION
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1988
The City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah, met as the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, October 11, 1988, at 5:00 pm. in Suite 300, City Hall, 324 South State.
The following Council Members were present: Florence Bittner Thomas Godfrey Wayne Horrocks Roselyn Kirk Sydney Fonnesbeck Willie Stoler Alan Hardman.
Council Chairperson Godfrey presided at the meeting.
BRIEFING SESSION
Linda Hamilton, Council Executive Director, said that there was roan on the rostrum for the Council and Planning Commission for the joint hearing. She said that Allen Johnson would give a brief overview of the Downtown Master Plan at the start of the hearing. Councilmember Fonnesbeck asked whether a position had been taken on the Salt Palace Expansion issue. Councilmember Tom Godfrey said that the process was still in the conceptual stage.
The meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
The City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah, met in regular session on Tuesday, October 11, 1988, at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 324 South State Street.
The following Council Members were present: Florence Bittner Tom Godfrey Wayne Horrocks Roselyn Kirk Sydney Fonnesbeck Willie Stoler Alan Hardman.
Mayor Palmer DePaulis, Roger Cutler, city attorney, Kathryn Marshall, city recorder, and Lynda Domino, chief deputy city recorder, were present.
Councilmember Godfrey presided at and Councilmember Kirk conducted the meeting.
Police Chaplain Bob Schrank gave the invocation.
The Council led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of Minutes.
Councilmember Godfrey moved and Councilmember Fonnesbeck seconded to approve the minutes of the Salt Lake City Council for the regular meeting held Tuesday, October 4, 1988, which motion carried, all members voted aye except Councilmember Horrocks who was absent for the vote.
(M 88-1)
DEPARTMENTAL BUSINESS
MAYOR’S OFFICE
#1. RE: Appointments to the Fine Arts/Salt Palace Advisory Board.
ACTION: Councilmember Godfrey moved and Councilmember Fonnesbeck seconded to suspend the rules and on first reading approve the appointment of Grant Mabey, which motion carried, all members voted aye.
Councilmember Godfrey moved and Councilmember Fonnesbeck seconded to suspend the rules and on first reading approve the appointment of Marcia Poulsen Price, which motion carried, all members voted aye.
Councilmember Godfrey moved and Councilmember Fonnesbeck seconded to suspend the rules and on first reading approve the appointment of Anthony Rampton, which motion carried, all members voted aye.
(I 88-18)
PUBLIC WORKS
#1. RE: An interlocal cooperation agreement between Salt Lake City Corporation and the Utah Department of Transportation to construct and maintain on Redwood Road, curb, gutter, and sidewalk on the west side from 1000 North to 1300 North, with UDOT paying $10,500 and the city $3,500 for the improvements.
ACTION: Councilmember Fonnesbeck moved and Councilmember Godfrey seconded to adopt Resolution 127 of 1988 authorizing the execution of the agreement, which motion carried, all members voted aye except Councilmember Horrocks who was absent for the vote.
(C 88-592)
PUBLIC HEARING
Downtown Master Plan.
RE: A public hearing at 6:20 p.m. with the Salt Lake City Planning and Zoning Commission to obtain comments about the proposed Downtown Master Plan.
ACTION: Councilmember Bittner moved and Councilmember Godfrey seconded to close the public hearing, which motion carried, all members voted aye.
DISCUSSION: The following members of the Planning and Zoning Commission were present at the hearing: Ralph Neilson, John Schuman, Cindy Cromer, George Nickolatus, LaVonne Liddle-Gamonal, Tom Ellison, Ralph Becker. Allen Johnson, planning director, said the proposed master plan was the first phase and was in draft form specifically for the purpose of soliciting public comment, which was the sole purpose of this hearing. He said this draft was the first stage in an incremental consensus-building process and said that in order to move into the specific strategy- formulating phases it was important for everyone to have a feeling for the general desires of downtown. He said the plan contained a process statement which articulated that this was the first phase, in a continuous planning process, leading to implementation strategies and subsequent phases. He said the policy statement articulated basically that this was a vision and an attempt to set public policy for downtown.
He said the downtown vision was a 25-year statement about Salt Lake City and said the goals and objectives served as springboards for the development of implementation strategies and options that would be in the subsequent phases. He outlined the boundaries included as the downtown area: Lower Avenues and Capitol Hill on the north to 600 South and from I-15 on the west to 700 East; basically the greater Central Business District. He said they had made copies of the draft available to various members of the community, they had mailed copies to property owners in the downtown area, and they had made several presentations to various groups. He said this was a continuous planning process and public comment was essential throughout the entire process.
The following people spoke: Gary Hansen, Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, urged the Council to consider economic factors and realize that revenues could be enhanced with mixed residential and commercial uses in some areas. He mentioned that developers wanted to build in the area west of 700 East and east of 200 East. He said Block 57 and the south end of downtown needed to be addressed specifically and hoped this plan would be flexible. He mentioned that the Chamber of Commerce was working on an Olympic bid and he said the city needed to keep options open. He also said many other conventions came to Salt Lake City.
Kent Winterholler, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce local government committee, said his committee had not yet taken a position on this plan but they were considering the plan and he expected that at some point they would take a position. He specifically said he was not sure he agreed with the definition of “downtown” since it was a broad area that included a wide variety of land uses and he wasn’t sure the entire area should be included, especially in light of the goals enunciated later in the plan for the downtown area.
He also referred to the discussion of public investment infrastructure and said he lauded the goals which were stated. He said he believed one of the primary purposes of public infrastructure was to facilitate and assist private development in its investment. Hermoine Jex, 272 Wall, recommended that the east boundary, 700 East, be changed to 300 East since a 700 East boundary seemed to be in direct opposition to what R/UDAT recommended. She said downtown needed city dwellers in close proximity and business interests couldn’t be allowed to continue to expand eastward if the city wanted a strong northwest quadrant to develop. She said the City Council voted to acquire the 5th East apartments for housing and she thought it would be sensible to have this block and the one north rezoned to residential. She thought it would be prudent to re-plan to the south and said the empty commercial buildings could host new and improved development.
She recommended that in the section titled Downtown Vision, a statement be included that Salt Lake City was also the world headquarters for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and had been since the founding of the city in 1847. In reference to goals and objectives, she hoped there was a basic moral objective that the community as a whole would have priority over political interests.
In reference to accessibility she expressed concern that improved accessibility not have negative impacts on existing neighborhoods and Temple Square and that it accommodate circulation and pedestrian movement without gridlock; also that the accessibility plan would develop parking management strategies avoiding huge parking terraces in close proximity and require plans for access to-be-in place-prior to a--new development. She said she had been a part of two of these types of processes in the past and was concerned that parts of those plans crucial to the residents had not been implemented. She asked that the open-space ordinance not be put at the bottom of the list.
Rand Moorhead, 1024 South 9th East, urged the Council to look beyond American cities as models for development and look to Europe and Asia. He encouraged the aspect of street life and vendors in order to make the downtown area inviting. He urged the city to save historic structures such as the Centre Theatre and said that artists needed support. He suggested that instead of building another arena by the Salt Palace, the city use the area as a plaza for art and ethnic festivals and he said the areas around stadiums were usually inhospitable.
Stephen Goldsmith, Urban Design Coalition, Project 2000 and Artspace, supported the document and briefly listed the ideas that he thought were progressive, such as having a 24-hour downtown population, addressing the human scale, having downtown housing, and preserving and reusing existing buildings. He referred to the design and review process with community involvement and said the groups he worked with were happy to have a chance for continued input.
Paul Young, Young Electric Sign Co., complimented the Council and Planning Commission on the overall objectives of the plan and urged them to make downtown Salt Lake a place where people wanted to be, especially in the evening hours. He said people wanted convenience, such as parking and knowing where the retail businesses were located. He mentioned that many businesses were struggling because they couldn’t be seen by vehicular or pedestrian traffic. He also said people liked light at night and downtown needed to be well lit. He said the problem with intoxicated and abusive people on the streets needed to be addressed. Elizabeth Vincent, Salt Lake R/UDAT Subcommittee on Transportation, said she felt the intent and direction of the document were essentially well presented but vague in some instances, such as the statement made about parking under the title Built Environment/Development. She suggested that the positive should be accentuated in the vision statement.
She said the committee felt that the principal goals of a downtown transportation system should be implicitly stated in the document as a contextual, supporting ingredient for the principal vision of the downtown. She said the goals included accessibility from external locations, development of circulation routes for all transportation modes within the downtown, and coordination of transportation systems and amenities within the downtown. She said transportation served to move people and the committee requested the opportunity to work further with the Planning Commission and planning staff to incorporate these goals into the existing text of the downtown vision statement.
Charles Lloyd, president of the Board of Trustees of American Towers, referred to the section entitled People/24 Hours and said the residents were accosted by transients to the extent that it was hard to go outside of the Towers, especially after hours. He suggested that the shelters for the transient people should not be centered in this area and said they would appreciate the Council giving consideration to that idea. He referred to the section about preserving existing housing and suggested that safety and other considerations needed to be looked at when preserving old structures.
He said he thought they should add the word “appropriate”, “viable” or “safe” when referring to saving existing structures. He commended the Council for this step and for trying to place buildings in the dead area west of State Street on 300 and 400 South. Scott Larson, 758 Sixth East, said the Central City Neighborhood Council was working on a project to designate 600 East as a historic district from South Temple to 900 South. He asked that the Council consider their plan in the proposed Downtown Master Plan.
He said 600 East was anchored by the Governor’s Mansion on the north end and Liberty Park on the south end and they wanted to preserve this area. He also suggested that 700 East not be designated the east boundary of the downtown area and agreed with the idea of keeping the east boundary of downtown in the 300 East area.
(T 88-26)
The meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m.