The City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah, met in Regular Session on Tuesday, October 7, 1997, at 6:00 p.m. in Room 315, City Council Office, City County Building, 451 South State.
The following Council Members were present:
Joanne Milner Mary Mark Deeda Seed
Tom Godfrey Bryce Jolley Keith Christensen
The following Councilmember was absent:
Lee Martinez
Mayor Deedee Corradini; Roger Cutler, City Attorney; Cindy Gust-Jenson, Executive Council Director; and Bonnie Ferrin, Deputy City Recorder were present.
Councilmember Seed presided at and Councilmember Godfrey conducted the meeting.
#1. The Council led the Pledge of Allegiance.
#2. Minutes were not approved for the meeting held September 16, 1997.
(M 97-1)
#3. Recognize a resolution given by Utah League of Cities and Towns honoring Councilmember Tom Godfrey.
Councilmember Seed read the resolution given by the Utah League of Cities and Towns honoring Councilmember Godfrey.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Hermoine Jex, no address given, gave Council Members a copy of her handout and read the document. She requested that the Council hold an immediate meeting on the crucial location of commuter rail through the Gateway, prior to the October 15, 1997 decision.
CONSENT AGENDA
ACTION: Councilmember Seed moved and Councilmember Jolley seconded to approve the Consent Agenda, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
#1. RE: Setting the date of October 21, 1997 at 6:00 p.m. to accept public comment and consider authorizing the Mayor to execute a grant agreement with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, to receive funds allocated to Salt Lake City under the 1997 Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Program.
(C 97-590)
#2. RE: Approving Resolution 53 of 1997, authorizing the execution and delivery of a Remarketing Agreement among Salt Lake City, Utah, Zions First National Bank, as trustee, IHC Health Services, Inc., First Trust of New York, N.A., as paying agent and J. P. Morgan Securities, Inc. ("Morgan"), as remarketing agent with respect to the Class B portion of the City's Flexible Rate Revenue Bonds, Series 1990 (Pooled Hospital Financing Program) (the "Class B Bonds"); consenting to the appointment of Morgan as remarketing agent with respect to Class B Bonds; repealing all ordinances, resolutions or portions thereof in conflict with the provisions of such resolution; and approving certain related matters.
(Q 97-7)
NEW BUSINESS
#1. RE: Mayor and City Council will convene as the Board of Canvassers at their regular meeting place to consider adopting a motion authorizing the City Recorder to prepare an abstract of the votes cast in the Municipal Primary Election to be held October 7, 1997 for Council Members of Districts 1, 3, 5, and 7 and recess the Board until the abstract is complete.
ACTION: Councilmember Christensen moved and Councilmember Seed seconded to recess as City Council and convene with Mayor as the Board of Canvassers, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
Councilmember Christensen moved and Councilmember Seed seconded to adopt the motion, which motion carried, Mayor Corradini and all members present voted aye.
Councilmember Christensen moved and Councilmember Seed seconded to recess as the Board of Canvassers and reconvene as the City Council, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
(U 97-23)
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
#1. RE: Adopting a resolution in support and approval of the Master Plan and Business Plan for Salt Lake City International Airport Phase One Development Program.
ACTION: Councilmember Christensen moved and Councilmember Jolley seconded to adopt Resolution 58 of 1997, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
DISCUSSION: Councilmember Christensen said this resolution was important not only to the City, but to the entire State of Utah. He said this resolution put the master plan in place for redevelopment of the International Airport.
Councilmember Seed said because of the large size of the project she felt it was incumbent upon the Council to watch the project carefully regarding the expenditure of funds.
(T 97-2)
#2. RE: Adopting an ordinance amending Salt Lake City Ordinance 36 of 1997 which approved the Compensation Plan for Executive Employees and Elected Officials of Salt Lake City. (Proposed ordinance amends the Compensation Plan to include the Director of Olympic Opportunities Planning position as part of the Executive Series, Level 6.)
ACTION: Councilmember Jolley moved and Councilmember Mark seconded to adopt Ordinance 66 of 1997, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
(O 97-11)
PUBLIC HEARINGS
#1. RE: Accept public comment and consider adopting an ordinance amending the Northwest Community Master Plan and rezoning properties located at 800 West and Grant Street between 529 North and approximately 650 North.
ACTION: Councilmember Christensen moved and Councilmember Jolley seconded to close the public hearing, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
Councilmember Christensen moved and Councilmember Jolley seconded to adopt Ordinance 67 of 1997, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
DISCUSSION: Cheri Coffey, Northwest Planner, said the proposed zoning would be consistent with the rest of the block, mostly single family, residential. She said it also took into account some of the constraints of development on the property and allowed for reasonable development of approximately three duplexes. She said the master plan called for the area to be low density, multi-family. She said this was created when the 1995 zoning rewrite went into affect.
She said the Planning Commission's first motion was to retain the "RMF-30" zoning on the southern part of the property, but that motion was denied. She said another motion was passed in favor of the staff recommendation to rezone the property to the north to "R-1 7000" and rezone the southern property to "SR-1".
Russ Jacobsen, 851 Ouray Avenue, spoke in behalf of Sarah Benson, Thomas Benson, Paul Savage, Frank Jacobsen and Yvonne Jacobsen. He said he was the former State Fair Park Community Council Chair. He said the history of this area went back to when I-15 was built in the middle of the neighborhood. He said at that time the neighborhood was predominately single family, owner-occupied housing units. He said the freeway cut out many houses and many of the properties became rental units. He said because of the saturation of rental units in the area, Jackson Elementary School received as high as an 85% annual mobility rate, which was not conducive to a good education.
He said the area struggled to get some stability back after the freeway came in. He said in the late 1970's the area was rezoned "R-2". He said prior to the zoning rewrite former Councilmember Stuart Reid was able to secure a building moratorium in the area to prevent people from building multi-family housing units prior to the zoning rewrite coming into affect.
He said the neighborhood worked with the Planning Commission and the area was still predominately single family, owner-occupied housing. He said the property was then changed to "R-1". He said there was vacant property on the corner of 600 North and 800 West, on the south side, which housed three single family owner-occupied houses. He said one of the houses was physically moved to the corner of Ouray Avenue and 800 West. He said the other two houses were demolished because of the freeway and the remaining land remained vacant. He said the property in question was, and had been, single-family owner-occupied housing.
Mr. Jacobsen said in approximately December of last year a group came before the Community Council and proposed a 10-unit apartment complex for the vacant property. He said he assumed the zoning change had been made at the time of the rewrite. He said at some point later the maps had been changed, but the downzoning was not made on that particular property. He said former Councilmember Reid made the petition to downzone the property and the Planning Department contacted the owners of the vacant land. He said a compromise was proposed to the State Fair Park Community Council. He said it was agreed to downzone the property to an "SR-1" classification, which would allow no more than three duplexes on the vacant property.
He said there was concern about putting an apartment complex close to a freeway, due to the traffic. He said the Planning Department proposed the compromise and the Community Council agreed. He said this would allow six rental units on the property instead of 10. He said the owners of the property said they bought the property with the present zoning so they could go ahead with the 10-unit apartment. He said he urged the Council, on behalf of the neighbors and Community Council, to vote for the proposal.
John Roe, 8843 South Willow Green Drive, Sandy, Utah, said he purchased two parcels of property on the subject site. He said he paid $3,500 for the alley vacation for the purpose of developing the property into an "SR-1" zone. He said initially they did not plan to put a 10-plex building on the property. He said he wanted to put two separate buildings on the site. He said the actual issue before the Council was affordable housing, or lack thereof.
He said the first half of this year saw a dramatic drop in multi-family building permits. He said First Security Bank showed that the figures had dropped 53.4% in the State of Utah. He said Salt Lake County's drop had been 81.
(P 97-32)
#2. RE: Accept public comment and consider adopting an ordinance rezoning a portion of the Highland Acres Subdivision located between 2700 South and Atkin Avenue (2830 South) and between Melbourne Avenue (1820 East) and 2000 East, from "R-1 7000" to "R-1 12000".
ACTION: Councilmember Christensen moved and Councilmember Seed seconded to close the public hearing, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
Councilmember Christensen moved and Councilmember Jolley seconded to adopt Ordinance 68 of 1997, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
DISCUSSION: Dick Hadfield, 1897 East Claybourne Avenue, said he had been a resident off and on for 59 years. He said the area had half-acre lots and was the only place in Salt Lake where there were many farms. He said he wanted to keep the neighborhood the way it was.
John Murphy, 1930 East 2700 South, said he was in favor of the rezoning. He said it was a unique neighborhood and he wanted to keep it that way.
Sarah Harris, 1908 East 2700 South, said one of the reasons she bought her property was because of the size of their lot. She said she was in favor of the rezoning.
Randy Cromar, 1835 Atkin Avenue, said he loved the neighborhood, and was in favor of the rezoning.
Taylor Robbins and Christin Robbins were in favor of the rezoning from "R1-7000" to "R1-12,000".
(P 97-33)
#3. RE: Accept public comment and consider all protests filed and hear all objections relating to the proposed Salt Lake City Special Improvement District No. 106007.
ACTION: Councilmember Seed moved and Councilmember Mark seconded to close the public hearing, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
Councilmember Seed moved and Councilmember Milner seconded to refer to the Division of Engineering for tabulation, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
DISCUSSION: Russ Sontag, 3058 South 975 East, Bountiful, Utah, said his concern was in Area 9, 200 West between 3rd and 4th South. He said he was seeking a slight variance in the cactus light project. Mr. Sontag handed Council Members a photograph of the existing landscaping along this area. He said this was the only mature curbside landscaping on the entire street. He said if cactus lighting were put along the area, the City would have to rip out the trees or severely adjust them in order for them to be effective. He said currently there was boulevard lighting in place, which lit the corner nicely. He said his business had added a 50,000 watt lighting system this year which illuminated the same area. He said this was the only green space on the block. He said he was not opposed to the entire project, but wanted the Council to consider the adjustment.
John Naser, Engineering Senior Project Manager, said he received four written protests on the improvement district. He said this gave a protest rate of just under 8%. He said staff recommendation was to proceed with the proposed lighting district. He said the City was not doing any beautification, but installing a pole foundation with lights. He said most of the conduit would be done with an underground bore and should have minimum impact on landscaping.
Councilmember Jolley asked Mr. Naser if the cactus street lighting would be placed in the middle of the trees or if the cobra lighting would be more effective.
Mr. Naser said the cactus lighting would be a lower scale light than the lights which were currently there. He said these lights would light the sidewalks a lot more than the current lighting. He said staff had the flexibility to move the lighting up or down the road.
Councilmember Mark asked what type of measures were in place to ensure that the landscape would not be ripped up.
Mr. Naser said it would be bid as a City project and the contractor would be required to put the landscaping back into the condition that it was before the installation. He said the base of the light was approximately 3-feet in diameter.
Councilmember Jolley said it looked like the light would be placed in the middle of the trees and that it would not illuminate much. Mr. Naser said the lights would not be in the middle of the tree, but would be placed 3-feet back from the curb.
Councilmember Milner asked if there was such little protest, why was there resistance to modifying the plan. Mr. Naser said the project would complete the Indian Head lights or Cactus style lights in the downtown area. He said the project finished the lights on 200 and 300 South, and 200 West, and 400 West. He said the City could look at different types of fixtures.
Cindy Gust-Jenson, Executive Council Director, said this project related to a policy decision made by the Council to have this style of lighting in the downtown area. She said on a case by case basis the City could consider an alternative light fixture.
Bill Wright, Planning Director, said the planning goal was to create a district lighting theme in the downtown. He said a few years ago there were approximately ten different styles of poles and lighting fixtures. He said the fixture was molded for the Salt Lake area. He felt it was important to continue with the policy, but if there was a specific area which needed an adjustment they could look at it. He said he would not recommend leaving the existing fixture in place.
Councilmember Christensen said he wanted the ambiance created in the downtown to be continued.
Janean Sontag, 3058 South 975 East, Bountiful, Utah, said she was co-owner of a business at 180 West 400 South. She said the location of 400 South and 200 West was not an area walked often by tourist.
(Q 97-5)
#4. RE: Accept public comment and consider adopting an ordinance closing a portion and vacating a portion of an alley located between Redondo Avenue (2050 South) and 2100 South and between 1500 and 1600 East.
ACTION: Councilmember Seed moved and Councilmember Christensen seconded to close the public hearing, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
Councilmember Christensen moved to adopt an ordinance, but the motion failed for lack of a second.
DISCUSSION: Cheri Carleson, 2163 South Wellington Street, appealed to the City Council to rethink their policy of vacating public access-ways. She said when she heard that an alley north of 2100 South was to be closed, she studied the Open Space Master Plan to see if it could fit into the bike-pedestrian routes outlined in the plan. She said she found the alley system had already been encroached upon. She said alleys, provided they were lighted and taken care of, should have the same standards as public streets. She said they could be a valuable transportation alternative for the residents of the City. She said safe bikeways could allow for independent mobility of young people. She said until young bike riders were separated from speeding cars, parents would still feel the obligation to shuttle their youngsters from one place to another by automobile.
She suggested rather than vacating public property and a potential bike path for neighbor kids, the Council should consider land-banking alleys. She suggested allowing encroachments or institute easements, but the City should reserve the right for future use of the alley property.
She said her second proposal dealt with 2100 South between 1300 East and 1700 East, south of the alley site. She said she did not understand why this section of street was five lanes wide. She said it reverted to four lanes east of 1700 East and west of 1300 East. She said there was an extra lane of asphalt for six blocks, between Highland High School and the Sugarhouse Business District. She said young people would be able to ride their bikes to Sprague Library if one of the traffic lanes were converted to pedestrian and bicycle use only. She said a landscape buffer, proper signage, and a possible grade separation would provide a safe alternative transportation route from the neighborhood to the downtown area.
Councilmember Seed said the Council needed to discuss the alley closure policy. She said Ms. Carleson had raised some good points. She said there was a potential usefulness for alleys which the City had overlooked. She said the concerns which the Council had always had was the potential for danger in alleys. She said if alleys were used as bike paths, or places for children to walk, and if more people used the alleys, they would not be so dangerous and could provide a unique thoroughfare. She said the City had large blocks and alleys could potentially serve as mid-block walkways. She said she wanted to revisit the policy.
Councilmember Christensen said he agreed that Ms. Carleson raised some good points, but felt the policy issue should be addressed separate from this ordinance.
Councilmember Milner said there had been a slight change of heart regarding alley closures due to concerns of vandalism and challenges which alleys could pose. She said even though she represented an area where people wanted them closed, she thought it was necessary to relook at the policy.
Councilmember Godfrey said part of the problem was that the parcel had already been encroached upon and it was not usable for anything. He said about the only way to get something done regarding alleys becoming useable would be for the City to pick up the cost, so the Council needed to be very careful with any policy changes.
(P 97-36)
#5. RE: Accept public comment and consider adopting an ordinance closing a portion of Richards Street located between 1300 South and Paxton Avenue; closing an alley located between 1300 South and Paxton Avenue and between Richards Street and West Temple; and vacating a portion of the Columbia Subdivision, pursuant to Petition No. 400-94-29.
ACTION: Councilmember Seed moved and Councilmember Mark seconded to close the public hearing, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.
Councilmember Seed moved and Councilmember Christensen seconded to adopt Ordinance 69 of 1997, closing a portion of Richards Street, Ordinance 70 of 1997, vacating a portion of the Columbia Subdivision, and Ordinance 71 of 1997, closing an alley located between 1300 South and Paxton Avenue and between Richard Street and West Temple, which motion carried, all members present voted aye, except for Councilmember Mark, who voted nay.
DISCUSSION: Bill Wright, Planning Director, said the proposal originated in 1994 as part of the Franklin Quest Field development. He said there had been concerns about parking. He said the City owned a piece of property north of the location. He said since 1994 the City had attempted to put a budget together to complete the development of the parking lot, including landscaping amenities and trying to maximize parking for the benefit of the neighborhood. He said the City's commitment was to attempt to provide as much off-street parking as possible so the adjoining commercial and residential neighborhoods were not overly impacted by the events at the stadium.
He said funding had been provided for parking last season. He said the Planning Commission reviewed the issue twice and in the first review the recommendation was to deny the request for the closure of Richards Street, but they did recognize the need to close the alley. He said it was brought again to the Planning Commission on August 7, 1997 with a package to address comments from property owners to the north and immediately abutting the property. He said the proposal closed Richards Street as a public street, but suggested that easements be granted back to abutting property owners.
Mr. Wright said what they attempted to do was find a solution which would beautify the parking lot, and provide as many off-street parking places as possible. He said the department attempted to solve as many issues as possible, in balancing the solution. Mr. Wright said the Planning Commission recommended that the Council proceed with the actions and close the street. He said owners of the property on the corner of 1300 South and Richards Street were concerned with being able to have large trucks turn in to their property due to the narrowness of the finished roadway. He said the Planning Commission recommended that it be widened from 28 feet of travel-way to 38 feet.
Councilmember Seed asked what happened if the Council did not adopt the ordinance.
Mr. Wright said he made it very clear from the start that as the property was being developed it was important to follow zoning regulations and requirements. He said it was calculated that with landscape amenities and set-backs, Richards Street would remain a fully public street.
Doug Wheelwright, Planning Program Supervisor of Subdivisions, said the City was trying to maximize space and provide as many internal parking spaces as possible. He said if the City were to meet the requirements which zoning placed on them, the City, they could lose up to 84 or 85 additional parking stalls. He said this would put more parking on the street and would not reach the City's projected goal of trying to maximize the property. He said by making the proposed changes it reduced the number of stalls the City currently had already.
Joseph Groberg, Idaho Falls, Idaho, said he had represented the Pratt family for many years. He said the property on 1300 South and Main Street had been in their family for three generations. He said the City's objective could be accomplished without closing the street. He said he had been told that the City would keep the street open, but technically close it. He said he was told that the City gained 15 feet of set-back requirement which existed next to a street, but would not exist if the street were closed. He said once the street was closed, it would never be reopened and these people would lose what access they had from Richards Street and 1300 South. He said he thought it could be worked out to have a beautiful parking lot, and leave in tact, the access that for generations they had all relied upon.
Sharen Wilbur, 907 East 250 South, Bountiful, Utah, said there was a discrepancy in the notice regarding the public hearing. She said the notice said that on July 17, 1997 the Planning Commission had approved the closure of Richards Street, but it was not approved until August 7, 1997. She said the Planning Commission said there was general approval for the amended site plan and she felt this information was misleading. She said she requested that the Planning Commission staff send a report to her lawyer detailing its proposal for further consideration.
Ms. Wilbur said the report of August 1, 1997 was not sent to any of the other business or property owners. She said she delivered it to them herself, 11 days ago. She said to her knowledge, not one of the business or property owners agreed to having use of an easement through the City parking lot, to access their businesses. She said before the Council was a petition signed by most of the business and property owners voicing their continued opposition to such a plan. She said the desire of the City to increase their parking revenues by expanding their property lines was understandable, but inexcusable if done at the expense of others. She said business and property owners owed their survival to the easy access. She said further development of their property might hinge on access to a public street with its parking accessibility on Richards Street. She said otherwise, the corner lot might be isolated. She said businesses north of Paxton Avenue, who depended on the straight way easy-access from 1300 South would be adversely affected.
Hyrum Coon, 1165 Richards Street, said a lake formed around the property year round. He said his tenant had constant complaints from her customers. He said he had tried to get the City interested in solving the problem. He said no one was paying attention to the needs of the tenants.
Bill Elliott, 1809 East Rio Way, said he was speaking in behalf of Europa Autoelectric. He said the access from 1300 South was extremely important. He said the access to business owners was great, but it was the clients and customers which really benefited and needed the access. He said this would isolate Richards Street between Paxton Avenue and Freemont. He said this was not in the best interest of the business people. He said these businesses supported about 50 families and he did not want to see entertainment getting in the way of business. He said construction had already had an affect on Europa Autoelectric and access. He said they questioned the loss of parking stalls and asked if they were all needed and if all the events were sold out. He said they were worried about property values and access to this area and what might happen in the future, and what the actual intent was that certain people had for this area.
Cheri Carleson, 1070 South Main, asked the Council to reconsider their policy of closing public access-ways. She said with the congestion of the I-15 closure, this was no time to close more streets. She said poor planning of Franklin Quest Field should not be mitigated by closing Richards Street.
Ms. Carleson recommended that the time-line be lengthened on the subdivision ordinance to allow Planning staff additional time to listen to public needs and concerns.
Ron Howard, 1303 Colorado Street, said he owned a business at 1155 Richards Street. He said access had never been good for the businesses on the street even under existing conditions. He said closing Richards Street would isolate them on a dead-end street. He said his walk-in business was down and he felt this would also affect property values.
Todd W. Gee, 1145 South West Temple, was in opposition to the closure of Richards Street.
Councilmember Seed said the street would be physically closed only during Buzz games and special events where attendance was in excess of 3,500. She said she had held a meeting with citizens and the parking lot, and its condition, was the number one concern. She said the other concern was parking. She said residents suffer significant hardship during special events which occur at the Franklin Quest Stadium. She said the reason why she supported this motion was because it accomplished two of the goals which were very important to the citizens she represented. She said this ordinance would landscape the parking lot and help to address parking concerns which neighbors had expressed. She said they had to put up with large numbers of vehicles parked in front of their houses during special events.
Councilmember Christensen said the City needed to be concerned when property rights were dealt with. He asked Mr. Wright if there would be an easement granted to the businesses. Mr. Wright said easements would be granted. He said the two businesses on the north and south which had access on their properties would be granted perpetual easements and would be open all the time. He said it would not be closed even during special events.
Councilmember Christensen said once an easement of that nature was granted it became a property right which the City could no longer take away from residents, so he felt comfortable that it was a fair balance which had been reached.
Councilmember Mark said this was a tradeoff of business owners rights to support their families, and the people that work for them, opposed to 50 to 80 parking places. She said she, as a small business owner, was not sure she would like the way the tradeoff was going. She said she would speak against closing Richards Street.
Councilmember Milner said most special events were held after 6:00 p.m. and primarily during the summer months.
(P 97-34)
The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.