Avenues residents criticize Rocky Mountain Power foothills project at Salt Lake City Council meeting. 

Several residents of the Upper Avenues spoke to the Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday evening about a roadway that Rocky Mountain Power allegedly constructed without notice in the Foothills last week. The Council also passed two ceremonial resolutions, one declaring November as Native American Heritage Month and the other recognizing Nov. 20 as Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Rocky Mountain Power Construction
Several residents of Edgehill Road, located in the Upper Avenues, spoke to the Council about an access road that Rocky Mountain Power recently dug into the Foothills. Residents claimed they were given no notice of Rocky Mountain Power’s project before it began.

“Road construction without notice to residents [began] last week,” David Waldman, who lives on Edgehill Road, told the Council. He said the road is as wide as 30 feet.

Residents said the construction began on Nov. 4; however, they didn’t receive any information from Rocky Mountain Power until Nov. 8 in the form of flyers stuck to front doors.

“The natural beauty of the hillside as it was prior to November 4th will not be restored,” Waldman said.

Residents also shared their concerns on how the new road will impact water runoff.

“Edgehill Road has past experience of stormwater damage. Initially, the road was designed and built with poor water control planning,” Dwight Ashdown said. “Today, no open storm water sewers exist in the road to evacuate water efficiently and safely.”

Another resident, John Harrington, also claimed the project lacked environmental, water flow and parking studies.

“This is an instance of denial of due process for the residents,” Harrington said.

Katie Romney also spoke on the narrow, sometimes dangerous conditions that already exist on Edgehill Road. She said that because the turnaround at the end of the road is poorly configured, garbage trucks and snowplows must reverse down the road to get out. If there are cars parked on both sides of the road, she said there’s not even enough room for a fire truck or ambulance to get through.

At the beginning of the month, Rocky Mountain Power began its Foothills Wildfire Mitigation Project. This project seeks to replace old wooden transmission structures with new steel structures along the Foothills. The project’s website shows a map of the project area with an access point stemming from the end of Edgehill Road.

Romney did claim that Rocky Mountain Power has said that they’ll restore the area once the project is complete. However, this has not been confirmed. After comments on the construction finished, Councilmember Chris Wharton invited residents to stay after the meeting to discuss the project.

“I did hear you, I have received your letters, and I'm just finding out some of the details of this myself, so I am going to be working on it,” Wharton said.

Ceremonial Resolutions
The Council also passed two ceremonial resolutions in conjunction with Mayor Erin Mendenhall. The first recognized November as Native American Heritage Month.

"The City remains committed to fostering meaningful dialogue, improving services and building partnerships with Native American residents, and promoting justice, equity, mutual respect and shared prosperity for all," Councilmember Sarah Young read from the resolution.

Following its adoption, Samantha Eldridge, director of the Center for Native Excellence and Tribal Engagement at the University of Utah, accepted the resolution and thanked the Council.

“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude [for] declaring November as Native American Heritage Month in Salt Lake City,” Eldridge said. “The resolution not only acknowledges the contributions of our tribal communities, but also fosters an environment of learning, understanding and building stronger connections within our diverse community.”

The second resolution recognized Nov. 20 as Transgender Day of Remembrance. It also recognized the week of Nov. 13 to Nov. 19 as Transgender Awareness Week.

"Transgender Day of Remembrance is a solemn, yet vital, occasion observed annually to memorialize and reflect upon the lives lost to acts of transphobic violence and discrimination,” Councilmember Darin Mano read from the resolution. “Salt Lake City is proud to stand against the discrimination of transgender people.”

Francisco Meza, a board member for Project Rainbow, accepted the resolution after its adoption.

“I am deeply grateful to accept the proclamation recognizing Transgender Day of Remembrance and Trans Awareness Week here in Salt Lake City,” they said. “However, proclamations and words must be met with actions. As we move forward, let us all—city officials, organizations and community members—continue to work together to create safe spaces, to educate and to advocate for policies that protect and empower our communities.”

Other Items
The Council also passed a text amendment to allow up to an additional 10 feet of building height for rooftop patios. This amendment will apply to all zones except residential zones. Shade coverage for these patios cannot exceed 60% and shade structures must be set back five feet from property lines. These requirements are made to limit the impact of patio amenities on adjacent properties and will only apply to patios built at the maximum building height.

The Council also voted to repeal and replace Title 16 of the Salt Lake City Code, pertaining to airports. The amendment will eliminate duplicated language in the code, as well as increase fines for illegal parking.

Before the Council voted on this item, they held a public hearing. Jared Esselman, a leader in general aviation, supported the amendment and urged the Council to act on it quickly. Conversations on this amendment began in the spring of 2023 and since then, Esselman said, the general aviation community has experienced setbacks while waiting for the changes to be resolved.

“We are losing hangers and we need to build new hangers, and we need to start that pretty quick. We needed to start it yesterday,” Esselman said. “So, I urge you—we've been patient. We've been very patient. Please vote on this and approve it tonight. Let's move forward.”