Salt Lake City Council approves property tax increase, hears comment on downtown sports district zoning. 

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The Salt Lake City Council heard public opinion on several weighty issues during their meeting on Tuesday night, including proposed changes to west downtown zoning in the area of a proposed sports and entertainment district. The Council also held a truth in taxation hearing related to changes to the property tax rate and discussed projects recommended for Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funding.

Sports District Zoning
Several commenters spoke on proposed zoning changes that would facilitate the development of a Sports, Entertainment, Cultural and Convention district between the Delta Center and Salt Palace Convention Center.

The proposed changes would modify regulations for D4 zones in several ways. The maximum building height would be changed from 375 feet to 600 feet, pending a design review by the Council. The proposal also includes the creation of a sign overlay that would grant more flexibility for signage and advertisements related to the venues within the district.

“This amendment freely allows every use that SEG may ever want to propose,” Bree Scheer, a member of the Salt Lake City Planning Commission, commented. “It allows almost any height, low or high, to be built. It allows any setback. It allows multi-story parking garages everywhere. It allows a tasteless sign extravaganza that clearly, no one understands.”

In June, the Planning Commission unanimously voted to send the Council a negative recommendation for the zone changes. However, the Council can still move forward with the zone changes even with a negative recommendation.

“I know there are naysayers and detractors, but they don't seem to be able to realize what downtown Salt Lake City would look like without a basketball team or a hockey team or the Delta Center,” said Jeff Carleton. “That gaping hole would set our city back by decades. I'm here to support the zoning amendment to increase the building height in the entertainment district. Salt Lake City’s core shouldn't have these arbitrary height restrictions.”

Several commenters expressed concern that the proposed zone modifications and development agreement with Smith Entertainment Group exclude public opinion from the planning process.

“I wonder, how often do we allow an entity to side-step this critical process, much less an entertainment group with little history in real estate development?” Merecedes Smith, principal flutist of the Utah Symphony, said. “The Planning Commission is just one example of the checks and balances that our nation was built upon. Eroding these safeguards opens the door to unchecked power.”

After the hearing closed, Councilmember Sarah Young took a moment to clarify that the Council expects public input to be a continuous part of this process.

“When we were discussing this particular proposal and some of the feedback related to a development agreement, my takeaway was that it was very agreed upon across the Council that we're looking to make sure that the public has input throughout the process of the development agreement,” Young said. “If that was not clearly stated, I just want to clarify that that is our expectation.”

The Council has until the end of the year to adopt zoning changes for this Revitalization Zone. However, they are tentatively scheduled to take action on the proposal during their meeting on Aug. 27.

CIP Projects
The Council held its second public hearing for the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) program. The first public hearing for this program was held on July 9.

CIP projects can be submitted for consideration by city residents and by city departments. Projects generally require a minimum cost of $50,000 and must have a useful lifespan of at least five years.

The Mayor and a citizen advisory board have already given recommended funding for CIP projects as part of the FY2025 budget process. The Council will have the final say in choosing projects for funding. They are scheduled to vote on how to allocate CIP funds during their meeting on Aug. 27.

Since the last public hearing on this item, $2 million in additional funding for CIP projects has been generated. Of this amount, $1.8 million was recaptured from projects that were completed under budget and the cancellation of the Sorenson Center’s Connecting Corridor project. The other $250k was allocated to CIP projects from the general fund by the Council in the FY2025 budget.

Several commentators advocated for a proposed project to improve Fayette Avenue between Washington Street and 200 West. This project is estimated to cost $560,000 and was not recommended for funding by the Mayor or by the CIP citizen advisory board.

“I just want to say thank you guys for finding more money for CIP and listening to the community and our needs,” Doug Flagler, a member of the Central Ninth Community Council, said. “This project hopes to enhance an area of Central Ninth that is rapidly changing.”

Flagler described hopes to add sidewalks, paved street shoulders and streetlights to Fayette Avenue, should the project be given funding.

“There's no lighting, and so it makes it really unsafe, especially for all the people that recently moved into all these really nice buildings on Washington Street and Jefferson Street,” Joseph Leyva, another Central Ninth Community Council Member, said.

Other speakers advocated for projects improving the Jordan River Trail, restoring monuments in Memory Grove Park, adding a mid-block crosswalk to 500 East connecting Smith’s Marketplace to the First Step House and funding the Green Loop linear park project.

According to a staff report on this item, some Council members have considered revisiting a project to install a basketball court in Fairmont Park with the additional funding. They are also considering using the funds from the canceled Sorenson Center project to fund pedestrian improvements on California Avenue, which would benefit the same community—Glendale—where the Sorenson Center is located.

Property Tax Increase
Per state law, the Council also held a Truth in Taxation hearing during Tuesday’s meeting. Truth in Taxation hearings must be held whenever a city raises property taxes to receive more property tax revenue than was earned the previous year.

In the FY2025 budget, the Council approved a request from the library, which earns 95% of its revenue from property taxes, to issue a property tax increase worth $5.3 million. The increase is anticipated to cost an average Salt Lake resident an additional $39 in property taxes each year.

The budget also included the adoption of a judgment levy for the city. Judgment levies allow the city to recoup property tax revenue that was not earned by the city in the previous fiscal year. A property tax stabilization fee was also included in the budget.

In all, the FY2025 property tax rate will be 0.003401 on each dollar of the taxable value of a property. The Council voted to adopt this rate at the end of the hearing.