An aerial view shows the Delta Center, right, and Salt Palace Convention Center, left, on 300 West between South Temple and 100 South in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 29, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
As it readies to host a new NHL team, downtown Salt Lake City is poised to reach record heights with a new zone drafted specifically for the so-called Revitalization Zone, the area that’s set to house a renovated Delta Center and a sports and entertainment district.
The Salt Lake City Council hasn’t made a decision yet, but most council members voted unanimously in an unofficial poll in favor of a proposal drafted by city planners and the Smith Entertainment Group to increase the maximum building heights in parts of the district from 125 feet to 600 feet.
That’s more than the 450 feet of the state’s newest tallest building, the Astra Tower . Though initially the council was considering a design review requirement for buildings taller than 75 feet in the district, Smith Entertainment Group requested that the design review kick in at 250 feet and above.
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However, the city is considering requiring the reviews at 200 feet, a standard consistent with the current downtown zoning code, declining a tighter restriction for the district — in the name of efficiency.
“I’m worried that this overwhelms the Planning Commission, because it will require quick attention,” Council Chair Victoria Petro said during a work meeting on Tuesday. “And we have an entire city to build and pay attention to, not just one district.”
However, Petro added, she believes towers that are set to be “taller than anything we have” should have the public’s input, while others could be studied in bundles.
The council has until Aug. 27 to adopt the zoning ordinance, a deadline set by SB272 , the bill that established a path to fund the Revitalization Zone and the Delta Center remodel by increasing Salt Lake City’s sales taxes by 0.5% to raise $900 million. The deadline to adopt the tax hike is Dec. 31.
That plan was unanimously rejected by the Salt Lake City Planning Commission in June, with commissioner Bree Scheer calling it “not equitable. Not culturally sensitive. Not sustainable. Not for everyone,” and some of her peers describing the process as too rushed and “bad planning.”
SLC Planning Commission unanimously rejects downtown revitalization plan
However, the City Council can disregard the commission’s recommendation and still approve the zoning ordinance.
Scheer also attended the Tuesday public hearing on the zoning change before the council. The reason why the commission turned down the proposal, Scheer said, was because members believe the public deserves to see a concrete plan for the $900 million the tax is set to fund. She also expressed concern about how the zoning change could take “the whole process out of the public sphere.”
“No development agreement ever goes to the Planning Commission as long as it follows current zoning, which, thanks to this amendment, it will,” Scheer said on Tuesday night. “Tonight may be the public’s last chance to review or comment, except at the ballot box.”
Other unique setbacks and height requirements for buildings adjacent to Japantown — a stretch on 100 South in between 200 West and 300 West, the remaining piece of what was once a large community of Japanese Americans — would be addressed through the development agreement.
Additionally, the zoning proposal includes modifying setback requirements to facilitate plazas and other similar spaces. It would also allow stadiums and commercial parking, though a prohibition on demolishing a building to build a parking lot would remain in place.
The new zone would also expand the signage permitted in the Delta Center block to the Salt Palace Convention Center area, allowing an increased variety of signs and billboards to be displayed in the district, including freestanding electronic signs with changeable messages, window signs and special events signs.
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The potential of a jumbotron in the district has raised concerns among residents and council members. So, the council added restrictions on the brightness and the amount of time a message can be displayed before it changes for signs that face public streets.
Signs would only advertise events or activities at the district, including those in the Salt Palace Convention Center and Abravanel Hall.
Many criticized the potential zoning change during the Tuesday public hearing, with residents such as Scott Johnson asking why couldn’t the council pump the brakes and honor the Planning Commission’s recommendations.
“Developers are eager to invest. Council members, this tax increase smacks of being an act of desperation,” Johnson said. “Let’s focus on real solutions. Let’s do this in a competitive way that gets the best deal for the city without increasing taxes.”
However, a few showed excitement about the potential to build up, arguing it would improve housing affordability in the city.
Zoning restrictions exacerbate the housing shortage, resident James Longstaff said, even if units are luxury residences, because it would flood the market.
“This plot of land is perfect for not only an entertainment district, but a dense neighborhood that’s connected to the rest of the valley in the state,” Longstaff said, mentioning the site’s proximity to transit.
There are still details to finalize and some council members, including Darin Mano, are watching a list of non-negotiables, including efforts to regulate heights in buildings surrounding Japantown. However, Mano said he’s excited about the plans’ prospects.
“This is one more step in this process that feels super accelerated, and I think for all parties involved may be very stressful at times,” Mano said. “But I’m really excited for, hopefully, what this means for downtown.”
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