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11/19/2002 - Minutes (2) PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2002 The City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah, met in a Work Session on Tuesday, November 19, 2002, at 5:30 p.m. in Room 326, City Council Office, City County Building, 451 South State Street. In Attendance: Council Members Carlton Christensen, Van Turner, Eric Jergensen, Nancy Saxton, Jill Remington Love, Dave Buhler and Dale Lambert. Also in Attendance: Cindy Gust-Jenson, Executive Council Director; Mayor Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson; Diana Karrenberg, Community Affairs Manager; Dan Mule' , City Treasurer; Lehua Weaver, Council Staff Assistant; Edwin Rutan, City Attorney; DJ Baxter, Mayor's Senior Advisor; Steven Allred, Deputy City Attorney; Rick Graham, Public Services Director; Gary Mumford, Council Deputy Director/Senior Legislative Auditor; Russell Weeks, Council Policy Analyst; Michael Sears, Council Policy and Budget Analyst; Janice Jardine, Council Planning and Policy Analyst; Rocky Fluhart, Chief Administrative Officer; Jan Aramaki, Council Constituent Liaison/Research & Policy Analyst; Alison Weyher, Community and Economic Development Director; and Beverly Jones, Deputy City Recorder. Councilmember Buhler presided at and conducted the meeting. The meeting was called to order at 5:34 p.m. AGENDA ITEMS #1. REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INCLUDING REVIEW OF COUNCIL INFORMATION ITEMS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. View Attachment Cindy Gust-Jenson said there was no report. See File M 02-5 for announcements. #2. INTERVIEW PEDRO GOMEZ PRIOR TO CONSIDERATION OF HIS APPOINTMENT TO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM BOARD. Mr. Gomez said he was from Peru and had lived in Salt Lake City approximately 10 years. He said he had studied Political Science at Brigham Young University. He said he currently attended classes at the University of Utah. He said he wanted to serve and be a benefit to the community. #3. INTERVIEW EDWIN RUTAN PRIOR TO ADVICE AND CONSENT OF HIS APPOINTMENT AS SALT LAKE CITY ATTORNEY. Councilmember Turner said he looked forward to working with Mr. Rutan. Councilmember Christensen said Council Members had received clarification of the role of the City Attorney in representing the City. Mr. Rutan said in his mind it was clear that as the City Attorney, his client was the City of Salt Lake. He said there would be differences of opinion at times. #4. RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING THE LANDFILL BUDGET FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2003. This item was moved to Thursday, November 21, 2002 work session. #5. HOLD A DISCUSSION REGARDING HEARING DATES AND OR OTHER OPTIONS RELATING TO THE MAIN STREET PLAZA ISSUE. Councilmember Buhler said Council Members were looking forward to the Mayor's proposal 02 - 1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2002 on time, place and manner restrictions for the plaza. He proposed that on Tuesday, December 10, 2002 the Council hold a fact-finding hearing. He said he wanted to be briefed publicly on what the exact intentions and understandings were. He said former Mayor Deedee Corradini, Council Members, Planning Commission members and staff could be invited. He said people who filed suit against the City could also be invited. Councilmember Buhler proposed that on December 17, 2002 a public hearing be held. He said action would depend on receiving the Mayor' s proposal. Councilmember Saxton said she wanted to wait until December 3rd, 2002 to set the hearing date to see if the Council had received the time, place and manner proposal. She said she was in favor of the fact-finding meeting. Councilmember Jergensen said he concurred with Councilmember Buhler. He asked if there would be time for public input on December 10th. He said he had received comments from people who wanted as much public input as possible. Councilmember Saxton said she felt public hearings should be held on two nights. She said she hoped the public would attend the fact-finding meeting. Councilmember Jergensen said the Council needed a way for the public to participate in the discussion. Councilmember Lambert said he did not want to turn the fact-finding meeting into a debate. He said he supported the meeting but wanted to tentatively set the public hearing for December 17th. Councilmember Christensen said he agreed with Councilmember Lambert. He said he wanted everyone to have an opportunity to ask questions. Councilmember Turner said he also agreed. He said he wanted as much public input as possible. Councilmember Buhler asked that the Council hold December 17th and December 19th open for public hearings. #6. RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING BUDGET AMENDMENT NO. 11. View Attachment This item was moved to the Thursday, November 21, 2002 work session. #7. RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT BLOCK GRANT. View Attachment This item was moved to the Thursday, November 21, 2002 work session. #8. RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING AIRPORT EXPANSION PLANS. This item was moved to the Thursday, November 21, 2002 work session. #9. RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING PROSECUTION OF STATE INFRACTIONS AND MISDEMEANOR CASES. This item was moved to the Thursday, November 21, 2002 work session. #10. HOLD A DISCUSSION ON A LEGISLATIVE ACTION ITEM REQUESTED BY COUNCILMEMBER NANCY SAXTON REGARDING STREET STAMPING. View Attachment Jan Aramaki and Rick Graham briefed the Council from the attached handout. Councilmember Saxton said previously there was an understanding when sidewalks were replaced in historical areas the historical stamping needed to be replaced. She proposed a legislative action that in the future when sidewalk replacement was performed, historical stamps needed to be copied and put back in place. She said she wanted to replace stamping which had been lost. Ms. Aramaki said Engineering had said stamping would cost approximately $20 per location 02 - 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2002 at the time the work was being performed. She said it would cost the City approximately $200 to go back and replace lost stamping. Councilmember Saxton asked if it was the City's policy to put the stamps back in place. Ms. Gust-Jenson said it was a written City policy that street stamping be performed. Mr. Graham said his department did not research historical records to determine if a previous stamp existed. Councilmember Buhler asked if the City owned stamps for all streets. Mr. Graham said the City did own some stamps because of a sidewalk replacement program. He said the proposal would require contractors who did the majority of the work to acquire stamps or find access to them. He said as they moved through the process, a standard stamp would be developed. Councilmember Jergensen asked if the intent was to go back and duplicate stamps that were done with the original sidewalk. Councilmember Saxton said many historical stamps had been removed and the City would not be able to replicate them. She said some stamps in the recent past had been removed. Councilmember Saxton said she was not advocating stamping every corner with a street name. She said this was for historical information. She said she wanted the policy followed. She said where historical information had been removed, the City should go back and redo it. Councilmember Buhler said he supported the legislative action but did not support stamping the contractor' s name. He said he did not want to go back and redo sidewalks which had not been stamped unless the neighborhood paid the cost. Council Members Lambert, Love, Jergensen, and Christensen were not in favor of the legislative action. Council Members Turner, Buhler and Saxton supported the action. Councilmember Buhler said the Council should follow-up on current policy and see how it was implemented. #11. HOLD A DISCUSSION ON THE MAIN STREET POLICY STATEMENT. View Attachment Russ Weeks briefed the Council from the attached handout. Councilmember Buhler said this related to Main Street south of South Temple. He said meetings had been held throughout the year. He said he wanted to forward the discussion draft to the Administration. He said they could make the draft public this evening and put it on the Council agenda on December 3, 2002 for formal adoption. #12. HOLD A DISCUSSION ON A LEGISLATIVE ACTION ITEM REQUESTED BY COUNCILMEMBER CARLTON CHRISTENSEN REGARDING ELECTRONIC MEETINGS. View Attachment Councilmember Christensen said every board including the Council should use the same format. He said a simple majority of the quorum should be present in the room during a meeting. He said there was question about the policy. He suggested the Council keep the same standard with the understanding that unless an emergency occurred and a vote was needed, the Council should have a quorum in the room. All Council Members were in favor of advancing this issue. The meeting adjourned at 6:46 p.m. bj 02 - 3 Memorandum Date: October 17, 2002 To: Council Members CC: Cindy Gust-Jenson, Michael Sears From: Council Member Nancy Saxton RE: Legislative Action to Request an Ordinance Standardizing Street Name Stamping As the Council Member for District Four, I am requesting the Council's support for a Legislative Action item addressing the issue of street name stamping. Street name stamping offers historical and aesthetic beauty that many residents cherish and wish to preserve within their neighborhood. Recently, a resident contacted me who expressed concern about a project where new ADA ramps were being installed. It was brought to my attention that when new concrete was poured as part of the project, the street names were not being re-stamped into street corners where stamping previously existed. City Engineering Division's policy currently states: "It is the policy of engineering to stamp the street names in the new ADA ramps where stamped street names exist in the neighborhood and in historic areas. All City contracts that will construct ADA ramps in the above areas as well as City concrete crews and City public way permitted work is required to comply with this policy." However, I learned that the City does not have any records showing which street corners currently have or had an original street name stamp. As a result, there are many street corners being overlooked by the City. Therefore, I would like to request that the Administration draft an ordinance requiring that all future City contracts to construct ADA ramps, as well as City concrete crews and City public way permitted work, include provisions for stamping street names. In keeping with the current Administration's policy regarding historic areas, the draft ordinance should also include language stating that historical street name stamps will be preserved, replaced or replicated to preserve the character feature brought about by the historical stamp. Lastly, as part of this legislative action, I would like to request an opinion from the City Attorney's Office addressing how to replace street name stamping on the street corners that have not been re-stamped within the last five years. There are some long-time community members who have the knowledge and pictures of street corners with street name stamps that were not re-stamped at the time new ADA ramps were installed. I would appreciate the support of the City Council in asking the Administration to draft an ordinance to restore and preserve street name stamping as a historical feature of our City. . y��, ' i bT X f. 1 j ' E{ 3 t ?.? Lv-,. Sd Y my; C,"$n h L/ b', . T.h i 4 Y ` 1 74 s E�: 'y?'� LEGISLATIVE ACTION ITEM DATE: November 8,2002 TO: City Council Members FROM: Gary Mumford RE: Legislative Action Item: Majority of a quorum of City boards commissions or committees to be physically present when conducting electronic meetings CC: Rocky Fluhart,Steven Allred,David Nimkin,DJ Baxter At the request of Council Member Christensen,the City Attorney's Office has drafted the attached ordinance amendment to require a majority of a quorum of City boards,commissions, or committees be physically present when conducting electronic meetings. (Proposed changes are on page two of the proposed amendment.) As drafted,the ordinance would also be applicable to City Council meetings. The Council's current policy(see attached)provides that a full quorum(4 members)be physically present before connecting other Council Members to the meeting via speaker phone rather than a majority of a quorum(3 members). Options The Council may wish to consider at least two options relating to the proposed ordinance: 1. Forward the ordinance to a future Council Meeting for consideration. The Council may also wish to reconsider the Council's policy regarding electronic Council meetings. 2. Change the portion of the draft ordinance dealing with City Council meetings,to require that a full quorum be physically present. Background The 1997 legislative session authorized public bodies to hold meetings electronically. In order to hold such meetings,members of the public body must have"the ability to communicate with all of the members of a public body,either verbally or electronically so that each member of the public body can hear or see the communication." As with any public meeting, electronic meetings must be properly noticed in compliance with the Open Meetings Act. State code (52-4-7.8)provides that interested persons can attend and monitor an electronic meeting at a location in the building where the public body would normally meet if it were not holding an electronic meeting. Originally, a proposed ordinance amendment to allow for the canceling of Airport board meetings also provided for electronic meetings. Before the Council adopted this amendment, the Administration removed the electronic-meeting portion of the proposed ordinance on the basis that State code would apply if electronic meetings were held. Council Member Christensen suggested that the Council may wish to pursue consideration of an ordinance requiring that at least a majority of a quorum be physically present in order for City boards or commissions to hold electronic meetings. On October 8, 2002 the Council asked the Administration to draft an ordinance requiring that a majority of a quorum of City boards, commissions or committees to be physically present when conducting electronic meetings. SALT LAKE CITY ORDINANCE No. of 2002 (Regulating the Holding of Electronic Meetings by the City Council and City Boards, Commissions, and Committees) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 2.06.030 AND ENACTING CHAPTER 2.84 OF THE SALT LAKE CITY CODE, RELATING TO ELECTRONIC MEETINGS HELD BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND CITY BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES. Be it ordained by the City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah: SECTION 1. That Section 2.06.030 of the SALT LAKE CITY CODE shall be, and the same hereby is, amended to read as follows: 2.06.030 Meetings Of Council: A. Regular Meetings: The Council is a part-time legislative body, but shall meet not less than twice monthly. B. Special Meetings: Special meetings may be called by order of the Chairperson of the Council, by a majority of the Council members or by the Mayor. The order signed by the party calling the meeting shall be filed with the City Recorder and entered in the minutes of the Council. Notice of such special meeting shall be given to the Mayor and all Council members who have not joined in the order, not less than forty eight (48) hours before the special meeting. The notice shall be served personally or a copy thereof left at the Council member's or Mayor's place of abode, either by leaving it with a person of suitable age and discretion or taping a copy thereof to the front door by the City Recorder or his/her designee. 1 For purposes of the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act, a board, commission, or committee of the city may hold an electronic meeting only if a majority of a quorum of the board, commission, or committee is physically present at the physical location from which the electronic meeting originates or from which the members of the board, commission, or committee are connected to the electronic meeting. SECTION 3.EFFECTIVE DATE. That this ordinance shall take effect on the date of its first publication. Passed by the City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah, this day of , 2002. CHAIRPERSON ATTEST: CHIEF DEPUTY CITY RECORDER Transmitted to the Mayor on Mayor's Action: DApproved ❑Vetoed MAYOR ATTEST: CHIEF DEPUTY CITY RECORDER (SEAL) Bill No. of 2002 Published: 3 Current City Council Policy C13. ELECTRONIC COUNCIL MEETINGS (9/98) a. House Bill 162 adopted during the 1997 legislative session authorizes public bodies to hold meetings electronically. The bill defines an electronic meeting as "a public meeting convened or conducted by means of a telephonic, telecommunications or computer conference." The bill states that in order to participate, members of the public body must have "the ability to communicate with all of the members of a public body, either verbally or electronically, so that each member of the public body can hear or see the communication." Under H.B. 162, public hearings are allowed as part of the electronic meeting. As with any public meeting, electronic meetings must be properly noticed in compliance with the Open Meetings Act. For those instances when the Council elects to hold an electronic meeting: 1. the meeting will be held with a quorum(4 members)physically present; 2. the meeting will be called only for a declared City emergency or to accommodate Council Members who are traveling outside the City on official City business; 3. the meeting will be held within Salt Lake City limits at a facility that allows the public to attend,monitor and participate in open portions of the meeting; 4. comments of Council Members participating electronically will be audible to the public; 5. maximum effort shall be made to notify and accommodate Council Members who are traveling outside the City on official City business. 1 1 DISCUSSION DRAFT DISCUSSION DRAFT November 19, 2002 Salt Lake City Council Policy Statement on Main Street and Downtown November 2002 INTRODUCTION By most objective measures, downtown Salt Lake City is healthy and doing well. Yet, even in though there is much "good news" about downtown, City leaders and residents share a concern about its future. In January the City Council named the future of downtown, and in particular, Main Street, as its top policy priority for the year. While downtown is much more than Main Street, Main Street is at the center—it is the heart— of downtown. The challenge facing Salt Lake City policymakers as we move forward after hosting the Olympics and into the 21st Century is how to build upon downtown's many strengths, and further enhance the vibrancy and vitality of the downtown. The City Council's role is to provide policy direction and to ensure that its efforts support the City's policy goals. The Council's tools are its authority to allocate city resources, including those of the Redevelopment Agency; to make zoning decisions; and to adopt ordinances. To help focus on how the Council could best fulfill its responsibilities, it held hearings in March and April. Over a hundred citizens including representatives from various interest groups, provided comments and suggestions. Council members have also, individually and in small groups, had many meetings with downtown stakeholders and citizens to deepen their understanding of the issues and forces shaping downtown. As a result, the City Council's overarching policy regarding downtown is this: 2 The City Council recognizes that Main Street is the core of our downtown commercial, tourist, and convention activity. To encourage the relocation of retail or other commercial businesses or other key "anchors" away from Main Street will undermine these activities to the long-term detriment of downtown, including the Gateway and other developments. The continued vitality of Main Street is essential to the economic and cultural health of our great city. Downtown, defined generally as the area from Temple Square on the north, to The Gateway on the West, to Trolley Square on the east, to the hotel district along the 600 South Street entrance to the city from Interstate 15, is important to Salt Lake City residents for a variety of reasons. Historically it has been the business, financial, retail, and government center of the City, County, region, state, and in many ways the entire Intermountain West. The health and vitality of Salt Lake City's downtown is important to city residents and people throughout the region. Business and commerce; institutional uses; local government and related public facilities; arts, culture and entertainment; tourism, and housing are all vital to the health of Salt Lake City's downtown. A brief listing of the downtown's strengths shows what downtown Salt Lake City means to Utah: Business, and Commerce Salt Lake City is Utah's commercial and financial center. • The Central Business District within the downtown contains 28.8 percent of the total square footage of office space in Salt Lake County. When office space on the CBD's periphery is included the figure rises to 42.8 percent. • Downtown Salt Lake City contains the corporate offices of the two largest banks in Utah, and 10 commercial banks operate in the Central Business District. 3 Retail Services Although it contains 10 to 15 percent of the total space leased for retail in Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City's downtown is perhaps the only downtown in the nation to have four destination malls within its borders: The Gateway, the Crossroads Plaza, the ZCMI Center and Trolley Square. • Salt Lake City's downtown workforce grew by nearly 25 percent to 61,000 people between 1990 and 2001, leaving a significant daytime population to support retail services. • According to a May 2002 survey conducted by the Downtown Alliance, 32 percent of Salt Lake County's population said they had visited the downtown "within the past week" to dine, shop, or seek entertainment. Institutional: As Utah's capital, Salt Lake City is the seat of state government including state and local courts, and the local presence of the Federal Government. • Near downtown are the State Capitol and the University of Utah, providing further opportunities to attract people to the core of the city. • As the World Headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City's downtown is a magnet to members of that faith worldwide, as well as a draw to tourists from throughout the world. Temple Square and other LDS sites downtown including the world-renowned Family History Center draw more than five million visitors per year. • Downtown is also home to several religious communities including the Roman Catholic and Episcopal dioceses, a number of historic churches — the Cathedral of The Madeleine, the Cathedral Church of St. Mark, the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, the historic First Presbyterian and 4 First United Methodist churches, and the Buddhist Temple, each of which attracts people to the downtown area. Local Government and Related Public Facilities: Maintaining Salt Lake City's downtown has been a major concern of city government for decades. • Since 1975 the City's Redevelopment Agency has allocated a substantial amount for downtown public improvements, land purchases and sales, and loans to businesses to renovate buildings. • Salt Lake City voters approved bond issues of$30 million and up to $84 million respectively to renovate the City & County Building and build a new main library and public plaza. • Salt Lake City elected officials also have been instrumental in encouraging the construction of the state's only operating light rail lines, and the location of the State Courts Complex in the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse. Arts / Culture / Entertainment: Downtown remains the focal point of arts, culture and entertainment in Utah. • It is the home of Utah's premier performing arts organizations and Utah's only major league sports franchise. • The Capitol Theater, Abravenel Hall, and the Delta Center serve as venues for a wide variety of special events. The Days of '47 parade, the Utah Arts Festival and the New Year's Eve First Night celebration identify Salt Lake City as a core activity center for the region. Tourism: Downtown is the focal point of Utah's convention business. 5 • It is home to the Salt Palace Convention Center and more than 5,000 hotel rooms. • In terms of square footage, downtown contains 67 percent of the top meeting space in Utah. It contains the two top facilities for meeting space, three of the state's top five facilities for meeting space, and five of the state's top ten facilities for meeting space. • Salt Lake City also attracts ski visitors from out of state to stay in downtown hotels while enjoying several world-class resorts within a one-hour drive of downtown. Housing: Downtown living is on the rise in Salt Lake City, and housing is an increasingly important component of downtown. • Partly due to the concerted efforts of the City Redevelopment Agency, housing stock in downtown has increased substantially during the past decade, to where it is now estimated that 4,500 residents live downtown. • Downtown is bordered on the east by a neighborhood that has the highest density of any neighborhood in the state and one the west by a neighborhood that is projected to ultimately be the home of 13,000 residents. Downtown is not in decline. According to a recent economic study conducted by the University of Utah's Bureau of Business and Economic Research for the Downtown Alliance, in the 1990's every major economic indicator for downtown has been positive, including: • 24% increase — 12,000 more employees —working in the CBD • 69% increase in housing units • 30% increase in office square footage, with the lowest vacancy rates in a decade. • 45% increase in retail square footage 6 • 54% increase in wages 35% increase in commercial bank deposits • 25 new restaurants and 15 new private clubs • 6% increase in retail sales The only major indicator that has been a disappointment, however, is one that is among the most visible — retail sales. While retail sales increased a slight 6% from 1990 to 2001, sales peaked in 1996, and then declined by 21%. The loss of retail business from downtown to the suburbs and other retail outlets such as the Internet, coupled with the empty storefronts of South Main Street have led policymakers, the news media, and citizens to be concerned about the viability and vibrancy of Main Street. To further focus and shape City policies to enhance the success of downtown and Main Street, the City Council adopts these statements of principle: 1. City's Leadership Role The City can and should be the number one advocate of downtown, encouraging business investment, working to retain as well as attract businesses to downtown, and making it easy to do business in the City. The City's advocacy should include being proactive to make businesses feel welcome in and a part of Salt Lake City. The City Council recognizes that many decisions affecting the fate of downtown properly must be made by the private sector. There is much City government can and should do to encourage a healthy downtown. And yet it must be remembered that the City, through the tools available to it, is a catalyst and coordinator, not a wealth-creator in and of itself. City government should provide focus and leadership to encourage and support private efforts leading to downtown investment. It should make sure that its roles — including but not limited to infrastructure, business licensing, regulation, zoning and code enforcement and public safety — are done efficiently, effectively, and in a way that encourages rather than discourages private investment. 7 The City should encourage and facilitate communication and cooperation among the various private and public interests who have a stake in downtown, such as the Downtown Alliance, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, the Downtown Retail Merchants Association, the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, and County, State and Federal governments. 2. Build Upon Downtown's Strengths and Uniqueness. People will come downtown when it provides an experience or opportunity they can't find in their own neighborhoods. Salt Lake City must distinguish itself from the suburbs by building upon what is unique to downtown— things that cannot be experienced anywhere else. The City Council supports a greater emphasis on leveraging historic preservation as an economic development tool by working more closely with the Utah Heritage Foundation to find opportunities to use Salt Lake City's historic buildings in new and exciting ways, for office, cultural, retail, and institutional uses. Despite numerous efforts to promote downtown, for too long Salt Lake City too often has assumed that downtown will attract people just because it exists. The time is long past when people will come to downtown because it is the only place to shop, eat at a restaurant, or see a movie. The City Council encourages greater efforts to market downtown to people where downtown is geographically the closest retail shopping area. Marketing campaigns should target Salt Lake City residents, the daytime population, particularly office workers, University of Utah employees and students, visitors, and the suburban population, particularly residents of South Davis County. o The City Council supports encouraging the Downtown Alliance and Retail Merchants associations to promote joint marketing opportunities, such as seeing the Utah Symphony and enjoying a dinner or staying the night in downtown hotels. The Council supports marketing campaigns targeting University of Utah employees and students to come downtown for restaurants, entertainment and shopping and to our own residents who shop in suburbs rather than coming downtown. 8 o The City Council supports the development of other anchors to Main Street, in addition to retail, that will attract people to the City's core. Anchors could include museums, a Broadway- style theater, Olympic legacy or other similar attractions that would provide unique "draws" to downtown. 3. Take the long view rather than focusing on quick fixes. While there are some immediate steps that should be taken during the next one to three years, City policy-makers must resist the temptation to think short-term and instead take a long-range view of how decisions now will impact the City five, ten, even twenty years into the future. The City Council believes that the elements of sound development and marketing strategies for the downtown already exist in available plans and studies. The Council believes that the time for additional plans and studies have past, and the time for implementing a coherent, rational, and achievable program is now. The City Council urges the Mayor and his administration to fashion an implementation program based on existing plans and strategies and carry out the implementation. To keep the City Council and general public involved and informed of specific program steps taken and tied to long-term priorities with measurable benchmarks, the City Council supports having the Administration provide updates to the Council and the public on the program's implementation. Regularly the Administration should share, on a confidential basis as needed, its efforts with a subcommittee of the Council that will include representatives of Council and Redevelopment Agency leadership. 4. Support All facets of Downtown Development: Too often the focus on downtown is on just one aspect of downtown — such as nightlife or retail —while failing to recognize that a successful downtown is made of several important elements. 9 Each element is important in its own right, but, like an ecosystem, the success of each is intertwined and interdependent. These elements can be summarized as follows and measured by the criteria listed under each section: • Business center, providing the premier location for a variety of businesses, in particular, local, regional, and where possible national headquarters. o Indicators of success include: 1. Square footage and type of office space in the downtown inventory 2. The vacancy rate 3. The number and size of"headquarters" located in the downtown. • Retail, supporting the retail needs of daytime population and drawing people to the downtown. o Indicators of success include: 1. Number of jobs generated 2. Square footage of retail 3. Total retail sales. • Institutional Center o Indicators of success include: 1. Increased presence of county, state and federal offices 2. Presence of educational facilities available to the public • Local government and related public facilities o Indicators of success include: 1. Well-maintained public infrastructure 2. Continued development of efficient public transportation systems with easy access to homes and businesses and connected to a wider area 10 Arts, culture, entertainment and nightlife, providing unique entertainment and cultural opportunities for residents throughout the region and visitors. o Indicators of success include: 1. Sales generated 2. Number of nights of entertainment offerings 3. Location of new entertainment and cultural facilities including theater for Broadway productions and museums • Tourism including convention visitors o Indicators of success include: 1. Convention bookings 2. Hotel occupancy rate • Housing— available at all ranges of income levels —will further enhance the livability and vibrancy of downtown. o Indicators of success include: 1. The number of housing units 2. Vacancy rates 3. Population 4. The mix of market rate, middle income, affordable and low income housing units FIRST STEPS Based on the quantity and quality of public input the City Council has received resulting from its focus on Main Street and Downtown, the Council suggests the following areas be considered immediately relating to the five elements of a successful downtown: o Business Center o Administration should identify major corporate presences in downtown, ascertain their satisfaction, and make appropriate efforts to ensure that they will remain downtown and not relocate to the suburbs. 11 o Administration, in cooperation with EDCU, should target businesses to locate corporate or regional headquarters downtown. o The City should encourage greater cooperation between the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Alliance, and EDCU. o The Administration should meet with major landowners of property fronting Main Street between 600 South and South Temple, to ascertain plans for development and to encourage appropriate development as supported by market conditions. o The City should endorse legislation to be presented in the 2003 Session of the Utah Legislature extending historic preservation tax credits —that currently exist only for residential properties —to commercial properties. o The City should strongly consider encouraging legislation in the 2003 Session of the Utah Legislature to extend the expiration date of the Central Business Redevelopment District to enable the City to continue to use RDA tools in the future to bolster the center of downtown. o Retail o The City should continue to support retail on Main Street, with complimentary retail at The Gateway, Trolley Square, and in East Downtown. This includes but is not limited to keeping current Gateway zoning and redevelopment agreements while working proactively with major retailers, Nordstrom and others, to locate on Main Street. o Perceived parking problems continue to be a major obstacle to retail activity downtown. The City should continue to support the Parking Token initiative of the Downtown Alliance, but also look at more aggressive marketing of existing downtown parking to Salt Lake residents. Such marketing efforts could include advertising the availability of parking but also the advantages of covered parking at a mall versus parking in a flat parking lot in the elements of sun and snow. 12 Marketing efforts also should dispel misperceptions that no parking is available downtown. o The City should also consider additional free parking downtown, such as that provided on a pilot basis on 300 South. The cost-benefit of parking meters should be studied. o The UTA Free Fare zone should be advertised by the City and downtown merchants, and ways to link The Gateway with Main Street and even Trolley Square (although Trolley is not in the Free Fare Zone) should be found. o The City should encourage and support the owners of the ZCMI Center and Crossroads Plaza in undertaking significant renovations and upgrading of both mall properties including making the retail spaces more accessible to the streets. o No RDA dollars should go toward supporting any additional retail or other uses in the CBD that are not on Main Street, until vacant Main Street locations are filled. o The Downtown Alliance and Retail Merchants Association should be encouraged to develop more joint marketing opportunities with conventions being hosted in downtown to attract more tourists to stores and restaurants. o Given the proximity to downtown of communities in South Davis County, those communities should be targeted in a special marketing campaign. Emphasis should be on helping Davis County residents feel welcomed to and appreciated by Salt Lake City. o Efforts to make Main Street more pedestrian friendly should continue by creating elements that generate interest along the length of Main Street. Elements could include public art, window decorations and benches where people can relax. o Institutional Center o The City should meet with the State Building Board and/or its executive director to find opportunities to work 13 together to enhance state offices or locating state cultural _ centers downtown. o The City should meet with officials of the University of Utah to find areas where the City and University can work together to locate functions that attract people and activities downtown, including classrooms, museums and galleries. o The City should meet with officials of Salt Lake Community College to ascertain the success of their downtown classroom building and to see if there is anything the City can do to aid its success. o The City should meet with officials of the LDS Church to ascertain any plans for expansion of office space, use of properties (such as State Street and First South) in the downtown area. o Local tovernment and related public facilities o The City Council will continue to support making downtown more friendly to pedestrians, the disabled, and bicyclists. o The City should pursue ways to move the future construction of a light-rail connection to Salt Lake City International Airport— including completion of the downtown light-rail loop — further up the list of projects on the Wasatch Front Regional Council's long-range transportation plan. o The City Council will continue to support the installation of Olympic legacy memorabilia on Gallivan Center. o Arts, Culture, entertainment, and nightlife o In partnership with Salt Lake County —the owner of downtown arts facilities — consider the feasibility and advisability of constructing a Broadway-style theater on or near Main Street, capable of presenting full-scale productions. o The Administration and RDA should prepare plans for programming the expanded amphitheater at Gallivan Center, projected to be open the fall of 2003. Plans for 14 programming should be presented to the Council or RDA Board no later than March 2003. o The City should focus on offering several successful events, such as "First Night,"rather than putting efforts into weekly activities that are less likely to be successful. o The City should consider current alcohol policies and monitor any changes in state laws that may be proposed in 2003. o The City Council will support marketing efforts to dispel misperceptions that "there's nothing to do" downtown. o Tourism o The City should support a feasibility study regarding further expansion of the Salt Palace to keep Salt Lake City competitive in attracting conventions. o The City should continue to support the National League of Cities conference in December to ensure that opportunities are maximized for a successful convention and to assist local businesses in attracting business from convention-goers. o Housing o The City should continue to encourage downtown housing for a full spectrum of income levels throughout the downtown area. o The City should conduct an inventory of land within two blocks of the new main library that could be used for housing sites and study the feasibility of purchasing the sites for housing uses. o The City should explore ways to protect further multifamily housing units on 300 East Street between South Temple and 400 South streets and encourage in-fill development of multifamily housing along 300 East Street. o The City should encourage retail services necessary to support an increased residential population as well as services that cater to downtown workers. 1 Salt Lake City Council Policy Statement on Main Street and Downtown November 2002 INTRODUCTION By most objective measures, downtown Salt Lake City is healthy and doing well. Yet, even in though there is much "good news" about downtown, City leaders and residents share a concern about its future. In January the City Council named the future of downtown, and in particular, Main Street, as its top policy priority for the year. While downtown is much more than Main Street, Main Street is at the center— it is the heart — of downtown. The challenge facing Salt Lake City policymakers as we move forward after hosting the Olympics and into the 21st Century is how to build upon downtown's many strengths, and further enhance the vibrancy and vitality of the downtown. The City Council's role is to provide policy direction and to ensure that its efforts support the City's policy goals. The Council's tools are its authority to allocate city resources, including those of the Redevelopment Agency; to make zoning decisions; and to adopt ordinances. To help focus on how the Council could best fulfill its responsibilities, it held hearings in March and April. Over a hundred citizens including representatives from various interest groups, provided comments and suggestions. Council members have also, individually and in small groups, had many meetings with downtown stakeholders and citizens to deepen their understanding of the issues and forces shaping downtown. As a result, the City Council's overarching policy regarding downtown is this: The City Council recognizes that Main Street is the core of our downtown commercial, tourist, and convention activity. To encourage the relocation of retail or other commercial businesses or other key "anchors" 1 away from Main Street will undermine these activities to the long-term 2 detriment of downtown, including the Gateway and other developments. The continued vitality of Main Street is essential to the economic and cultural health of our great city. Downtown, defined generally as the area from Temple Square on the north, to The Gateway on the West, to Trolley Square on the east, to the hotel district along the 600 South Street entrance to the city from Interstate 15, is important to Salt Lake City residents for a variety of reasons. Historically it has been the business, financial, retail, and government center of the City, County, region, state, and in many ways the entire Intermountain West. The health and vitality of Salt Lake City's downtown is important to city residents and people throughout the region. Business and commerce; institutional uses; local government and related public facilities; arts, culture and entertainment; tourism, and housing are all vital to the health of Salt Lake City's downtown. A brief listing of the downtown's strengths shows what downtown Salt Lake City means to Utah: Business, and Commerce Salt Lake City is Utah's commercial and financial center. • The Central Business District within the downtown contains 28.8 percent of the total square footage of office space in Salt Lake County. When office space on the CBD's periphery is included the figure rises to 42.8 percent. • Downtown Salt Lake City contains the corporate offices of the two largest banks in Utah, and 10 commercial banks operate in the Central Business District. Retail Services Although it contains 10 to 15 percent of the total space leased for retail in Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City's downtown is perhaps the only downtown in the nation to have four destination malls within its borders: The Gateway, the Crossroads Plaza, the ZCMI Center and Trolley Square. 3 • Salt Lake City's downtown workforce grew by nearly 25 percent to 61,000 people between 1990 and 2001, leaving a significant daytime population to support retail services. • According to a May 2002 survey conducted by the Downtown Alliance, 32 percent of Salt Lake County's population said they had visited the downtown "within the past week" to dine, shop, or seek entertainment. Institutional: As Utah's capital, Salt Lake City is the seat of state government including state and local courts, and the local presence of the Federal Government. • Near downtown are the State Capitol and the University of Utah, providing further opportunities to attract people to the core of the city. • As the World Headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Salt Lake City's downtown is a magnet to members of that faith worldwide, as well as a draw to tourists from throughout the world. Temple Square and other LDS sites downtown including the world-renowned Family History Center draw more than five million visitors per year. • Downtown is also home to several religious communities including the Roman Catholic and Episcopal dioceses a number of historic churches — the Cathedral of The Madeleine, the Cathedral Church of St. Mark, the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, the historic Episcopal; First Presbyterian and , Greek-Or-thedax--and First United Methodist churches, and the Buddhist Temple, each of which attracts people to the downtown area. 4 Local Government and Related Public Facilities: Maintaining Salt Lake City's downtown has been a major concern of city government for decades. • Since 1975 the City's Redevelopment Agency has allocated a substantial amount WS—million for downtown public improvements, land purchases and sales, and loans to businesses to renovate buildings. • Salt Lake City voters approved bond issues of $30 million and up to $84 million respectively to renovate the City & County Building and build a new main library and public plaza. • Salt Lake City elected officials also have been instrumental in encouraging the construction of the state's only operating light rail lines:, and the location of the State Courts Complex in the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse. Arts / Culture / Entertainment: Downtown remains the focal point of arts, culture and entertainment in Utah. • It is the home of Utah's premier performing arts organizations and Utah's only major league sports franchise. • The Capitol Theater Abravenel Hall,. and the Delta Center serve as venues for a wide variety of special events. The Days of '47 parade, the Utah Arts Festival and the New Year's Eve First Night celebration identify Salt Lake City as a core activity center for the region. Tourism: Downtown is the focal point of Utah's convention business. • It is home to the Salt Palace Convention Center and more than 5,000 hotel rooms. 5 • In terms of square footage, downtown contains 67 percent of the top meeting space in Utah. It contains the two top facilities for meeting space, three of the state's top five facilities for meeting space, and five of the state's top ten facilities for meeting space. • Salt Lake City also attracts ski visitors from out of state to stay in downtown hotels while enjoying several world-class resorts within a one-hour drive of downtown. Housing: Downtown living is on the rise in Salt Lake City, and housing is an increasingly important component of downtown. • Partly due to the concerted efforts of the City Redevelopment Agency, housing stock in downtown has increased substantially during the past decade, to where it is now estimated that 4,500 residents live downtown. • Downtown is bordered on the east by a neighborhood that has the highest density of any neighborhood in the state and one the west by a neighborhood that is projected ultimately to ultimately be the home of 13,000 residents. Downtown is not in decline. According to a recent economic study conducted by the University of Utah's Bureau of Business and Economic Research for the Downtown Alliance, in the 1990's every major economic indicator for downtown has been positive, including: • 24% increase — 12,000 more employees — working in the CBD • 69% increase in housing units • 30% increase in office square footage, with the lowest vacancy rates in a decade. • 45% increase in retail square footage • 54% increase in wages • 35% increase in commercial bank deposits • 25 new restaurants and 15 new private clubs 6 • 6% increase in retail sales The only major indicator that has been a disappointment, however, is one that is among the most visible — retail sales. While retail sales increased a slight 6% from 1990 to 2001, sales peaked in 1996, and then declined by 21%. The loss of retail business from downtown to the suburbs and other retail outlets such as the Internet, coupled with the empty storefronts of South Main Street have led policymakers, the news media, and citizens to be concerned about the viability and vibrancy of Main Street. To further focus and shape City policies to enhance the success of downtown and Main Street, the City Council adopts these statements of principle: 1. City's Leadership Role The City can and should be the number one advocate of downtown, encouraging business investment, working to retain as well as attract businesses to downtown, and making it easy to do business in the City. The City's advocacy should include being proactive to make businesses feel welcome in and a part of Salt Lake City. The City Council recognizes that many decisions affecting the fate of downtown properly must be made by the private sector. There is much City government can and should do to encourage a healthy downtown. And yet it must be remembered that the City, through the tools available to it, is a catalyst and coordinator, not a wealth-creator in and of itself City government should provide focus and leadership to encourage and support private efforts leading to downtown investment. It should make sure that its roles — including but not limited to infrastructure, business licensing, regulation, zoning and code enforcement and public safety — are done efficiently, effectively, and in a way that encourages rather than discourages private investment. The City should encourage and facilitate communication and cooperation among the various private and public interests who have a 7 stake in downtown, such as the Downtown Alliance, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, the Downtown Retail Merchants Association, the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, and County, State and Federal governments. 2. Build Upon Downtown's Strengths and Uniqueness. People will come downtown when it provides an experience or opportunity they can't find in their own neighborhoods, whether SandySandy-or-Sugafheuse, Salt Lake City must distinguish itself from the suburbs by building upon what is unique to downtown—things that cannot be experienced anywhere else. The City Council supports a greater emphasis on leveraging historic preservation as an economic development tool by working more closely with the Utah Heritage Foundation to find opportunities to use Salt Lake City's historic buildings in new and exciting ways, for office, cultural, retail, and institutional uses. Despite numerous efforts to promote downtown, for too long Salt Lake City too often has assumed that downtown will attract people just because it exists. The time is long past when people will come to downtown because it is the only place to shop, eat at a restaurant, or see a movie. The City Council encourages greater efforts to market downtown to people where downtown is geographically the closest retail shopping area. Marketing campaigns should target Salt Lake City te-residents, the daytime population, particularly office workers., University of Utah employees and students, visitors, and the suburban population, particularly residents of South Davis County. o The City Council supports encouraging the Downtown Alliance and Retail Merchants associations to promote joint marketing opportunities, such as seeing the Utah Symphony and enjoying a dinner or staying the night in downtown hotels. The Council supports marketing campaigns targeting University of Utah students-and-employees and students to come downtown for restaurants, entertainment and shopping and to our own residents who shop in suburbs rather than coming downtown. 8 o The City Council supports the development of other anchors to Main Street, in addition to retail, that will attract people to the City's core. Anchors could include museums, a Broadway- style theater, Olympic legacy or other similar attractions that would provide unique "draws" to downtown. 3. Take the long view rather than focusing on quick fixes. While there are some immediate steps that should be taken during the next one to three years, City policy-makers must resist the temptation to think short-term and instead take a long-range view of how decisions now will impact the City five, ten, even twenty years into the future. The City Council believes that the elements of sound development and marketing strategies for the downtown already exist in available plans and studies. The Council believes that the time for additional plans and studies have past, and the time for implementing a coherent, rational, and achievable program is now. The City Council urges the Mayor and his administration to fashion an implementation program based on existing plans and strategies and carry out the implementation. To keep the City Council and general public involved and informed of specific program steps taken and tied to long-term priorities with measurable benchmarks, the City Council supports having the Administration provide quacter4y-updates to the Council and the public on the program's implementation. Regularly the Administration should share, on a confidential basis as needed, its efforts with a subcommittee of the Council that will include representatives of Council and Redevelopment Agency leadership. 4. Support All facets of Downtown Development: Too often the focus on downtown is on just one aspect of downtown— such as nightlife or retail — while failing to recognize that a successful downtown is made of several important elements. 9 Each element is important in its own right, but, like an ecosystem, the success of each is intertwined and interdependent. These elements can be summarized as follows and measured by the criteria listed under each section: • Business center, providing the premier location for a variety of businesses, in particular, local, regional, and where possible national headquarters. o Indicators of success include: I 1. Square footage and type of office space in the downtown inventory 2. The vacancy rate 3. The number and size of"headquarters" located in the downtown. • Retail, supporting the retail needs of daytime population and drawing people to the downtown. o Indicators of success include: 1. Number of jobs generated 2. Square footage of retail 3. Total retail sales. • Institutional Center o Indicators of success include: I 1. Increased presence of county, state and federal offices 2. Presence of educational facilities available to the public • Local government and related public facilities o Indicators of success include: I 1. Well-maintained public infrastructure 2. Continued development of efficient public transportation systems with easy access to homes and businesses and connected to a wider area 10 Arts, culture, entertainment and nightlife, providing unique entertainment and cultural opportunities for residents throughout the region and visitors. o Indicators of success include: 1. Sales generated; 2. Number of nights of entertainment offerings 3. Location of new entertainment and cultural facilities including theater for Broadway productions and museums • Tourism including convention visitors o Indicators of success include: 1. Convention bookings 2. Hotel occupancy rate • Housing— available at all ranges of income levels —will further enhance the livability and vibrancy of downtown. o Indicators of success include: 1. The number of housing units 2. Vacancy rates 3. Population 4. The mix of market rate, middle income, affordable and low income housing units FIRST STEPS Based on the quantity and quality of public input the City Council has received resulting from its focus on Main Street and Downtown, the Council suggests the following areas be considered immediately relating to the five elements of a successful downtown: o Business Center o Administration should identify major corporate presences in downtown, ascertain their satisfaction, and make 11 appropriate efforts to ensure that they will remain downtown and not relocate to the suburbs. o Administration, in cooperation with EDCU, should target businesses to locate corporate or regional headquarters downtown. o The City should encourage greater cooperation between the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Alliance, and EDCU. o The Administration should meet with major landowners of property fronting Main Street between 600 South and South Temple, to ascertain plans for development and to encourage appropriate development as supported by market conditions. o The City should endorse legislation to be presented in the 2003 Session of the Utah Legislature extending historic preservation tax credits —that currently exist only for residential properties —to commercial properties. o The City should strongly consider encouraging legislation in the 2003 Session of the Utah Legislature to extend the expiration date of the Central Business Redevelopment District to enable the City to continue to use RDA tools in the future to bolster the center of downtown. o Retail o The City should continue to support retail on Main Street, with complimentary retail at The Gateway, Trolley Square, and in East Downtown. This includes but is not limited to keeping current Gateway zoning and redevelopment agreements while working proactively with major retailers, Nordstrom and others, to locate on Main Street. o Perceived parking problems continues to be a major obstacle to retail activity downtown. The City should continue to support the Parking Token initiative of the Downtown Alliance, but also look at more aggressive marketing of existing downtown parking to Salt Lake residents. Such marketing efforts could include advertising the availability of parking but also the 12 advantages of covered parking at a mall versus parking in a flat parking lot in the elements of sun and snow. Marketing efforts also should dispel misperceptions that no parking is available downtown. o The City should also consider additional free parking downtown, such as that provided on a pilot basis on 300 South. The cost-benefit of parking meters should be studied. o The UTA Free Fare zone should be advertised by the City and downtown merchants, and ways to link The Gateway with Main Street and even Trolley Square (although Trolley is not in the Free Fare Zone) should be found. o The City should encourage and support the owners of the ZCMI Center and Crossroads Plaza in undertaking significant renovations and upgrading of both mall properties including making the retail spaces more accessible to the streets. o No RDA dollars should go toward supporting any additional retail or other uses in the CBD that areis not on Main Street, until vacant Main Street retail locations are filled. o The Downtown Alliance and Retail Merchants Association should be encouraged to develop more joint marketing opportunities with conventions being hosted in downtown to attract more tourists to stores and restaurants. o Given the proximity to downtown of communities in South Davis County, those communities should be targeted in a special marketing campaign. Emphasis should be on helping Davis County residents feel welcomed to and appreciated by Salt Lake City. o Efforts to make Main Street more pedestrian friendly should continue by creating elements that generate interest along the length of Main Street. Elements could include public art, window decorations and benches where people can relax. 13 o Institutional Center o The City should meet with the State Building Board and/or its executive director to find opportunities to work together to enhance state offices or locating state cultural centers downtown. o The City should meet with officials of the University of Utah to find areas where the City and University can work together to locate functions that attract people and activities downtown, including classrooms, museums and galleries. o The City should meet with officials of Salt Lake Community College to ascertain the success of their downtown classroom building and to see if there is anything the City can do to aid its success. o The City should meet with officials of the LDS Church to ascertain any plans for expansion of office space, use of properties (such as State Street and First South) in the downtown area. o Local government and related public facilities o The City Council will continue to support making downtown more friendly to pedestrians, the disabled, and bicyclists. o The City should pursue ways to move the future construction of a light-rail connection to Salt Lake City International Airport — including completion of the downtown light-rail loop — further up the list of projects on the Wasatch Front Regional Council's long-range transportation plan. o The City Council will continue to support the installation of Olympic legacy memorabilia on Gallivan Center. 14 o Arts, Culture, entertainment, and nightlife o In partnership with Salt Lake County— the owner of downtown arts facilities — consider the feasibility and advisability of constructing a Broadway-style theater on or near Main Street, capable of presenting full-scale productions. o The Administration and RDA should prepare plans for programming the expanded amphitheater at Gallivan Center, projected to be open the fall summer of 2003. Plans for programming should be presented to the Council or RDA Board no later than March January 2003. o The City should focus on offering several successful events, such as "First Night," rather than putting efforts into weekly activities that are less likely to be successful. o The City should consider current alcohol policies and monitor any changes in state laws that may be proposed in 2003. o The City Council will support marketing efforts to dispel misperceptions that "there's nothing to do" downtown. o Tourism o The City should support a feasibility study regarding further expansion of the Salt Palace to keep Salt Lake City competitive in attracting conventions. o The City should continue to support the National League of Cities conference in December to ensure that opportunities are maximized for a successful convention and to assist local businesses in attracting business from convention-goers. o Housing o The City should continue to encourage downtown housing for a full spectrum mixture of income levels throughout the downtown area. o The City should conduct an inventory of land within two blocks of the new main library that could be used for 15 housing sites and study the feasibility of purchasing the sites for housing uses. o The City should explore ways to protect further multifamily housing units on 300 East Street between South Temple and 400 South streets and encourage in-fill development of multifamily housing along 300 East Street. o The City should encourage retail services necessary to support an increased residential population as well as services that cater to downtown workers. SALT a G' T CORM '‘)A' I: OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL November 19, 2002 Mark Smedley Chair Poplar Grove Community Council 1372 Gillespie Avenue Salt Lake City, Utah 84104 Dear Chair Smedley: Thank you for your recent letter on behalf of the Poplar Grove Community Council requesting that Salt Lake City, the Utah Transit Authority, and the Wasatch Front Regional Council prepare a new environmental assessment for the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub. Thank you also for your comments and your neighbors' comments at the November 12 City Council meeting about the continued presence of Union Pacific freight trains on the 900 South line. We realize it has been almost year since freight trains began running on the rail line. That is one reason why the City Council took Community Council's request for a new environmental assessment seriously. After receiving your letter, the Council sought a thorough review of the issues raised in the letter, including the Council's authority to initiate a new environmental assessment. As a result of the review, the Council has determined that initiating a new environmental assessment of the Intermodal Hub project is an issue that falls under the authority of the Federal Transit Administration and the Utah Transit Authority. We do not anticipate asking either the Federal Transit Administration or the Utah Transit Authority to initiate a new environmental assessment because we found that UTA re- evaluated the original environmental assessment earlier this year. The Federal Transit Administration reviewed UTA's action and again found that there were no significant impacts as a result of the project. So, apparently both agencies responsible for the project —the Transit Administration and UTA—have already considered other requests for a new environmental assessment and denied them. We have no authority to force either to do otherwise. Additionally, we hope that Mayor Anderson's continued negotiations with Union Pacific on making quiet zones on crossings along the line will be fruitful. While this is not as good a solution as an abandonment of the line by Union Pacific, it would provide some relief to residents. Although changing the use of the 900 South may not be accomplished immediately, it remains a very important community goal, and the City Council intends to keep working toward that goal. We hope to keep working with you — to achieve what we can for now and to help create something better in the future. 451 SOUTH STATE STREET, ROOM 304, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 041 1 1 TELEPHONE: 601-535-7600, FAX: 601-535-7651 ur r. .ro oor