Proposed Ordinance - 4/11/2023SALT LAKE CITY ORDINANCE
No. ____ of 2023
(An Ordinance Extending Temporary Zoning Regulations
Authorizing Temporary Increase in Overnight Capacity at the
Youth Homeless Resource Center at 888 S 400 W)
WHEREAS, Section 10-9a-504 of the Utah Code permits a municipality, without prior
consideration and recommendation from the municipality’s planning commission, to
enact a temporary land use regulation for any part or all of a municipality if the governing body
makes a finding of compelling countervailing public interest; and
WHEREAS, on August 27, 2014, the Salt Lake City Planning Commission granted a
conditional use permit to Volunteers of America to operate a thirty bed homeless youth shelter at
888 S 400 W (the “Shelter”); and
WHEREAS, since 2014 the population of Salt Lake City has significantly increased,
without a commensurate increase in the census for shelter space for homeless youth; and
WHEREAS, despite the efforts at various levels of government, the number of youth
experiencing homelessness and the efforts to address the needs of those youth experiencing
homelessness has been compounded by the economic, humanitarian, and other various rising
social crises; and
WHEREAS, on March 24, 2022, Governor Spencer Cox signed legislation (codified at
Section 35A-16-502) recognizing the need to allow overflow of homeless shelters during targeted
overflow periods; and
WHEREAS, the City concludes that until additional homeless youth resource centers are
opened (or permanent housing is made available) there should be flexibility in temporarily
increasing the overnight capacity at the Shelter; and
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WHEREAS, the City is committed to ensuring that youth experiencing homelessness have
access to shelter during the winter months when cold temperatures are often extreme during the
night in the Salt Lake Valley; and
WHEREAS, exposure to extreme cold temperatures can cause death, and in the past has
caused deaths among unsheltered persons experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake City and other
nearby communities; and
WHEREAS, this temporary land use regulation is the necessary means to address the
critical need for sheltering youth during imminent extreme weather conditions due to the delay in
expanding the Shelter’s overnight capacity through other procedures set forth in City Code; and
WHEREAS, increasing the overnight capacity at an existing shelter, as opposed to siting
an additional shelter, imposes an lesser impact on the community as a whole; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to allow for a period not to extend past April 15,
2023, no more than twenty additional overnight sleeping accommodations for youth less than
twenty three years old at the Shelter on an emergency basis to provide shelter to youth experiencing
homelessness (a “temporary overflow homeless shelter use”), subject to the provisions herein; and
WHEREAS, the Salt Lake City Council finds that protecting lives from the potentially
deadly consequences of severe winter weather and providing housing for the City’s unsheltered
youth during the school year constitutes a compelling, countervailing public interest which justifies
a temporary land use regulation; and
WHEREAS, the Salt Lake City Council adopted Ordinance No. 76 of 2022 on November
22, 2022 increasing overnight capacity at the Shelter effective only during the 2022-2023 winter
season and only until April 15, 2023; and
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WHEREAS, the since December 2022, the State of Utah has experienced historic, record-
breaking snowfall and cold temperatures and these extreme weather conditions have extended into
April, impacting individuals experiencing homeless and straining capacity at homeless resource
centers, including the Shelter; and
WHEREAS, the Salt Lake City Council encourages the State, County, public interest
groups, other cities, and community organizations to continue to work together with the City
to proactively address the causes and effects of the myriad of social, economic, humanitarian, and
public health crises that continue to increase the number of individuals experiencing homelessness
and compound the efforts to address the needs of those experiencing homelessness; and
WHEREAS, the Salt Lake City Council encourages other cities in Utah to permit youth
shelter locations in their communities.
NOW, THEREFORE, be it ordained by the City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah:
SECTION 1. Extending Ordinance No. 76 of 2022. The temporary zoning ordinance
adopted under Section 10-9a-504 of the Utah Code shall be extended and shall remain in effect
until May 1, 2023 unless earlier amended, modified, or repealed. All other terms of Ordinance
No. 76 of 2022 shall remain in effect for the duration of the temporary zoning ordinance.
SECTION 6. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately after it has been
published in accordance with Utah Code §10-3-711 and recorded in accordance with Utah Code
§10-3-713.
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Passed by the City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah this 11 th day of April, 2023.
______________________________
Darin Mano, Council Chair
ATTEST:
______________________________
CITY RECORDER
Transmitted to Mayor on _______________________.
Mayor’s Action: _______Approved. _______Vetoed.
______________________________
MAYOR
______________________________
CITY RECORDER
(SEAL)
Bill No. ________ of 2023.
Published: ______________.
APPROVED AS TO FORM
Salt Lake City Attorney’s Office
Date: _________________________________
By: ___________________________________
Katherine Lewis, City Attorney
April 6, 2023