Council Provided Information - 6/6/2023COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
CITY COUNCIL of SALT LAKE CITY
TO:City Council Members
FROM: Nick Tarbet, Policy Analyst
DATE: June 6, 2023
RE: Text Amendment: Early Notification
PLNPCM2016-00300
PROJECT TIMELINE:
Briefing 1: February 4, 2020
Briefing 2: April 11, 2023
Set Date: April 18, 2023
Public Hearing 1: March 3, 2020
Public Hearing 2: May 16, 2023
Potential Action: June 6, 2023
Public Hearing Summary
No one spoke during the May 16 public hearing. The Council closed the public hearing and deferred action
to a future Council meeting.
Additionally, at the time this report was posted, no one had submitted written comment either.
Per Council direction, the following whereas clauses indicating commitment to continue to invite, facilitate
and provide funding for innovative approaches to obtaining input from all sectors of the community, with
enhanced emphasis on communities that have historically been underrepresented, have been added to the
ordinance:
WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes that access to information about one's community is a
fundamental building block for individual and community equity; and
WHEREAS, the City has made significant progress in expanding opportunities for community
participation in providing public comment on City plans, ordinances, and budgets; and
WHEREAS, the City Council remains committed to encouraging, facilitating, and funding
innovative approaches to obtain input from all sectors of the community, including an emphasis on
outreach to historically underrepresented communities; and
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WHEREAS, the adoption of this ordinance continues the practice of special noticing and
interaction opportunities for recognized community organizations, and the City Council is
committed to expanding the reach of the City's public notice to help ensure that residents, property
owners, business owners, guests, and others have an equal opportunity to participate, regardless of
their ability to attend recognized community organization meetings; and
WHEREAS, the City Council encourages the City Administration to take advantage of advances in
technology to broaden the reach of public outreach, including but not limited to continued use of
outreach events and broadcasting of Planning Commission meetings; and
WHEREAS, the City Council supports continued development of implementation strategies to
reach historically underrepresented groups in the community, such as targeted advertising,
multilingual materials, and partnerships with more community organizations; and
WHEREAS, the City Council encourages new and innovative approaches such as encouraging
applicants to film their presentations to recognized community organizations so that the video can
be made available to be viewed online by the public.
The following information was provided for the May 16 public hearing. It is provided again
for background purposes.
Work Session Briefing
During the April 11 work session briefing the council was briefed on the early notification drat ordinance
and directed staff to make the following changes:
1. These items will remain in 2.60.50:
a. City code amendments that change ordinances related to obtaining a permit or licenses
issued by the City.
b. Major changes to street capacity or travel modes, including but not limited to, changes to
the transportation master plan.
c. Major upgrades or changes to a public facility or structure’s, function, access and purpose
and amending or adopting a master plan.
d. New construction of major public facilities and structures.
2. Include this to the exemption list:
Any land use project where an existing federal or state law or regulation sets a deadline
which requires a decision or action which would place the requirements of this chapter in
direct conflict with the federal or state law..
3. Include the changes the council approved from 2020.
4. Include language to the Whereas Clauses” indicating commitment to continue to invite, facilitate
and provide funding for innovative approaches to obtaining input from all sectors of the
community, with enhanced emphasis on communities that have historically been
underrepresented. The following has been added to the ordinance:
WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes that access to information about one's community
is a fundamental building block for individual and community equity;
WHEREAS, the City has made significant progress in expanding opportunities for
community participation in providing public comment on City plans, ordinances, and
budgets;
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WHEREAS, the City Council remains committed in encouraging, facilitating, and funding
innovative approaches to obtain input from all sectors of the community, including an
emphasis on outreach to historically underrepresented communities;
WHEREAS, the adoption of this ordinance continues the practice of special noticing and
interaction opportunities for community council groups, and the City Council is committed
to expanding the reach of the City's public notice to ensure that all residents, property
owners, business owners, guests, and others have an equal opportunity to participate,
regardless of their ability to attend community council meetings;
WHEREAS, the City Council encourages the City Administration to take advantage of
advances in technology to broaden the reach of public outreach, including but not limited to
continued use of outreach events and broadcasting of Planning Commission meetings,
WHEREAS, the City Council supports continued development of implementation strategies
to reach historically underrepresented groups in the community, such as targeted
advertising, multilingual materials, and partnerships with more community organizations;
WHEREAS, the City Council encourages new and innovative approaches such as
encouraging applicants to film their presentations to community councils so that the video
can be made available to be viewed online by the public.
A public hearing has been set for May 16, 2023.
The following information was provided for the April 11 work session briefing. It is provided
again for background purposes.
ISSUE AT-A-GLANCE
The Council will be briefed about a proposal that would change various sections of the Salt Lake City Code
relating to early notification of the public and recognized community organizations for land use projects.
Title 21A (Zoning Ordinance), Title 2-Chapter 2.60 (Recognized Community Organization Ordinance)
would be amended.
This petition would move all Planning and zoning-related issues out of 2.60-Recognized Community
Organizations and put them into 21A – Zoning. There are a few outstanding questions about the items
proposed to remain in 2.60 as noted in the memo below (Potential Changes to Chapter 2.60 - Recognized
Community Organizations)
Please note it has been three years since the initial briefing for this item. It was first briefed in February
2020. Due to several circumstances, Council staff has not be able to put back on the agenda until now. Two
public hearings were held in October of 2020. The Council continued the public hearing so the public could
comment on potential new information and changes to the draft ordinance. Because of the time that has
passed the April 11, 2023 briefing will be conducted as though this is being heard for the first time.
The Council initiated this petition to clarify early notification regulations for public outreach. The proposed
changes are intended to increase awareness and participation by the public while providing a timely review
process for applicants.
The Planning Commission forwarded a positive recommendation to the Council.
Outline of Staff Report
•Outline the outstanding policy questions. - Pages 2-3
•Summary of previously requested changes 3-5
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•Outline of proposed changes - Pages 5-9 (for those not familiar with this proposal, it may be
helpful to read this section first)
Outstanding Policy Question
Current early notification requirement language requires the city to provide notification for any changes to
city code, such as budget adoption and amendments. This could create some potential unintended
processing delays for the City. Staff was asked to provide options for the council to consider that would
address this issue for certain Council actions. See the section below titled Potential Changes to Chapter
2.60 - Recognized Community Organizations, pages 4-5, for a full discussion of the issue.
o Staff prepared options for the Council to consider in order to move forward with this
zoning amendment:
1. Adopt the following list in the Chapter 2.60 and then Departments/Divisions would be
responsible to meet these conditions. (The zoning related items are proposed to be moved
to Title 21A-Zoning)
•City code amendments that change ordinances related to obtaining a permit or
licenses issued by the City.
•Major changes to street capacity or travel modes, including but not limited to,
changes to the transportation master plan.
•Major upgrades or changes to a public facility or structure’s, function, access and
purpose and amending or adopting a master plan.
•New construction of major public facilities and structures
2. Request all city departments and divisions adopt an early notification policy within one
year of adoption of this ordinance
•This may be helpful because it would allow the departments/divisions to identify
the issues they deal with that need early engagement.
•The Council could provide some general direction on what they think would need
early notification such as:
o City code amendments that change ordinances related to obtaining a permit
or licenses issued by the City.
o Major changes to street capacity or travel modes, including but not limited
to, changes to the transportation master plan.
o Major upgrades or changes to a public facility or structure’s, function,
access and purpose and amending or adopting a master plan.
o New construction of major public facilities and structures
o The proposed ordinance provides the following exemptions from the early
notification process:
a. Amendments related to recently enacted legislation if the code amendment are:
i. subject to an adoption deadline or action date set forth in the legislation;
ii. related to funding City-related projects; or
iii. Are necessary for essential City functions.
b. A temporary land use regulation meeting the requirements of Utah Code Section 10-9a-
504 or its successor.
c. City code amendments proposed to respond to a natural disaster or other emergency
potentially affecting the safety or well-being of individuals.
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d. City code amendments to mitigate the City’s exposure to liability where prompt action
is reasonably necessary.
e. The timeframe for the early notification process identified in Sections 21A.10.015.C 1
and 2 may be modified where a land use applicant requests in writing that a decision be
made as per Section 10-9a-509.5 (or its successor) of the Utah Code.
Administrative staff recommended the following exemption be added to the list:
•Any land use project where an existing federal or state law or regulation sets a
deadline timeline, or requires a decision or action which would place the
requirements of this chapter in direct conflict with the federal or state law.
Currently there are not exemptions from the notification process
•Does the Council support including these exemptions from the early
notification process?
•Does the Council support including the recommendation pertaining to
State and Federal laws and regulations?
February 4, 2020 Work Session Requested Changes
During the work session briefing, Planning staff told the Council there were a few changes that needed to
be made to the final ordinance. These were identified after the ordinance was transmitted. Council
Members were supportive of including these changes. Attached A is the updated ordinance with the
proposed changes. Those changes are identified below with the red underlined text.
1. During the briefing Council Member Johnston expressed concern that a public hearing might be
held very early in the process. Staff has suggested the following language to ensure a public hearing
would not be held any sooner than 14 days after the early notification was sent.
Page 3 - Early Notification: The city shall provide notice of a pending land use application to
the individuals stated in this section. The city shall provide at least forty-five (45) days for the
recipients of the notice to provide comment on the pending land use application before a
decision approving or denying the application is made by the applicable land use authority, or
recommendation is made if the approval authority is the city council. No public hearing shall
be held sooner than fourteen (14) days after the notice has been provided.
2. Clarify notice the City’s GIS will be used to identify the property owners and tenants who will
receive the notification
Page 3 - Property owners and tenants within three hundred feet (300') of property subject to a
pending land use application utilizing available information from Salt Lake City geographic
information system records. City-wide zoning map amendments are exempt from this
requirement.
3. Clarify that a community outreach event may be held instead of a meeting of the recognized
community organization as long as it meets the requirements listed
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Page5-6 - The city will schedule the item for an outreach event to educate, engage, and
receive input from the public. An outreach event will be held instead of the recognized
community organization meeting when:
(1) A recognized community organization does not respond within fourteen (14)
days of when the notice of pending land use application was sent as to whether it
wants to review the matter,
(2) Within fourteen (14) days of receiving the notice of pending land use
application, the recognized community organization does not schedule the item
for a recognized community organization meeting;
(3) The recognized community organization will not meet within forty-five (45)
days of receiving the notice from the city;
(4) The project is within six hundred feet (600') of the boundaries of another
recognized community organization's district;
(5) The subject property is located west of 2200 West;
(6) The project is a master plan or master plan amendment that impacts multiple
recognized organizations;
(7) The project is a text amendment to the zoning ordinance.
4. Clarify notice the City’s GIS will be used to identify the property owners and tenants who will
receive the notification for the community outreach event. The notification will include the type of
event, how to participate, and the event location.
Page 6 - The City will also notify the public, property owners and tenants within three
hundred (300') feet of subject property, and recognized community organizations who may be
affected by the project or who have specifically requested notification of the outreach event
for those situations noted in section 2a. of this subsection. Notices will be sent utilizing
available information from Salt Lake City geographic information system records. The notice
shall include information detailing the type of outreach event, how to participate, when it will
occur and the location if applicable.
5. Clarify that mailings for public hearings are for properties within 300’ of the property line and the
City GIS system will be used to identify the property owners and tenants who will receive the
notification
Page 6-7: Mailing For Public Hearing: Notice by first class mail shall be provided: a
minimum of twelve (12) calendar days in advance of the public hearing to all owners and
tenants of the land as shown on the Salt Lake City geographic information system records
within three hundred feet (300') from the property line subject to the application, inclusive of
streets and rights of way, or one thousand feet (1,000') of the property line subject to an
application for sexually-oriented business requiring conditional site plan review pursuant to
Chapter 21A.36 if this title. Mailing labels shall be generated by the city at the time of
application submittal and created using the Salt Lake City geographic information system
records unless as stated otherwise in this title. Notice by first class mail for zoning text
amendments shall only be required if a notice requesting the mailing is received by the
planning director.
6. An Outreach Event is given a more robust definition:
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Page 12: Outreach Events: Outreach events are opportunities for members of the public
to learn about and provide comments on land use applications and proposed
amendments to land use regulations. An outreach event includes but is not limited to an
open house, online forums, presentations at community events, social media posting and
dialogue, or other events determined appropriate by the planning director. These events
are used to expand involvement opportunities for community members by providing a
chance to ask questions and provide comments on an issue or have involvement in the
decision-making process.
Potential Changes to Chapter 2.60 - Recognized Community Organizations
The proposed ordinance would copy portions of Chapter 2.60 - Recognized Community Organizations,
related to public noticing and codify them in title 21A-Zoning. However, Chapter 2.60 would largely remain
in effect.
Section 2.60.50 outlines the responsibilities of the city pertaining to noticing the public on city
actions/projects. The Attorney’s Office notes current ordinance requires the city to notify the applicable
recognized community organization chair(s) for the following types of projects. Most of these are planning-
related; however, the highlighted items have a much wider impact.
•Alley vacation
•City Code amendments
•Conditional use
•Demolition of contributing principal buildings located within a local historic district or landmark
sites
•Major changes to street capacity or travel modes
•Major upgrades to public facilities and structures
•Master Plan amendment or policy amendments to be adopted by the City Council
•Master Plan or policies to be adopted by the City Council
•New construction of major public facilities and structures
•Planned development
•Zoning map amendment
The following notification requirement applies to these changes listed above:
The recognized community organization Chair(s) have forty-five (45) days to
provide comments, from the date the notice was sent. A public hearing will not be
held, nor will a final decision be made about the project within the forty-five (45)
day period. Where a project is within six hundred feet (600') of the boundaries of another
recognized community organization's district, when more than one recognized organization has
requested a presentation of the matter, when the subject property is located west of 2200 West, or
when the project is a text amendment to the City Code, the City will schedule the item for an open
house and notify the public, including those recognized community organizations who may be
affected by the project or who have specifically requested notification of the public open house.
This means, any changes to city code, such as budget adoption and amendments, must follow this early
notification requirement.
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The provision, “All City Code Amendments” and other highlighted sections are not included in the
proposed new ordinance for 21A. Planning staff has proposed only including the changes related to
zoning/planning issues.
Since the petition is currently before the council, it is possible for the Council to further amend Chapter
2.60. For example, the requirement to notice “city code amendments” could be removed, amended or some
exceptions could be added. Planning staff included three exceptions to the early notification process that
will apply to land use items: Recently enacted legislation, temporary land use regulations changes due to
natural disaster or other emergency situations.
If the Council would like to discuss potential changes to this Chapter, it is possible to move forward by
adopting the ordinance as related to 21A, but keep the petition to address potential changes to Chapter
2.60 open.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
After the Planning Commission forwarded their positive recommendation, the Attorney’s Office noted a
few edits to the language needed to be made. Most are grammatical and intended to make the ordinance
more understandable.
Planning Staff will give a short summary of those changes during the work session briefing. Additionally,
Council staff will review those changes and if any items that need further review, staff will bring it to the
Council’s attention via email.
Summary of Changes
Planning Staff provided the following table which outlines the proposed changes compared to the current
ordinance.
Early Notification Text Amendment – Revision Summary
Topic Current Language Proposed Changes
Notification requirements for
land use applications
The current ordinance is vague
and is not clear on land use
notification requirements.
Create new section within the
Zoning Ordinance to address
public engagement/early
notification requirements
What Requires Early
Notification?
The following applications
currently require early
notification:
•Alley Vacations
•Changes to City
Regulations
•Conditional Uses
•Demolition of
contributing structures
in local historic districts
and Landmark Sites
•Master Plans and
Master Plan
Amendments
•Planned Developments
•Re-zonings
Proposed changes include the
existing list with the addition of
the following:
•Design Review
(depending on scope
of review)
•New Construction of
principal structures for
multi-family and non-
residential uses in local
historic districts
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Engagement Period No public hearing or decision
can be held/made within the
45-day period.
No decision could be made
within 45-day period, but a
public hearing or briefing could
be held.
Notice to stakeholders Only requires notice to
recognized community
organizations
Requires notice to:
•Applicable recognized
community
organization(s)
•Property owners within
300 feet of subject
property
•Additional stakeholders
may be noticed given
type of application and
potential impacts
Posting of property Sign posting is not required
when an application is
received.
Once a complete application is
received, City would post a
sign on the subject property
giving notice of the pending
land use application with
instructions on how to obtain
additional information
Response from recognized
organizations
Recognized organizations are
not required to notify the city
whether or not they would like
to review the project.
Recognized organizations
would be required to let the
City know within 14 days of
receiving the notice whether
they would like to review the
project.
Engagement activity
(recognized organization
meeting v. open
house/outreach event)
A recognized organization
meeting or open house would
be held for certain projects. If a
recognized organization does
not schedule the item for a
meeting, no additional
engagement activity is
required.
A recognized organization
meeting or open house would
be held for certain projects. If a
recognized organization does
not schedule the item for a
meeting within 14 days, the
item would be scheduled for a
city-sponsored outreach event.
Outreach event Current language states an
open house can be held in
certain circumstances.
Updates “open house” to
“outreach event”. New
definition created for an
“outreach event” that will allow
city staff to use best
engagement practices given
the scope of the project and
will not limit the City to only
hold “open houses”.
Open House Notices Open house notices are not
required to be sent to property
owners and tenants within 300
feet of the subject project.
Open house notices would be
sent to all property owners and
tenants within 300 feet of the
subject project.
Exceptions List of exceptions added such
as items subject to adoption
deadline, items responding to
emergency situations.
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Language clarification Minor changes to clarify
language in various chapters
in zoning code. Language
clarification and reference
changes.
Subdivision clarifications Regulations are unclear
regarding notice to recognized
organizations.
Remove the requirements for
subdivision processes.
Subdivisions under state law
are very technical in nature, if
they meet technical aspects, it
must be approved.
Street/alley closures or
vacations will still require
notice to recognized
community organizations.
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Process Flow Chart
Attachment B, of the Planning Commission staff report includes the following flow chart that outlines
the Early Notification process.
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