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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Provided Information - 10/22/2025CITY COUNCIL OF SALT LAKE CITY 451 SOUTH STATE STREET, ROOM 304 P.O. BOX 145476, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84114-5476 SLCCOUNCIL.COM TEL 801-535-7600 FAX 801-535-7651 COUNCIL STAFF REPORT CITY COUNCIL of SALT LAKE CITY TO:City Council Members FROM:Brian Fullmer, Policy Analyst DATE:October 21, 2025 RE: Patriot Rail Street Vacations – Approximately 6500 West I-80 Eastbound Freeway (PLNPCM2025-00432) BRIEFING UPDATE During the October 7, 2025 briefing Council Members were generally supportive of the proposal. They discussed the desire to move the rail yard farther west. The applicant said it is their intent to move the rail yard and confirmed the subject property would be purchased at market value if the proposal is approved by the Council. The following information was provided for previous meetings. It is included again for background purposes. ISSUE AT-A-GLANCE The Council will be briefed about a proposal to vacate (or relinquish ownership of) portions of the public right-of-way crossing the applicant’s property adjacent to the south side of Interstate-80 and southwest of the International Center as shown in the image below. The subject parcels are remnants of public rights-of- way that were platted but never developed. It is the applicant’s intent to incorporate the parcels into their property. If approved by the Council, the applicant would be required to obtain an appraisal for the parcels and purchase them from the City at market value. The Planning Commission reviewed the proposal at its July 23, 2025 meeting and held a public hearing at which no one spoke. Planning staff recommended and the Commission voted 7:1 (abstention) to forward a recommendation of approval to the City Council for the requested right-of-way Item Schedule: Page | 2 vacation with the conditions listed below. The Commissioner who abstained stated they did not feel confident enough to vote either in support of or opposition to the proposal. Goal of the briefing: Review the proposed partial street closure, determine if the Council supports moving forward with the proposal. Vicinity map with the subject parcels outlined in red. Image courtesy of Salt Lake City Planning Division ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Page | 3 A. Lack of Use B. Public Safety C. Urban Design D. Community Purpose As discussed in Attachment D (pages 16-17) of the Planning Commission staff report, Planning staff found the lack of use consideration is applicable, noting that the parcels cannot be developed as they are blocked by the freeway and rail lines. KEY CONSIDERATIONS Planning staff identified four key considerations during analysis of this proposal which are found on pages 4-5 of the Planning Commission staff report and summarized below. For the complete analysis please see the staff report. Consideration 1 – How the Proposal Helps Implement City Goals & Policies Identified in Adopted Plans Planning reviewed the proposed street vacation and how it aligns with the following City plans: Northwest Quadrant Master Plan (2016) Major Street Plan (2018) Planning staff noted that the Northwest Quadrant Master Plan supports short line rail expansion through the area. They found that if the subject parcels could be used as public streets, those would conflict with rail lines already in the area. The Major Street Plan calls for the property to be used as a railroad corridor and does not include future streets to be developed there. Additionally, the Mountain View Corridor is anticipated to connect to Interstate-80 through the eastern portion of this property at some point in the future, but that section of the corridor has not been designed yet. That road will need to meet all government requirements related to railroad crossings. Consideration 2 – Utah State Code Section 10-9a-609.5 of Utah State Code grants power to cities to vacate streets upon the request of the governing body or a property owner: 10-9a-609.5. Petition to vacate a public street. (3) If a petition is submitted containing a request to vacate some or all of a public street or municipal utility easement, the legislative body shall hold a public hearing in accordance with Section 10-9a-208 and determine whether: (a) good cause exists for the vacation; and (b) the public interest or any person will be materially injured by the proposed vacation. Planning staff reviewed aerial and street-level images of the subject property and noted no streets were previously developed at the subject site. It is their opinion that the public would not be negatively impacted by vacating the street segments, and that a public benefit would be the City being paid market rate for the land. Consideration 3 – Salt Lake City Ordinance As discussed above, street vacations are processed like alley vacations following the standards found in Salt Lake City Code Chapter 14.52: Disposition of City Owned Alleys. Planning’s analysis of these standards found in Attachment D (pages 16-17 of the Planning Commission staff report) found that the lack of use consideration is applicable. Consideration 4 – Department Review Comments The City Engineering Division was not supportive of the partial street vacation as their policy is typically to Page | 4 not support vacating rights-of-way, as potential future utility access needs are unknown. Because of some confusion with the adjacent property’s address, Engineering recommended an updated address for the property if the street vacation is approved by the Council. As discussed above, Planning staff and the Planning Commission recommend that the parcels be consolidated with adjacent property owned by the applicant. The address issue could be resolved as part of that process. PROJECT CHRONOLOGY May 23, 2025 – Application for street vacation was received by Planning Division. May 29, 2025 – Petition assigned to Andy Hulka, Principal Planner. June 4, 2025 – o Notice was sent to the Poplar Grove and Jordan Meadows Community Councils informing them of the petition. The 45-day input and comment period began. o Early notification was sent to property owners within 300 feet of the applicant’s property. July 18, 2025 – The 45-day public comment period for recognized organizations ended. No comments from the community councils or public have been received by the Planning Division or City Council Office as of the date of this report. June 23, 2025 – The Planning Commission held a public hearing and made a recommendation to the City Council to approve the street vacation requests subject to the recommended conditions of approval. August 19, 2025 – Planning staff requested ordinance from the Attorney’s Office. September 8, 2025 – Ordinance received from the Attorney’s Office. September 12, 2025 – Transmitted to City Council Office. STREET CLOSURE PROCESS The street closure process is dictated by Section 10-9a-609.5 Utah State Code which is included below for reference. 10-9a-609.5. Petition to vacate a public street. Page | 5 (3)If a petition is submitted containing a request to vacate some or all of a public street or municipal utility easement, the legislative body shall hold a public hearing in accordance with Section 10-9a- 208 and determine whether: (a)good cause exists for the vacation; and (b)the public interest or any person will be materially injured by the proposed vacation. (4)The legislative body may adopt an ordinance granting a petition to vacate some or all of a public street or municipal utility easement if the legislative body finds that: (a)good cause exists for the vacation; and (b)neither the public interest nor any person will be materially injured by the vacation. (5)If the legislative body adopts an ordinance vacating some or all of a public street or municipal utility easement, the legislative body shall ensure that one or both of the following is recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the land is located: (a)a plat reflecting the vacation; or (b)(i)an ordinance described in Subsection (4); and (ii)a legal description of the public street to be vacated. (6)The action of the legislative body vacating some or all of a public street or municipal utility easement that has been dedicated to public use: (a)operates to the extent to which it is vacated, upon the effective date of the recorded plat or ordinance, as a revocation of the acceptance of and the relinquishment of the municipality's fee in the vacated public street or municipal utility easement; and (b)may not be construed to impair: (i)any right-of-way or easement of any parcel or lot owner; (ii)the rights of any public utility; or (iii)the rights of a culinary water authority or sanitary sewer authority. (7)(a)A municipality may submit a petition, in accordance with Subsection (2), and initiate and complete a process to vacate some or all of a public street. (b)If a municipality submits a petition and initiates a process under Subsection (7)(a): (i)the legislative body shall hold a public hearing; (ii)the petition and process may not apply to or affect a public utility easement, except to the extent: (A)the easement is not a protected utility easement as defined in Section 54-3-27; (B)the easement is included within the public street; and (C)the notice to vacate the public street also contains a notice to vacate the easement; and (iii)a recorded ordinance to vacate a public street has the same legal effect as vacating a public street through a recorded plat or amended plat. (8)A legislative body may not approve a petition to vacate a public street under this section unless the vacation identifies and preserves any easements owned by a culinary water authority and sanitary sewer authority for existing facilities located within the public street.