HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Provided Information - 6/9/2026CITY COUNCIL OF SALT LAKE CITY
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COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
CITY COUNCIL of SALT LAKE CITY
TO:City Council Members
FROM: Austin Kimmel
DATE:May 28, 2026
RE: RESOLUTION OF INTENTION TO DESIGNATE SUGAR HOUSE
SPECIAL ASSESSMENT AREA
ISSUE AT-A-GLANCE
early 2027 and is projected to raise $1,697,640
over the area’s proposed three-year period. The full tentative timeline for establishing the SAA is on pages 10
and 11 of the administrative transmittal. It is also included as a separate attachment (Attachment A) to this staff
report.
Goal of the briefing: To learn about the steps in establishing two special assessment areas (SAAs) for
economic promotion activities in the Sugar House neighborhood and for special lighting and signage on
specific properties.
Item Schedule:
nd Briefing and Council Action: October 20, 2026
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POLICY QUESTIONS
1. The Council may wish to ask how the Department of Economic Development plans to communicate with
property owners during the SAA establishment process and what ongoing reporting will keep them
informed about the services and benefits they can expect from the SHBD-27 assessment.
2. The Council may wish to ask whether the infrastructure to support year-round specialty lighting along
2100 South, 1100 East, and Highland Drive already exists or if upfront capital investment is required. If
upfront capital investment is required, the Council could ask whether those costs would be covered by
the SAA or through another avenue.
3. The Council could ask at what point into the term of the SAA property owners along streets designated
for specialty lighting can expect to see lighting and signage installed.
4. The Council may wish to ask how the entity selected to manage the SAA will be chosen and what the
competitive selection process will look like.
5. The Council could ask how disputes or complaints about the services delivered from assessed property
owners will be managed during the three-year term.
6. The Council may ask the department to elaborate on its decision not to include multifamily properties
with five or more units in the SAA.
In Fall 2021, the Sugar House Chamber & Community Alliance (SHC) officially requested the creation of an
economic promotion SAA. Following this, the City Council allocated $60,000 to cover research and feasibility
costs for the special assessment in Sugar House.
Since then, the Department of Economic Development held meetings with SHC and Zions Public Finance to
discuss the SAA creation process and potential financial scenarios for the assessment area. Those meetings
paused to allow planned road construction in Sugar House until its completion in 2025, when conversations
resumed. Economic Development and SHC have worked with property owners to gauge support, determine
desired assessment types and rates, and identify services provided under the SAA.
The following sections provide an overview of the proposed SAA boundaries and the proposed and preferred
financial scenario.
Per the Notice of Intent Resolution included in the Administrative Transmittal, the proposed boundaries of the
base Sugar House Business District SAA are:
A. Ramona Avenue from 700 East to 1200 East
B. 1200 East from Ramona Avenue to Property Line between 1963 South 1200 East and 1979 S 1200 East
C. Property Line between 1963 South 1200 East and 1979 South 1200 East from 1200 East to Alley 12884
D. Alley 12884 from Property Line between 1963 South 1200 East and 1979 South 1200 East to Douglas
Street
E. Alley 12109 from Douglas Street to Alley 13236
F. Alley 13236 from Alley 12109 to 1300 East
G. 1300 East from Alley 13236 to North right-of-way line of I-80
H. North right-of-way line of I-80 from 1300 East to 1100 East
I. 1100 East from North right-of-way line of I-80 to Sugarmont Drive
J. Sugarmont Drive from S McClelland Street to 900 East
K. 900 East from Sugarmont Drive to Simpson Avenue
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L. Simpson Avenue from 900 East to 700 East
M. 700 East from Simpson Avenue to Ramona Avenue
The Lighting/Signage Assessment would apply to the following streets:
A. On 2100 South from 900 East to 1300 East
B. On 1100 East from Ramona Avenue to 2100 South
C. On Highland Drive from 2100 South to Stringham Avenue
Proposed Sugar House SAA map
Image courtesy of Salt Lake City Department of Economic Development
ESTIMATED REVENUE & BUDGET
The Sugar House Chamber & Community Alliance reviewed the financial scenarios below and preferred Scenario
3. Scenario 3 includes a base assessment rate of 0.00249 and a final budget of $1,412,762 for the 3-year
assessment period. The preferred special lighting and signage assessment is $13 per linear foot of frontage along
2100 South, Highland Drive, and 1100 East. However, the lighting and signage assessment will depend on the
cost of the lighting contract selected by the entity responsible for managing the Sugar House Assessment Area.
Multifamily housing with five or more units is eligible to be assessed and included in an SAA. However, it was
decided not to include these properties due to sensitivity to housing costs. They could be considered in future
assessment authorizations after the initial three-year term.
Page | 4
Copied from page 6 of the Administrative Transmittal
Preferred financial scenario, Scenario 3, outlined in red
TENTATIVE SHBD-27 BUDGET
Copied from page 7 of the Administrative Transmittal
Page | 5
Copied from page 8 of the Administrative Transmittal
ADDITIONAL KEY POINTS
If property owners holding 40% or more of the total valuation in the SAA protest its creation, the area
cannot be created.
The following properties are exempt from the SHBD-27 SAA: parcels valued under $20,000, residential,
ecclesiastical, and government-owned properties.
Property owners are assessed the full amount when the SAA is created but may pay in three annual
installments over its term.
Properties are assessed using the 2025 taxable property values.
Properties along the identified street frontage for the special lighting/signage assessment receive an
additional assessment based on linear feet along those identified streets.
Properties cannot be added to the SAA after the Notice of Intent is issued without the property owner’s
consent. However, they can be removed at the Council’s discretion before the assessment starts.
Instead of special lighting only during the holiday season, as is the case in the Central Business
Improvement Area SAA, the Sugar House Chamber & Community Alliance has requested year-round
specialty lighting.
The City will establish a management contract through March 2030 to provide promotional activities for
the SAA, subject to its creation.
State statute caps total administrative costs (City costs + contractor costs) at 30% of the total SAA
budget. Economic Development would be responsible for this monitoring and annual reporting on the
City’s website.
In first year of the assessment, $60,000 (allocated in FY22 Budget Amendment No. 4) would be
earmarked from City Administrative Costs to reimburse the City’s General Fund.
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According to the tentative timeline, the Administration anticipates the SAA effective date as March 21,
2027, with assessment payments due April 6, 2027.
According to the resolution, promotional activities include: “advertising campaigns, newsletters,
placemaking initiatives, limited trash pickup, hospitality, wayfinding assistance, holiday
lighting/signage, light maintenance, homeless services including connection to social services through
the Ambassadors & Public Realm Services, business recruitment, district research/reporting, surveys,
government coordination, housing advocacy collaboration, town meetings, strategic planning and
special projects.”
NEXT STEPS
On June 9, the Council is tentatively scheduled to take action on the Resolution of Intention to Designate the
SHBD-27 and on August 18 the Council will hold a protest hearing. The protest hearing gives property owners
an opportunity to object to the creation of the assessment area, their inclusion in it, or the proposed services. It
also opens a 60-day window for filing written protests. If property owners holding 40% or more of the total
valuation in the SAA protest its creation, then the SAA cannot be created, and the process ends.
Following the protest hearing, if the process continues, the Council will consider the Resolution to Designate the
assessment area and appoint a Board of Equalization (BOE). The BOE process is separate from the protest
period. At that stage, the question is no longer whether to create the SAA but whether adjustments to individual
assessment amounts or property inclusions are warranted based on the benefit a property receives from the
proposed services.
Finally, the process concludes with the Council's consideration of the Assessment Ordinance, which would
officially establish the SHBD-27.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Sugar House SAA Tentative Timeline