SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City residents and business owners let their voices be heard Tuesday night when it comes to the Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) proposed new downtown district.
More than a dozen people spoke, in-person and virtually, during the public comment portion of the Salt Lake City Council's formal meeting.
Several people expressed concerns about how zoning changes could impact places like Abravanel Hall.
"With a new sign overlay NHL sponsors like Mike's Jersey Subs or Jägermeister could be advertised on the side of Abravanel Hall. I wonder how often do we allow an entity to sidestep this critical process?" said Mercedes Smith, principal flutist with the Utah Symphony.
Like Smith, Lori Wike spoke about how the proposed sign overlay could affect Abravanel Hall.
"I ask that the council either exclude Abravanel Hall from the overlay or include it but exclude allowing advertising of events occurring at other locations," said Wike.
The ordinance would amend the D4 Secondary Central Business District zoning district. This would be done in order to support the creation of a Sports, Entertainment, Culture, and Convention (SECC).
The proposed zoning changes would include:
1. Modify the maximum height allowed through design review from 125 feet to 600 feet.
2. Modifying the required front and corner yard setback requirements are changing to clarify that buildings with plazas and other similar public spaces are allowed to exceed the maximum setback.
3. Change the table of allowed uses for the D4 zoning district would change as follows:
- Stadiums change from a conditional use to a permitted use.
- Commercial parking would be changed from a conditional use to a permitted use. (A current requirement prohibiting the demolition of a building for principal use parking on the property would remain.)
4. Expand the existing sign overlay that applies to the Delta Center to extend to the blocks that contain the Salt Palace. This allows more flexibility for signs related to the entertainment venues within the overlay and allows modifications to signs through the design review process for buildings that are subject to design review.
In a unanimous vote last month, the council approved a deal with the Smith Entertainment Group that will infuse nearly a billion dollars into the proposed downtown district.
It would pump $900 million over the next 30 years into transforming the area around the Delta Center and the arena itself, through a citywide sales tax increase. The council has until December 31st to impose the 0.5% sales tax increase.
The Smith Entertainment Group estimates that $525 million will be used on the remodel of the Delta Center, which houses the Utah Jazz and the Utah Hockey Club. $375 million would go to cover the costs to develop the district.
SEG also estimates investing at least $3 billion in the downtown area, outside of public funding.
While several people expressed concerns about zoning changes pertaining to this project, others are showing their support.
"I'm here to support the zoning amendment to increase the building height, the entertainment district, Salt Lake City core shouldn't have these arbitrary height restrictions," said Jeff Carleton, a Salt Lake City small business owner. "Please support the increase in building height and the other zoning requests that are attached to this."
Nick Tarbet, the council policy analyst, told the city council during their work session on Tuesday that they have until August 27 to adopt the proposed zoning changes to meet the state statute deadline.
