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SALT LAKE CITY -- Salt Lake City is about to take on a major effort to become more sustainable. The mayor and city council are actively looking to change key city ordinances to encourage conservation and efficiency.
A garden, growing vegetables for an entire community; a home, custom built to be energy efficient; and a restaurant, also conservation-focused, which uses fresh local ingredients as much as possible -- all are examples of sustainability, according to Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker.
He is spearheading an effort to "activate the community" to focus on sustainability, also.
"That means removing barriers that are in our existing ordinances," Becker said. "That means creating incentives for the kind of future community that we want."
He says regulations are in order to require changes that meet the sustainability goal.
Finding regulations that work is a delicate balance. Construction of one Salt Lake home -- complete with insulated windows, radiant heat and more -- is far more expensive than traditional construction. But owner-builder Dalton Condit says it's worth it to him.
"I think it's very important to do great insulation and efficient heating," Condit said. "And yeah, I think it should be a standard."
The mayor and city council will start the work of changing selective building and zoning codes. The city expects some residents to be suspicious of the changes.
"We've had a lot of great public input already," said Director of Sustainability Vicki Bennett. "We've acted on a lot of the comments, and we're going to be asking for more because we know we don't have all the answers yet."
Concentrating on local, fresh and seasonal foods is an investment in the future for Pago restaurant. Owner Scott Evans says the investment up front pays off down the road.
"In the end, we feel like that is what sustained us in our first year," Evans said.
It's a philosophy that the city will try and capture in the months ahead. The city will start concentrating on the initiatives in the upcoming weeks.
E-mail: rpiatt@ksl.com
