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SALT LAKE CITY — The mayor of Utah's largest city is again focusing on equity and environment issues in 2022, as the city maintains record growth.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall on Thursday released her 2022 work plan, a document outlining ways to specifically address issues she highlighted during her State of the City speech last week. It offers 75 goals she hopes to complete by the end of December.
"From advocating for the health and longevity of the Great Salt Lake, to beginning preliminary design for light rail connections in the Granary and Southwest Downtown neighborhoods, we have a full plate and I'm ready to get to work," she said in a statement.
There are four overarching themes listed in this year's plan, which are community, city employees, environment and growth. Most of the goals are within the community and environment themes.
Community goals
There are quite a few goals tied to equity in this year's work plan. The mayor said she hopes her office is able to implement new equity and inclusion processes within its capital improvement program. Better outreach and better application evaluating processes are ways this could be done.
There are goals to improve access to youth and education programs on the city's west side, restructure the city justice court practices and begin roundtables with Indigenous residents and governments, as well.
There are also goals to move forward with an early childhood education initiative, as well as a plan to work with the city's school district and police department to develop the "most productive and beneficial relationship between school resource officers and schools."
Mendenhall also hopes that recommendations from the second phase of the city's Racial Equity in Policing Commission are reviewed, adopted and implemented in 2022.
There are quite a few goals related to homelessness, as well.
- Land ongoing funding for state homeless mitigation so city residents "are not solely bearing the burden of this statewide humanitarian crisis."
- Submit a new land-use ordinance to the City Council that differentiates permanent and temporary emergency shelter uses and regulates their placement either within the city or barring them from the city.
- Work with the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homeless, Salt Lake County and other entities to identify new overflow shelter locations.
- Find ways to "more effectively connect unsheltered residents to stable housing and resources," through the completion of a project with the Harvard Bloomberg City Initiative.
Some of the other goals outlined in 2022 are the return or continuation of previous programs. For instance, Mendenhall said she wants to relaunch the city's "Livable Streets" initiative, which seeks to improve the safety and appeal of the city's neighborhood streets. The city began collecting feedback from residents on this issue last year.
It also includes the beginning of a new citywide park ranger program that the mayor announced last year. Funding for the program would come from money the city secured through the American Rescue Plan.
Environment goals
Clean energy is highlighted in the mayor's environmental goals, such as signing a new clean energy cooperation statement and developing a new five-year clean energy implementation program. That's in addition to ongoing goals to reach 100% renewable energy by 2030 and create policies that cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% in the next 18 years.
There's a goal to complete a community garden by Harrison Avenue about a block southeast of Liberty Park this year, and seeking funding to plant another community garden in Rose Park that would open in 2023.
On a somewhat similar note, the work plan also sets a goal for the initial design of a "green loop" trail and park system that would encircle the city's downtown area.
"The project would enhance the physical, mental and social health of urban residents, improve transportation choices for residents and visitors and spur sustainable growth," the mayor's office wrote.
The health and longevity of the Great Salt Lake is one of the items not really in the city's hands; however, the document states it's a goal to continue to advocate ways to protect the lake through state legislation and city policy.
After the City Council voted on a new light pollution ordinance last year, the mayor's office also plans to implement "safety, environmental and dark skies components" to the citywide street light master plan.
The mayor also got to celebrate one of her environmental goals earlier this week with the launch of a Free Fare February initiative that Utah Transit Authority began on Tuesday.
Mendenhall says the goal of the month is to also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the TRAX light rail system but also gather data for future free fare initiatives. In addition to this, the city is currently working with UTA to expand transit program opportunities for small businesses downtown, according to the work plan.
Other goals
A plan to "phase in (the) permanent conversion of Main Street to a pedestrian promenade" highlights some of the remaining goals in this year's work plan. The city began trying out "Open Streets" on Main Street in 2020 due to the pandemic but it became a popular event, so the city brought it back last year for summer weekends.
As an update to a new Ballpark neighborhood redesign, the mayor also seeks to send a Ballpark Station Area Plan to the City Council in 2022. She also hopes to find a location for a new library in the neighborhood.
The mayor also looks to offer "competitive benefits" to city employees that "demonstrate caring for our employees' quality of life" through an assessment of the benefits program. The city is also planning to release an app soon that will "offer employees' families the means by which they can inquire about the safety of their employee during/after an emergency or disaster situation."
Mendenhall has released a set of goals every year since taking office in 2020. In January, she said she would grade her office with an A for 2021 after the city accomplished about two-thirds of its outlined goals.
All of the mayor's goals for 2022 can be found on the city's website.
