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SALT LAKE CITY — Leaders of Utah's capital city on Tuesday approved a plan that calls for 19 new single-lot cottages on a vacant space of land in the Avenues neighborhood after developers presented members of the council with final alterations earlier in the day, which were made following backlash from residents.
The Salt Lake City Council approved a rezone and master plan amendment for the project, located at 675 N. F Street, with a 4-2-1 vote following a short debate over additional conditions to the project that the council wanted to include with the rezone. It was the conclusion of a rezoning process that began when Ivory Development filed a request all the way back in May 2020.
The vote also came a little more than a month after members of the council held a public comment session regarding the project last month. The project drew scorn from residents in the neighborhood during the Nov. 10 meeting, as three dozen residents spoke out against it, even providing members of the council a handout about their concerns.
They argued that a rezone and the cottages project would increase the number of lots and households in the area and that would lead to more traffic congestion. In addition, they said the units are in different sizes and scales from other homes in the neighborhood, that they would also be unaffordable and that removing the mature trees will result in environmental issues, among several other complaints.
"Review Ivory's plan and take a walk around the Avenues. It won't take you five minutes to realize that this development fits like Cinderella's glass slipper fits on her ugly sister's foot," said resident Charlie Cannon.
The council asked Ivory Development to review some amendments after that meeting. Peter Gamvroulas, a project manager for Ivory Development, told the council hours before the vote that the company would be willing to amend some of its plans, such as moving the building setbacks on the western edge of the property, located next to homes in the neighborhood.
The city approved the request as long as accessory buildings are not built in rear yards located to the west end of the lot. There are 14 homes that would include accessory dwelling units, according to the city. In addition, the setback of second levels of any homes located along the rear line or side property line shall be at least 30 feet and the accessory dwelling units cannot be used for short-term rentals, among the conditions approved.
The biggest debate, however, centered on what conditions weren't included in the approval. Salt Lake City Councilman Chris Wharton, whose district includes the Avenues, proposed a requirement tied to the possible height of retaining walls in the project; however, his amendment was shot down by the council, resulting in his voting against the rezoning.
During the earlier work session meeting, Wharton explained that he and many Avenues residents don't feel "safe" with what's been provided so far about retaining walls in the project, which could be as high as 17 feet in height.
"That's kind of the frustrating situation that I'm in now," he said.
Gamvroulas responded that they didn't answer the question because the developer's site plan isn't finished yet so they don't know if the project will contain any retaining walls. It's a component that they plan to design at a later time.
"We intend and will certainly comply with anything in terms of engineering and building code, and design to safest manner as possible in whatever the walls incur to be," Gamvroulas said, later adding that including a measure tied to the size of the walls now would result in a "much different product than what we've been showing as our intention this whole time" and that the code allows for some exceptions.
Other members of the council weren't sure the topic is the biggest issue. For example, Salt Lake City Councilman Darin Mano questioned why the ordinance is in the code, calling the possible amendment an "overreach." Both he and Salt Lake City Councilman Alejandro Puy agreed that density is a bigger concern, and they were satisfied with the density of the project.
Salt Lake City Councilwoman Victoria Petro-Eschler added that she believes the wall size difference is "arbitrary" based on feedback from experts, who told her any size of retaining walls wouldn't guarantee they would be safer. Any size of the wall could be reviewed at a later time, too, she said, especially since the construction of the project would begin at a later time.
"The city engineer will be able to keep safety at the forefront as they finalize these," she said.
