- Salt Lake Planning Commission recommends the city approve a seven-story parking garage for the Delta Center.
- Some members raised concerns about the project, including its impact on downtown transportation.
- Smith Entertainment Group was asked to work with city planners on landscape buffers and bike parking.
SALT LAKE CITY — While crews continue to plug away on many changes to the Delta Center, Smith Entertainment Group's big vision for a new structure outside of it received a key endorsement to move forward.
Members of the Salt Lake City Planning Commission voted 5-2 Wednesday night to favorably recommend a zoning amendment request tied to the Utah Jazz and Mammoth owners' proposed seven-story parking structure, following a spirited discussion that lasted over an hour. The Salt Lake City Council ultimately has the final say on the project before construction can begin, which is expected to take place next year.
"I think there's a need, and I think this satisfies … the fan, patron kinds of experiences that happen at other arenas around the country," said commission member Mike Vela, before the vote. "I see this as a benefit."
Smith Entertainment Group officials unveiled their plans for a new parking garage outside the southwest corner of the building in April, and included the groundwork for the structure in the first phase of remodeling the arena that began earlier this year. It's in a part of the arena that has historically been reserved for player parking and loading docks, making it more of "dead space," said Jim Olson, executive for Smith Entertainment Group.
Building a parking garage, he said, would answer a longstanding need for parking at arena events. While he said the company still encourages people to consider public transportation, he doesn't believe there's enough transit capacity right now to handle the event demands.
"There's really no other building in the state of Utah that has the type of events ... that we do," he said. "The demand for parking for these events just continues to grow."
However, vertical construction of a new garage is still subject to city approval because the project "could supersede several of the city's rules and regulations," city planners noted in a document tied to the request.
Most of the proposal is the same as what was unveiled in April, but there have been a few tweaks over the last few months. The seven-story garage includes space for 452 parking stalls for high-end ticketholders and a loading area. It would stand 81 feet tall, which is just under the height limit allowed, but the company is asking for an exemption to include a 10-foot canopy at the top, bumping it to 91 feet, 6 feet above the limit.
The canopy, Olson said, is only being requested to protect people from the natural elements, given that both the hockey and basketball seasons take place during the winter. Woven wire mesh screening would wrap around the structure to provide cover that has better ventilation, given all the traffic expected from the loading area section.
A new rendering of the project sparked questions online and in the meeting about the future exterior of the Delta Center, but the garage will be closer to the arena's gray facade, according to project planners.
Some members of the planning commission expressed worries about future impacts on downtown after Olson presented the project plan.
"I have some serious concerns here," said Lilah Rosenfield, a member of the commission, pointing to the amount of space dedicated to parking scattered throughout the city, which limits building for homes or businesses. That's on top of vehicle, pedestrian and Utah Transit Authority TRAX service impacts that are possible with the garage there.
Brian Scott, another member of the commission, agreed, noting that there has been a shift away from parking to address growing transportation challenges in the downtown area.
Those in support agreed that there's a need in the area. There's often a large number of people coming into downtown from other parts of the Wasatch Front, and that requires more parking spots and garages on top of other transportation modes, Vela said.
Rosenfield proposed a motion to give the request a negative recommendation, citing multiple transportation and downtown concerns, but it was rejected with a 5-2 vote. Members voted to recommend the request afterward.
Planning commissioners requested that Smith Entertainment Group work with Salt Lake City planning staff to create the largest landscape buffer possible to meet the concerns, along with "substantial" bike parking in the area, within the recommendation they approved.
That's because Salt Lake planners had recommended that "additional visual interest" be included along the retaining walls by the base of the structure that runs along 100 South and 400 West and more bicycle parking within arena property before the meeting.
The company will work with the city to "enhance the pedestrian experience" along the two streets and include more bicycle parking within the arena's larger master plan, Olson said. It also plans to update site plan documents before a development agreement is reached with the city.
It's unclear yet when the City Council will begin its process to approve or deny the request.
Wednesday's meeting took place a day after the Salt Lake City Community Reinvestment Agency board of directors, composed of City Council members, voted to approve the terms of a new Delta Center lease agreement. The new lease covers the next 30 years, but includes provisions that could extend the terms for up to 100 years.
