- Salt Lake City debates rezoning that would allow for a seven-story hotel next to Sugar House Park.
- Residents express concerns about traffic and viewshed impact from the proposed hotel.
- City Council may vote on the rezoning measure as early as April 7.
SALT LAKE CITY — An 0.83-acre parcel of land along the southeast corner of 1300 East and 2100 South is an "anomaly" left over from before the formation of Sugar House Park, when the land was home to a state prison, Richard Layman points out.
It's remained commercial space abutting the park for decades, and there hasn't been much agreement over what to do with it next, especially since a Sizzler restaurant once located there closed in 2020. That remains the case six years later, as a developer seeks to rezone the land to make way for a seven-story hotel.
Layman, vice chair of the Sugar House Park Authority board of trustees, says the board doesn't have a consensus opinion on the proposal, but he was one of the many people who attended a Salt Lake City Council public hearing on Tuesday to urge the city to reject the rezoning request.
"This is the most important decision concerning the park since the park was created in 1955," he said, amid an onslaught of residents also pleading with the city to deny the proposal.
Salt Lake City is considering a proposed rezoning of 2111 S. 1300 East from mixed-use 3 (MU-3) to form-based mixed-use 8 (MU-8), which would open the door for a new 145-room hotel with various other amenities. The change would allow for a building of up to 90 feet on the parcel.
About two-thirds of the 38 people who spoke on the measure during Tuesday's public meeting opposed it, saying it would add traffic to one of the city's busiest corridors, damage the park's iconic viewshed and potentially scar the popular regional park altogether, among other concerns.
Some worried that customers would avoid the business' paid parking structure by parking on the Sugar House Park loop, potentially exacerbating existing parking issues whenever there's an event or weather that draws people to the park.
Others said it would open Pandora's box in that there's no going back once there's a major upzone next to the park. Many urged the city to keep the current zoning, which caps heights to about half of what's possible under MU-8.
"We don't build big things next to small houses. We step down in size, and the same thing has to be true of the business district as it reaches the park," said Heidi Shubert, a Sugar House Community Council trustee. "The park is our community. It is our single-story, it is our zero-story neighbor, and we cannot build an MU-8 (building) next to our single-story neighbor."
Members of the project's development team accounted for most of the remaining third, but some residents came to the meeting or tuned in to support the measure. They said the current proposal is an upgrade from a failed attempt to build a gas station on the parcel. While some suggested adding the lot to the park, they argued that it wouldn't be utilized often because of its proximity to the road.
Supporters added that a hotel could create jobs and new recreational opportunities with proposed rentals, and it would be an improvement of the lot's current fenced-in state.
"I don't see another option there," said resident Chris Nelson, calling it a "very odd corner." "I don't enjoy what I see there now, and don't see it as ... a city, putting a hotel right next to homes."
Those on the project team who attended said they're working to address the concerns brought up.
Some spoke more to the proposal, requesting that the developer and city consider designs that limit bird-building collisions if the hotel is built, since the hotel would be close to the park's pond, which draws many bird species.
The next steps
The debate might ultimately be decided over where the eastern boundary of the Sugar House business district lies.
Salt Lake City planners see the east side of 1300 East as the border of the district, and the Salt Lake City Planning Commission voted 7-1 to endorse the zoning request in October. The district allows for heights of 125 feet on the west side of the road.
But master plans for the area have made it clear that the business district shouldn't expand east of 1300 East, even if it touches the road, said Judi Short, who chairs the Sugar House Community Council's land use committee.
These are arguments that the City Council will consider as it nears a potential vote. It could vote on the measure as early as April 7, said Salt Lake City Councilwoman Sarah Young, who represents the neighborhood.
She points out that people still have an opportunity to reach out to city leaders via email or phone to voice their opinions before that vote.
Should it approve the measure, Salt Lake City would require a development agreement that memorializes certain community benefit requirements in the project, per city documents. The city has required similar agreements with other recent controversial projects, such as the downtown "sports, entertainment, culture and convention district," and Intermountain Health's "urban hospital."
