Salt Lake City said it's making progress on unruly parties. These residents disagree

SALT LAKE CITY — Police and administrative leaders in Utah's capital city said they believe an ordinance cracking down on "unruly" parties has made a difference, pointing to only a few multiple violations over the past year that led to fines.

However, a group of nearly two dozen residents, including former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, disagree.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," they wrote in a 14-page letter to Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd and other city leaders, dated Oct. 27, a week after city police and administrative officials presented an update on the situation.

City leaders say they have received the letter. It is still "actively working" to address an issue that's grown as the University of Utah has, the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office said in a statement to KSL.

In the residents' letter, which was also sent to KSL, the group argued that residents continue to be bombarded by "frequent loud, rowdy parties and disgraceful behavior in connection with them," adding that they have "serious concerns" that police aren't enforcing state and local laws that crack down on various illegal activities.

Those include excessive noise that often goes beyond midnight, underage drinking, public urination and disturbances of the peace, and a new ordinance that can fine property owners for unruly parties.

Many of the issues have been closer to the University of Utah campus, as the city had suggested was the problem.

The city mayor's office said the university's growth since 2020 has expanded into rental homes within residential areas, leading to a growing number of issues with longtime residents.

Salt Lake City implemented an ordinance last year that better defined what an unruly party was, increased penalties for violations and passed those onto property owners. A fine of $1,000 would be issued to anyone who received a warning a second time

City officials have now issued 171 warnings to property owners since the new ordinance was passed, but have only received 29 repeat offenders who received fines. At least one of those was fined twice.

Most of the warnings were issued in the East Central neighborhood and other areas near the university.

"The warnings have been incredibly effective," said Marie Stewart, a Salt Lake City police detective and community liaison for the City Council district that includes the East Central neighborhood.

An ongoing problem

However, parties continue to be obnoxious and disruptive, Anderson and 21 other residents wrote.

They allege that police and police dispatchers have said that officers only enforce laws, not violations in some cases, meaning that property owners either aren't given a warning or aren't fined.

In one case, hours after Utah defeated Utah State at Rice-Eccles Stadium, residents wrote that they saw two officers respond to the front door of a large party at a home near the stadium, but did not do anything to stop it.

They reported back that the host said the party would conclude by 11 p.m.; residents said the noise didn't end until at least 1:30 a.m.

It wasn't immediately clear if that property received a citation after the fact. A similar case weeks later was also cited in the letter, where residents wrote that it appeared underage drinking was going on unchecked.

One resident said large and loud parties are held at least twice a week, sometimes lasting until 2-4 a.m.

"An officer's refusal to intervene because a disturbance occurs before a particular hour is inconsistent with the ordinance's language," they wrote, later calling on Redd to provide a better understanding of the law to officers.

The letter concludes with several recommendations, ranging from ensuring police enforce the ordinance to better training on underage drinking and investigating the cases in which it appeared nothing was done.

Many of the other residents who signed live in the East Central neighborhood, near the University of Utah.

A work in progress

City leaders acknowledged last month that the work wasn't complete. The city is already exploring adjustments to it to address known concerns about timing and enforcement, police and administrative officials said last month.

"We're not there yet, but I think we are getting there," said Salt Lake City Councilwoman Jennifer Napier-Pearce, whose district includes the neighborhood.

City officials also engage in "constant conversation" with the University of Utah and East Central Community Council leadership to provide residents with updates and feedback about the situation.

The city plans to mail letters to all rental property owners in the area to educate them about the ordinance and ask them to pass that along to their tenants, the mayor's office told KSL.

"Other ongoing work includes improving our ability to respond, improving administrative processes and evaluating improvements to the new ordinance," officials added.

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