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The battle over the Main Street Plaza is regrettable and needlessly divisive. It could be resolved quickly if Salt Lake City would simply cede its easement through the property to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Salt Lake City is fortunate to have a downtown anchor as stable, generous and committed to the area as the Church of Jesus Christ.
Consider, too, the popularity of Temple Square with visitors. The recent addition of a beautiful Plaza adjacent to the Square only enhances the peace and tranquility of a world-renowned attraction that brings more tourists to Utah than any other single facility.
It is what a broad coalition of community leaders envisioned more than 40-years ago when they developed a master plan for making Salt Lake City the top tourist destination in the Intermountain Region.
Let it be remembered the 1961 plan called for the city to give Main Street to the Church, not require the Church to buy it. As part of the ambitious plan, the Church, among other things, generously made available nine-acres of land on which to build the Salt Palace Convention Center and Symphony Hall.
The cost to taxpayers to this day - $1 per year!
If current community leaders could somehow recapture the cooperative vision of their counterparts from four-decades ago, this unfortunate matter could be resolved expeditiously for the good of all.
