28 May SHCC LUZ REPORT 2025 JUNE
At our May Land Use and Zoning Committee (LUZ), we talked about Section 14.52 Disposition of City-Owned Alleys. Here is a link to the proposed language. Our comments are due this week, if you want to send me a comment, do it right away. [email protected] The idea is to get a more stream-lined process for getting the information required for an alley vacation, like the approval of everyone who owns property that abuts the alley, etc. There would still be a hearing before the Planning Commission and City Council, this language just clarifies exactly what information is required to consider the request.
The Planning Commission discussed RMF-35 and RMF-45. The new staff report treats each of these zones separately, instead of combining them like the previous staff report did. If you go here you can read the revised staff report, which was approved and will be forwarded to the City Council for final approval. (NOTE: this was written on August 28, 2025 which is the day the Planning Department website is down for maintenance. Cross your fingers that by the time you read this, the links will work. The LUZ committee discussed this. We felt separating the zones was the best option because it is very difficult to combine two zones and not create other problems. If you want to send me an email at [email protected] I will be happy to pass it along to the City Council.
Council Member Sarah Young also shared details of our collaborative proposal to revise building heights in the MU-11 zone of the Sugar House Business District. While the current zoning allows for heights up to 186 feet under certain conditions in the Sugar House Business District core, we’re advocating for a more context-sensitive approach. Specifically, we propose limiting building height to no more than 110 feet on the north side of 2100 South between 700 East and 1300 East, and to approximately 50 feet along the east side of Highland Drive between 2100 South and I-80. This would preserve the existing scale of neighborhood landmarks like Barnes & Noble, the Sprague Library, and the historic Sugar House Post Office. The eastern portion of that block—closer to 1300 East—could still accommodate taller buildings if certain community benefits, such as a meaningful percentage of affordable housing, are included.
If you have comments about the MU-11 in our business district, send an email to Sarah Young and I, so we can add to the comments from the community.
We don’t yet have anything new for the June 16 meeting at 6 p.m. at Sprague Library, but we know several projects are waiting in the wings. One is the Fairmont Senior Apartments.
