SLC Demo Ordinance Proposed to Prevent Future “Sugar Pits”

11.06.2009 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) Salt Lake City residents are fed up with what they see as a loophole in the planning process, allowing developers to demolish a building before they have plans ready to replace it. So says City Councilman Soren Simonsen, who’s proposing an ordinance to avert vacant lots like the so-called “Sugar Pit” from sitting idle for a long time.

“We’ve heard a lot from members in the community, ‘Why is this happening? How is this happening? Why are these properties sitting vacant for years and years? Can’t you do something about that?’ So this is intended really to be a response to so many comments we’ve heard from the community,” Simonsen says.

The proposed ordinance forces developers to wait before demolishing a building until after they have secured a building permit for their project. It also includes additional landscaping regulations and protections against land banking.

Mayor Ralph Becker’s spokeswoman says he’s very supportive of strengthening the city’s options for dealing with vacant or blighted properties. But Simonsen says the administration has approached him with some concerns, including whether the ordinance would hamper efforts to tear down blighted properties, or slow down large-scale developments. He says his proposal is not intended to add a new layer of regulation that would pose an undue burden on developers or homeowners.

“We’re simply saying, ‘You know there are some elements of our regulation that we have now that are not working either for the developer or for the community,” Simonsen says. “And we’re trying to balance those interests and fine tune it so that we end up having more viable projects happening sooner.”

The city council discussed the proposed ordinance for the first time yesterday and is currently gathering public comment about it. Click here for more information.