During arguments that lasted more than an hour, the Planning Commission rejected Smith Entertainment Group’s proposed zoning change.
(Smith Entertainment Group) Site plan for the proposed Downtown Sports and Entertainment District.
Construction of a downtown sports district proposed by professional sports mogul Ryan Smith is moving too fast and should not receive special treatment given the Legislature’s priorities, members of the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Planning Commission said late Wednesday.
Planning commissioners voted unanimously to send a negative recommendation to the City Council on a request for a zoning amendment that would allow unlimited building heights in the area surrounding Delta Center for projects that go through a thorough review process.
The changes were sought by Smith Entertainment Group, which owns the Utah Jazz and Utah’s newly acquired National Hockey League franchise, and is seeking to create a downtown sports district that would transform two blocks just east of the Delta Center.
The city’s current zoning regulations limit building height in the area to 75 feet, but with special permits, buildings up to 125 feet tall (about 11 stories) are allowed.
The commission ultimately determined that the proposed amendments were not consistent with current downtown planning standards.
In their negative recommendation, the commissioners also noted they would like to see Abravanel Hall maintained in its current form, with minor renovations funded by a proposed 0.5 percent sales tax increase that would benefit the district, and a buffer zone to protect Japantown. SEG officials say the future of Abravanel Hall is up to Salt Lake County.
The committee’s vote does not prevent the City Council from approving the changes.
City Planning Commissioner Bree Shea said the council will likely vote for the proposal “no matter what we do.”
Meanwhile, Commissioner Richard Tuttle said the sports district approval process is moving too quickly.
“It seems like we’re being asked to act on this relatively suddenly,” he said, “and not with the kind of information that the planning commissioners need to make the responsible decisions that they should be making.”
City officials say they are forced to act quickly on the project because the state Legislature set a Sept. 1 deadline for finalizing the agreement on the district.
The argument did not sway Tuttle.
“I don’t think I’m too concerned about the deadline that the Legislature has imposed,” he said. “If that’s their deadline, then let Sandy do it. Let Sandy do it. But Salt Lake residents are going to be paying a significant amount of money to support this plan, and I don’t believe this plan has been thoroughly explored in a way that answers some of the questions that community members have.”
Committee members said they are not opposed to sports districts, but that planning such areas takes time and requires more community input.
“The city council are politicians and they make the decision and it’s a political decision,” Scheer said. “We can only decide this from a planning perspective. It’s our job as planners to look at this. We don’t actually have plans so it’s very hard to approve something when there’s nothing in front of us. Nothing is set in stone unless we’re actually informed of what’s going on.”
SEG has released few details about its plans for the sports district, but at Tuesday’s council meeting, the organization’s leaders unveiled new maps showing a renovated entrance to Delta Center, residential towers and a new hotel.
The Salt Lake City City Council is scheduled to take a final vote on the district on July 2.
