Rocky hones State of City talk

As in previous years, Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson is keeping tight-lipped about the State of the City address he will deliver to the City Council tonight.

One difference in this year's speech will be length. Unlike his 70-minute election-year address in 2003, this year's version is more manageable.

"It's about half as long," city spokesman Josh Ewing said.

It's Anderson's second major speech since he took his oath of office after a successful re-election bid last November. In his first post-election speech — at his inauguration last week — the mayor stuck to his traditional rallying criesof diversity in government, environmental protection, tolerance and support for locally owned businesses.

Tonight's speech will be a little different, according to Anderson's advisers. They say the talk will include — similar to past State of the City addresses — several new initiatives the mayor wants to begin as he starts the first year of his second term.

Already the city is considering significant new programs, ordinances and zoning changes in the first weeks of the new year.

For instance, later this week Anderson's administration is scheduled to release the new "Good Neighbor Project" — an educational effort designed to educate Hispanic immigrants and others about oft-neglected city ordinances. The project — a brainchild of the city's Good Neighbor Partnership, which Anderson formed at the urging of state Sen. James Evans, R-Salt Lake City, last year — includes a brochure that will be distributed largely on the city's west side. The brochure, printed in English and Spanish, informs residents about city laws forbidding multiple families from living in a single-family dwelling and many other laws that have caused cultural and ethnic clashes on the west side.

Following Anderson's speech tonight, the City Council is expected to vote on another of Anderson's new initiatives — his plan to renovate the city's Community & Economic Development Department. That plan would take economic development out of the CED and make it a function of the mayor's office. One position would be transferred out of CED into Anderson's office, and a new employee would combine with that employee to oversee the city's economic development efforts.

The council also is expected to approve former Councilman Lee Martinez's appointment as director of the newly formed Community Development Department, which is the CED minus economic development.

In addition, the council is to take a preliminary vote on whether to support Councilwoman Nancy Saxton's efforts to establish stricter penalties for people and businesses who don't shovel their sidewalks.

Also tonight, the City Council is expected to approve sweeping new downtown zoning rules that would allow department stores at The Gateway.

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