From Deseret News archives:
Tower House? Sugar House may grow UP
At least that's the fear of many community advocates who point out that Salt Lake City's zoning laws allow up to 15-story buildings in much of the Sugar House business district.
Community leaders argue such high-rises have no place in Sugar House, which is largely a comfortable and walkable mix of two-, three- and four-story businesses.
"Sugar House is really a two- to four-story maximum-type environment," former Community Council Chairwoman Helen Peters said. Greater building heights "would supplant downtown."
"Sugar House is really a unique place in that it has a village atmosphere and the two- to four-story buildings kind of create that historic, walkable feel. Buildings much larger would ruin it."
But the community's fight to change the city's zoning to only allow shorter buildings has been met with staunch opposition from business and property owners in the Sugar House Business District.
A zoning change that would reduce the permitted building height from 150 feet to 80 or 50 feet would greatly diminish property values for those business owners.
"It's polarized between the property owners and the Community Council," said Nancy Stark, spokeswoman for a group of property owners known as the Sugar House Stakeholders.
Besides maintaining Sugar House's village feel, community council members say they want to protect the valuable view corridors of the Wasatch Mountains that smaller buildings afford. The Parkview Plaza building, an eight-story building on 1300 East, already blocks mountain views from Hidden Hollow, a small natural space carved into the business district, council members say.
The great building height battle began nearly four years ago when the city adopted its new Sugar House Master Plan, which sought to limit building heights in the business district.
Current zoning laws allow building heights of 90 feet throughout the district with buildings permitted up to 150 feet on the Granite Furniture Block at the core of the business district on 1100 East and 2100 South.
But the new master plan calls for shorter heights. On the Granite furniture block buildings could go to 80 feet, with 50 feet being the limit throughout the district.
Discrepancies between the zoning laws and the master plan are causing headaches for city planners who need both documents to say the same thing if they are going to make effective planning and zoning decisions.
"It makes it really difficult when a developer comes in and wants to do something and you've got your zoning ordinance that says one thing and the policy statement that says another," city planner Lex Traughber said.
