Holladay solidifies RDA plans, allays residents' fears

HOLLADAY — City officials spent Thursday evening solidifying redevelopment plans and allaying residents' fears that their homes and businesses might be paved over in the process.

City Council members, acting as the Holladay Redevelopment Agency, voted not to use eminent domain to purchase properties for the 59-acre RDA at the intersection of 2300 East, Murray-Holladay Road and Holladay Boulevard, a decision that made the hearing notably more civil than past meetings.

"There was such a concern that we were going to do something, but the council never expected to use eminent domain," city manager Randy Fitts said. "It was just that cloud hanging over everyone's head."

City leaders would not have been able to use eminent domain, Fitts added, because of a bill passed during the 2005 legislative session removing that power for economic development. The bill also put a yearlong moratorium on retail RDAs. The Holladay Village Center was approved just before the moratorium went into effect.

Council members also voted Thursday to accept the finding of blight in the area, which officially creates the RDA and will now move it into the development stage. The council also voted to redraw the boundaries of the RDA to exclude a residential apartment area called Holladay Villa.

The group also authorized a request for proposals to recruit developers that could start planning for the first piece of the project slated for the northwest corner of the intersection. The highly specific RFP outlines exactly what the Holladay Village Center should offer the community, including plazas, boutique shops and a pedestrian friendly atmosphere.

The RFP also details the goals for the Village Center including aesthetic continuity, links to trails and opportunities for social gatherings. Those goals counter the concerns raised by many residents over a series of public hearings this summer that large national retailers would come into the are and threaten decades-old businesses.

"They don't want a big box. It's a village they're trying to create," Fitts said.

City leaders hope to have development bids in by the end of the month and are expecting to hold the next public hearing on the winning development sometime after October.

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