Salt Lake County to address 'monster home' issue

Monster homes are taking over several Salt Lake County neighborhoods, and county leaders took steps Tuesday to begin creating an ordinance that addresses angry residents' concerns.

Mayor Peter Corroon asked for a draft monster-home ordinance to be ready by the end of the month, and the County Council voted to create a board to discuss the problem and create the best ordinance possible.

"If we don't get a draft sometimes before the end of the month, you're going to see some pitchforks," said Jeff Silverstrini, chairman of the Mount Olympus Community Council.

Councilman Randy Horiuchi understands the monster-home problem. Every morning, he wakes up with a view of what he calls "The Garage Mahal." The monster home was the target of public uproar that ultimately prompted Salt Lake City officials to approve a monster-home ordinance last year.

The roughly 8,000-square-foot, three-garage home is in Yalecrest, an eastside Salt Lake City neighborhood of homes generally ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet. The home's owners took so much flak that they still haven't moved in, and the house is now for sale.

"It truly is a menace," Horiuchi said. "The thing we want to do is outlaw these outrageous, garish homes."

Horiuchi asked the County Council to create the board, which will consist of an architect, a developer, a representative from the Home Builders Association, and members of the community and County Council. The intent of the board is to put an ordinance in place after proper dialogue, without a "rush to judgment," he said.

Council Chairman Mark Crockett, however, wants to make sure that the dialogue doesn't include arguments about aesthetics of homes.

"I don't know that I'm particularly interested in having this be a taste committee," Crockett said.

Jeff Daugherty, the county's planning director, said the ordinance will govern height, setbacks, floor to area of the home ratio and other building issues. "We're not interested in looking at architecture."

County planners have to be careful, however, when drafting such an ordinance.

"We want to try to balance the neighborhood impact with the individual property rights," Daugherty said.

Meredith Mannebach, co-executive director of government affairs for the Home Builders Association, said the process of crafting a monster-home ordinance needs to be "slow and steady" to ensure the best possible outcome.

"These ordinances can do as much bad as good," Mannebach said. "We don't want to see something so restrictive that it takes away creativity."

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