Salt Lake City Councilman Soren Simonsen said the uncertain future of Mecham's development is the reason the city in most cases shouldn't issue demolition permits based on landscaping plans.

Mecham obtained a demolition permit late last year on the condition that landscaping work begin on April 30 if construction of the project had not commenced.

Simonsen says that action was made possible by a loophole in the city's demolition ordinance, one he's working to close.

"If the developers can't get financing and aren't serious about (beginning construction right away), then they shouldn't be using the landscape-plan option as a back door to move forward with the demolition," he said.

Gray said there are times when use of a landscaping plan to a obtain demolition permit, such as in the case of a fire that leaves a building unsafe.

"I think it should be very much the exception rather than an operation procedure," he said.

Construction crews began knocking down buildings at the site in January — demolition work that was expected to take about a month to complete.

The work stalled when it was discovered that the then-partially demolished Blue Boutique building shared a wall with its neighbor to the west, a building owned by Rockwood Investment Associates. It took more than two months for the property owners to work out an agreement that allowed the building to come down.

City building officials met and exchanged letters with Mecham and his attorney in May and June over community concerns about the state of the then-stalled project and the developer's failure to live up to his commitment to landscape the site.

Mecham twice requested extensions on the start and completion of landscaping, arguing that the work would have to be removed when construction resumed. The city stayed firm on both occasions, holding the developer to conditions outlined in his demolition permit.

Ultimately, Mecham met the city-imposed July 3 deadline to landscape the site.

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