Signs say plaza private property

In the wake of a trespassing controversy earlier this summer, entrance signs to the Main Street Plaza — or Church Plaza, as it is called by its owner, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — recently have been amended.

Salt Lake City prosecutor Sim Gill is calling the rewording "a win-win for everyone."

Signs previously sported a welcome to the plaza from its owner and operator, the LDS Church, as well as restrictions against smoking, cycling, skating and skateboarding.

Now, the signs also mark the plaza as "private property" and inform visitors that "the church reserves the right to refuse access to any person for any reason."

"(The new text) was added to the signs on the Church Plaza at the suggestion of the Salt Lake City Prosecutor's Office," said church spokesman Scott Trotter.

In July, two men were detained on the property between North Temple and South Temple streets by church security, and the two men said they were simply embracing and kissing. The church later said the intimate exchanges were considerably more intense and lewd, and both men appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

Gill opted not to press charges, explaining there were uncertainties as to where public easements ended and the church's private property began.

He applauds the amended signage, which provides clarification both for the church as owner and the public as property users.

"When there is clarity, transparency and openness, then there is no room for error," Gill said Tuesday. "We avoid the misunderstandings that are sometimes present, and we end up with a win-win for everyone."

A private homeowner has the right to exercise personal discretion regarding property access and use, as does a private owner whose property has public access — such as a commercial business. In the same vein, Gill said, the LDS Church has a similar right to defend its ecclesiastical interests regarding use of its property.

In April 1999, the Salt Lake City Council agreed to sell the section of Main Street to the LDS Church for $8.1 million. The city reserved a public-access easement across the plaza while giving the church the authority to prohibit on-plaza protests and proselytizing, as well as certain dress and behaviors the church finds offensive.