Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment Zoning Community topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public commenters urge attention to R1 zoning and highlight community resources
Summary
Three members of the public addressed the CRA board: one promoting a meetings-summary website, one seeking changes to R1 zoning after permitting trouble, and Make Salt Lake thanked the city and said it is exploring proposals for other CRA properties.
Speakers during the public-comment period at the Feb. 11 Salt Lake City CRA meeting raised three topics: a local website that summarizes meetings, concerns about R1 zoning and building permits, and continued use and possible expansion of the Make Salt Lake community maker space at a CRA-owned Arts Hub property.
Matt Larson, a Sugar House resident, said he has built a site called publicmeetings.org that automatically creates summaries from meeting transcripts and invited feedback. "It's publicmeetings.org," Larson said, describing the site as a WordPress-based service that can produce instant summaries from YouTube transcripts.
Eric Sansom, who said he owns a lot on 400 South and has spent the last 18 months trying to build a new home there, told the board the city's R1 zoning rules have repeatedly blocked his building plans. Sansom said he submitted a 27-page response to the council's R1 work transmittal and that, under current rules, "They want me to diminish the size of my existing home right now by 3 feet and I don't think that I should have to do that." He said he has been working with staff member Alejandro Pui and that only staffer Andy Holka had responded to his lengthy submission. The board announced at the meeting that the R1 zoning item would be moved to next week for further consideration.
Tony Diaz, who runs Make Salt Lake, told the board the nonprofit maker space currently operates at a CRA-owned property in the Arts Hub and thanked the council and CRA staff for support. Diaz said Make Salt Lake will celebrate 10 years at its location and serves about 350 members. He said the group is exploring proposals for other CRA properties because the Arts Hub is part of longer-term plans and may not be permanent.
The public-comment period included two registered commenters and additional in-person remarks. Staff reminded attendees that the R1 zoning item noted by Sansom had been rescheduled to a later meeting and that written comments remain accepted through the council's portal.
