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Council reviews options for partial vacation of right-of-way at 1101 West 400 South
Summary
Planning staff briefed the council on a request to vacate roughly five feet of city right-of-way adjacent to 1101 West 400 South and presented three options for council action.
Salt Lake City planning staff briefed the council Wednesday on a petition to vacate a narrow sliver (about 5 feet) of city-owned right-of-way adjacent to the property at roughly 1101 West 400 South. The applicant said they plan to demolish the existing house and build a new single-family home; current R-1 zoning requires a front setback equal to the block-face average and one home farther back on the block has skewed that average, staff said.
Staff presented maps and photos showing sidewalk configurations and explained that vacating the 400 South segment would create a jog in the right-of-way, making that corridor approximately five feet narrower than adjacent sections. Staff also identified a potential future extension of the 400 South viaduct trail as a reason to be cautious about vacating the 400 South frontage.
Options presented to council (and included on the motion sheet) were: adopt an ordinance vacating both the 400 South and 1100 West street segments; adopt an ordinance vacating only the 1100 West segment; or reject both ordinances. Staff recommended the council evaluate public-right-of-way impacts and the potential trail extension when deciding.
Council reaction: Several council members said they were sympathetic to the applicant’s desire to rebuild in the existing footprint but expressed concern about selling or reducing continuous public right-of-way on an arterial corridor. One council member said the front-yard averaging provision in the R-1 code has created problems and encouraged a larger review of R-1 zoning tools. Other council members suggested alternative tools — text amendment to front-yard averaging, planned development, or temporary land-use measures — could achieve the applicant’s goals without a public-right-of-way sale.
Why it matters: A street vacation changes public ownership of right-of-way and can affect future trail or sidewalk projects. Staff said the motion sheet includes all options for council action tonight; if council rejects the vacation, the applicant may pursue other land-use remedies with planning staff.
Next steps: The matter is on the council’s agenda for a vote at the evening formal meeting. If council seeks other options for the applicant, staff said a separate application would be required for rezoning, text amendment, planned development or other tools.
