South Salt Lake council creates transportation utility fund, exempts residential properties

South Salt Lake City Council on July 23 approved an ordinance creating a transportation utility and a companion ordinance setting the fee schedule, while adopting an explicit exemption for all residential properties, including multifamily buildings.

The measures enact chapter 12.3 of the South Salt Lake Municipal Code to establish a transportation utility enterprise fund and amend the consolidated fee schedule to add the new fee. City staff presented the ordinances as a dedicated funding mechanism to maintain, operate and improve city streets and related infrastructure.

Council debate focused on whether multifamily buildings should be assessed. Staff explained the fee structure is billed by building square footage and designed to capture higher-traffic users, and that the draft initially treated multifamily developments of 50 or more units differently. Council members raised concerns that landlords could pass charges to tenants and that many…