Lobbyists report state legislative wins that curtailed a proposed large homeless campus at Oxbow
Loading...
Summary
City-hired lobbyists and legal counsel said the 2025 Utah legislative session produced several bills affecting homelessness policy and that coordinated local advocacy helped prevent a large centralized campus proposal for the Oxbow site in South Salt Lake.
Lobbyists Dave Spadafore, Dave Davis and Ashley Spadafore told the council they worked with Mayor Wood, city staff and local department heads during the 2025 legislative session on homelessness-related bills and that their coordinated presence in Salt Lake City helped prevent a proposal to site a large centralized homeless campus at the Oxbow location.
"As we walked into those meetings with legislators, it was so powerful to have [the mayor] there with us," Dave Davis said, recounting meetings with legislators and the governor’s office. He and the team said they successfully kept a centralized campus proposal out of the Oxbow facility.
The lobbyists reviewed a set of bills discussed at the Capitol this session that touch on homelessness, local mitigation funds and shelter operations. They described changes to several bills and outcomes they said were material to the city’s interests, including legislative attention to unsanctioned camping, mitigation-fund eligibility and operational standards for shelters. They said amendments removed a proposed provision that would have made mere possession of a controlled substance automatic cause to declare a property a nuisance, a change they said reduced unintended consequences for shelter operators.
Lobbyists also cited legislation that modifies how mitigation funds are distributed to cities and a property-loss fund that will make interest-free loans available to businesses that can document property loss tied to homelessness. They said the outcome will help cities and businesses that face property damage. The team credited Chief Bridal and law enforcement partners for operational work that reduced scrutiny of nearby cities.
The lobbyists recommended continued engagement with the legislature and said South Salt Lake’s proactive presence was a factor in favorable outcomes. They singled out Representative Steve Eliason, Representative Tyler Clancy and other legislators as drivers of homelessness-related measures and encouraged continued outreach ahead of the next session.
Why it matters: several passed or amended bills change statutory requirements and funding formulas that can affect city mitigation funding and shelter operations; coordinated local representation at the Capitol — including the mayor and public-safety leaders — shaped legislative outcomes, the lobbyists said.
