Planning Commission forwards rezoning for Tenth East Senior Center and Victory Park to City Council

The Salt Lake City Planning Commission on May 13 voted 4-0 to forward a zoning map amendment that would reclassify the parcels at 237 and 239 South 1000 East — currently home to the Tenth East Senior Center and Victory Park — to the Public Lands zone and send a recommendation to the City Council.

Planning staff presented the proposal, initiated by Mayor Aaron Menenhall, and said the parcels are currently split among Public Lands, Special Development Pattern Residential (SR-3) and Single- and Two-Family Residential (R-2). "The proposal is to amend the zoning for both parcels to be entirely public lands," planning staff said, adding the change is intended to remove regulatory barriers that arise from split zoning and is not tied to any specific development proposal.

Staff told the commission the senior center has occupied the site since about 1960, that it is closed for renovations, and that a reopening is expected in 2027. The report emphasized consistency with city plan policies supporting community-serving public uses and noted that rezoning to Public Lands would broaden permitted public uses such as recreational facilities and libraries, while changing some development standards (setbacks and height limits) compared with the residential districts currently mapped on parts of the site.

During the public-hearing period, Cindy Cromer, who said she lives adjacent to the site, urged the commission to adopt open-space zoning for the park parcel rather than the broader Public Lands designation. "The 10th East Senior Center and Victory Park have been my immediate neighbors since 1992," Cromer said, describing a history of recreational use at the site that she traced back to 1912 and noting the city purchased the land in 1927. Cromer said the split zoning is an error dating to the 1995 zoning rewrite and asked the commission to correct it in favor of open-space zoning for the park portion.

Planning staff said public comments were generally supportive but that some residents raised concerns about the future of a parking area next to Norris Place; staff stated the rezoning would not alter access to or use of that parking area.

After brief discussion and clarification that open-space zoning had not been considered for the staff-led amendment, Commissioner Amy Berry moved that the commission forward a positive recommendation to the City Council for application PLNPCM2026-00091. The motion was seconded and the roll call vote recorded yes from Commissioners Barrett, Berry, Burrows and Sullivan; the motion passed 4-0.

The commission did not adopt a change to open-space zoning during the meeting; rather, it forwarded the staff-recommended amendment to the City Council for final action. The council will receive the Planning Commission's positive recommendation and consider the amendment in a future meeting.