A plan to build housing to replace a drive-in theater and swap meet moves closer to reality

West Valley City • Officials have approved a request to rezone the land under the Wasatch Front’s only remaining drive-in movie theater — and the site of a popular weekend swap meet — potentially making way for a housing development to be built there.

The West Valley City Planning Commission voted 4-2 on Wednesday to change the property at the Redwood Drive-In Theater and Swap Meet from “commercial” to “housing.” The change was in response to a petition from Utah home builder EDGEHomes.

The zoning request now goes to the West Valley City Council for a final vote.

Commissioners briefly discussed the rationale behind their decision. Commissioner Harry Woodruff, who voted no, said that, “I think we all acknowledge at some point is property’s going to change to something else ... [but] this [project] is nothing special for this site.”

West Valley City needs more housing, said Commissioner Cindy Wood, who was met with boos and yells. People in the meeting room yelled that they can’t afford those units. Wood urged the audience to be respectful, and noted that “the property owner has a right to sell” and that is “unfortunate for some people.”

Commissioner Matthew Lovato told the crowd that Wednesday’s decision is not “the end,” and that the planning commission is only giving a recommendation to the elected members of the City Council. Lovato also held out hope that another location could be found for the swap meet.

As the meeting ended, though, it was unclear where the swap meet might go.

The mood in the room was somber, a contrast to the more raucous crowd that attended the commission’s meeting two weeks ago, when some 300 vendors and their supporters spoke for three hours about how they depended on the swap meet for their livelihoods.

Many at the June 12 meeting said they had sold goods at the swap meet for generations. Some said they rely on the swap meet for their sole source of income — and that it has been a place of gathering, and a community for vendors and the thousands who visit from near and far.

On Wednesday, the commission did not take any public comment. Some in the crowd held signs — some reading “Some people are so poor all they have is money” and “Protect POC businesses” — but remained focused until the decision was made. When the vote was announced, jeers, boos and yells filled the room.

Some people passionately made their case, and eventually, the commissioners made a motion to adjourn and were escorted out of the meeting room.

Supporters have said that between 500 and 700 vendors are at risk of being displaced if the swap meet closes. Cristian Gutierrez, a vendor who has campaigned to stop the rezoning, launched an online petition on Change.org that had garnered some 20,000 signatures by Wednesday afternoon.

The land at 3688 S. Redwood Road is owned by California-based De Anza Land and Leisure Corporation and is valued at more than $1.3 million, according to the Salt Lake County Assessor’s office.

According to a letter that Steve Pastorik, West Valley City’s director of community development, received from De Anza and read at the June 12 meeting, the company cited the advancing age of the family members who own De Anza, as well as increasing costs, limited operating days, the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect on the movie industry of last year’s actors’ and writers’ strikes as reasons the business “no longer yields an acceptable rate of return.”

Also at the June 12 meeting, EDGEHomes’ plan was presented. The plan calls for building 308 housing units on the property — a mix of town homes, condos and single-family homes. EDGEHomes’ founder and owner, Steve Maddox, said then that the housing would be aimed at “empty nesters” and “new families.”

On Wednesday, the number of homes was reduced to 300: 40 condos, 244 townhomes and 16 single-family homes, with room for 214 parking stalls.

The new site plan addressed some of the issues commissioners brought up at the earlier meeting — such as on-site parking, open space and amenities for those who will stay in the community, including a 4,463-square-foot clubhouse with a fitness center. Those at the meeting were also shown new renderings of what the inside of the housing units would look like.

The Redwood Drive-In, opened in 1949, is the last drive-in movie theater operating on the Wasatch Front. Three other drive-ins remain open in Utah, all in rural areas: The Erda Drive-In in Erda, in Tooele County; the Echo Drive-In in Roosevelt, in Duchesne County; and the Basin Drive-In in Mt. Pleasant, in Sanpete County.

Editor’s note • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.