SLC Council, Larry H. Miller Co. strike deal to guide west side’s Power District

After months of haggling over what the Power District will look like, the Salt Lake City Council signed off on a suite of zoning rules and agreements Tuesday that will guide how the Larry H. Miller Co. will build out the ambitious west-side project.

Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a development agreement with LHM, related zoning rules and a city services reimbursement agreement with the Utah Fairpark Area Investment and Restoration District, the state-created taxing authority that’s responsible for facilitating new growth in the project area along North Temple.

After a final briefing on the development deal, City Council Chair Victoria Petro said city officials looked out for residents’ best interests throughout the negotiations and did their due diligence on the massive changes coming to the west side.

“Big and different does not equate to bad, scary or wrong. It equates to big and different.” Petro said. “We are a city in transition.”

The approvals came as an end-of-year deadline imposed by the Utah Legislature ticked closer. If the deadline had passed without the agreements in place, the city would have lost all power to influence what will be built as a part of the roughly 100-acre project full of new apartments, restaurants, office spaces and, if LHM gets its way, a Major League Baseball stadium.

SLC’s deal with LHM

The final terms of the development agreement codify a range of items that were on the city’s wish list, from affordable housing to nondiscrimination protections for residents using the development’s open spaces. The agreement stipulates that LHM will try to acquire a professional baseball team and that the ball club would play its games at the stadium within the project’s footprint.

City officials pushed for below-market-rate housing to be included in the development, too. In the end, the company agreed that at least 10% of all units built will be designated for those who make 80% of the metropolitan area’s median income, or about $92,400 for a family of four. Of all the units within the district, 20% are guaranteed to have at least two bedrooms.

West-siders have long shared concerns that the massive project would speed up gentrification, and have contended that a variety of housing options could prevent some displacement.

To ensure a future stadium is used for more than baseball, the development agreement includes guarantees for setting up a permitting process to approve other events.

LHM has also pledged to provide the city with a master transportation plan that will include blueprints for pedestrian and cyclist access to the development.

The city agreed to bend its rules for protecting waterways and allow some construction within 100 feet of the Jordan River.

Instead of abiding by city rules that cap building heights near the airport, LHM will bypass City Hall and ask the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to build tall towers.

If Salt Lake City tries to lure any other MLB team in the first 20 years of the deal, LHM has the right to terminate the contract.

City services agreement

Council members also finalized a contract with the Utah Fairpark Area Investment and Restoration District that will give both parties more time to negotiate a longer-term agreement for how the city will be reimbursed for providing services like policing, fire response, and water and sewer lines to the new district.

The one-year contract approved Tuesday mirrors the revenue-sharing provisions outlined in the state law that created the taxing district. Under the terms of the deal, the city will get to keep tax revenue generated from properties already within the project area’s boundaries, plus 25% of the revenue generated from new growth.

Neither accord approved by the council received a public hearing Tuesday night, and the final terms of each agreement were not publicly available until after 5:30 p.m.