Utah Heritage Foundation

As you may know, what is being dubbed the Hub District has long been known as the Warehouse District.  That name even dates back to before The Gateway was even a thought!  The Hub District, an area with SL Central Station (formerly known as the Intermodal Hub) has been going through a planning process to give agency and government officials ideas as to what the future should look like.

As described by Envision Utah, the Depot District is one of six key locations identified in the Wasatch Choice for 2040 (WC2040). WC2040 is the land-use and transportation “Vision” for Salt Lake, Weber, Davis and Utah Counties, developed by elected officials and the public to improve our quality of life as our region experiences dramatic growth.  Implementing the Vision will allow us to absorb a 65% population growth (1.4 million additional residents) over the next 30 years, while enhancing our economy, protecting our beautiful natural areas, providing more housing and transportation choices, saving money and energy, and improving our air quality and health.

Thursday September 15th 7:00 - 8:00 pm

Meet at the 500 East Entrance to the “S” (main classroom) building

This came from the city after the most recent Planning Commission meeting.

"On August 10, 2011 The Planning Commission voted unanimously on the Small Neighborhood Business Amendment to forward a favorable recommendation of the proposed ordinance to the City Council.  Additional issues for discussion include; Parking impacts of commercial activities and other developments on residential properties.  Discussion of better illustrations and definitions for our sign ordinance and discuss the options and opportunities for property owners who may want to opt out of the future map amendment portion of the petition.  This would maintain their nonconforming status."

In short, this is really good news.  The amendment recognizes the value of small commercial buildings, many of the existing being historic, and the value of small businesses in neighborhoods across the city.  Anything that combines these two characteristics can only make Salt Lake City a better place.  Great work by the Planning Division.  Let's hope the city council is unanimous in voting for this.

Back on May 19, Salt Lake City Planning held a workshop with property and business owners, nearby residents, stakeholders, and other interested parties to discuss how to make 400 South a more inviting, livable corridor through good planning.  With large maps and markers, participants were able to describe their perfect neighborhood.  They included ideas about future land use, historic preservation, housing, transportation, jobs, walkability and transportation, and more.

This work is taking place thanks to a grant to the city from HUD to focus efforts on building better community around the three TRAX stops on the boulevard.

Of course, there are likely hundreds of historic properties within the 1/2 mile wide corridor that is being studied.  Many of those that exist today are in direct conflict with the city's zoning which allows up to 7 1/2 stories within the transit corridor, which is one block on either side of the transit line on 400 South.

Cedar City started implementing a 5-year downtown revitalization strategy in 1996.  Fourteen years later, stakeholders revisited and updated that plan with the help of the consulting team Hyett-Palma who did the original study through the National League of Cities “America Downtown” program.

Doyle Hyett and Dolores Palma returned to Cedar City the first week of November 2010 to hold a new round of scoping meetings.  The kickoff for the general public on Monday, November 1^st brought out a crowd of about 120 people despite competing with other community events, the final game of the World Series and Monday Night Football.  Utah Heritage Foundation was represented at the meetings by Central and Southern Utah Field Representative Susan Crook, who sits on the board of the Cedar City Downtown Retail Alliance to advise on historic preservation.

AIA Central Utah Special Event

When: Monday, August 23, 2010

Cost: Free

RSVP: AIA Utah lgreen@aiautah.org, 801.532.1727

Time: Noon - 1:30 p.m. Please arrive early if you wish to purchase lunch.

Place: Novell, Inc., 1800 Novell Place, Provo, Mountain View Room of Cafeteria Building

Directions: http://www.eastbaycafe.com/ (West of main building)

Although Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R UT-3) is a member of the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus, he has not supported appropriations for historic preservation.  Even – no, especially – fiscal conservatives should vote for funding that provides jobs and preserves our heritage.  After all, conservation at its root is conservative.

As a member of the Coalition for Full Funding of the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), Utah Heritage Foundation has urged Congressman Chaffetz to support policies and legislation for historic preservation.  Click on the links below for three good reasons why the HPF should be supported: 

• The Historic Preservation Fund: An Unpaid Debt to Our Heritage
• Historic Preservation: A Significant Source of Local Jobs
• Historic Preservation: Support for Retrofits of Older and Historic Buildings

What if we don't participate?  We risk important agencies and decision-makers not hearing individual voices express the importance of places that matter whether they be historic, cultural, natural, or scenic.

Salt Lake City has a youth component, so bring the kids!

Register by  Wednesday, July 28th!

The University Neighborhood Council is hosting a public meeting to describe a proposal to extend the boundaries of the University Historic District and to gather public input regarding a proposal.  The boundaries of the area generally includes properties located between the South Temple Historic District and 400/500 South, between 1100 East and the properties fronting on the west side of 900 East with the exception of the Salt Lake Clinic campus. The Historic Landmark Commission included this area on a priority list of areas to consider for local historic district designation.

Discussion of expansion began almost immediately after the University local historic district was passed in 1991 as several blocks felt there were significant areas of the neighborhood that deserved to be included.  However, other preservation priorities took favor since that time.  Intensive level research has been conducted on hundreds of structures in the proposed area, creating a rich context of architectural and historic significance for listing.  The area is already listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

You are invited to the public meeting to be held: