Council Formal Meeting

2:15Council.

2:48Okay, so let me start with some welcome announcements and the rules about this meeting. Again, thank you for joining us today. Before we move through the agenda, I wanted to highlight some of these rules. We welcome everyone, regardless of your opinion or your side of an issue, because you will have people with varying opinions on important issues. The Council's goal is to make the meetings a place where people feel safe and comfortable participating. This is the most local level of government and it is key value of ours to ensure that we have created a respectful and safe environment so no one feels intimidated out of free participation.

3:38This also allows us to ensure that the meeting can continue and we can conduct the scheduled city business. We invite each of you to contribute to this space, to speak your mind and to welcome others to the same. In order to create this welcoming and safe space, we will pass the meeting at any action that causes free disruption to our ability to conduct the meeting or any safety concern involving threats or unprotected speech. If there are repeated actions or comments, it may result in removal from the meeting. To avoid intimidating others, please avoid the use of threatening and discriminatory language. Do not insult others based on religion, ethnicity, race, color, gender, sexual orientation or physical ability.

4:32Whether you agree or disagree with someone's comment, clapping, cheering, shouting, booing, snapping, gesturing of obstruction or discouraging others from commenting, it is not allowed. As a reminder, as Council members, we refrain from reacting or responding to allow everyone to share their opinion freely. This is to keep our reactions from affecting your ability to share your opinion freely. If you would like to follow up with any of us, please see the Council staff or if you are online, you can reach out through the Zoom chat for contact information.

5:11When making your comments, please address the body and not any individual elected official. If you have a handout for the Council, please raise your hand and the Council staff will assist you. Council staff are available during and after the meeting to help you with any questions or information sharing. The full meeting rules are listed at the door and our staff will post the link in our Zoom page. As a reminder of our public comment registration process, individuals might register to comment on scheduled public hearing items until the hearing is closed. For the general comment section, we will accept sign-ups until 7.30 pm. The general comment section is limited to a maximum of one hour and will only include commenters who registered before the 7.30 pm deadline.

6:06If you are here to give general comment, please sign up and remember that it is possible that not everyone who sign up may be able to speak. This brings us to item A4, which is approving the Council meetings from December 2nd, 2025 and a meeting motion.

6:27I have a motion by Council Member Dougan and second by Council Member Lopez-Chavis. All of those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. All of any opposed? This motion carries unanimously. That brings us now to the public hearing section of the agenda. This section of the agenda are specific proposals before the Council that require public hearing. Your comments should pertain to the specific hearing at hand. If you go off topic, we will ask you to stop your comment.

7:02In order to create a welcome and safe space, we will pass the meeting at any disruption to our ability to conduct the meeting. And if you are on Zoom, and you want to comment and this public hearing, please unmute your microphone when your name is called. Each person will have two minutes. If you reach the two-minute mark, the host will announce time.

7:29And your microphone will be muted. We will be calling those names in order of sign-ups. If you need staff assistance in the room, you can raise your hand and the staff member will assist you. And if you are online, you can contact Ash Kay from our staff who can assist you. If you are unable to finish your comment in those two minutes allowed, you can share the rest of your comments through email or you can mail our office. You can also call us. Contact information is listed at slc.gov.counsel. If you also have a handout for us, you can notify the Council staff and they will bring it up to us. Now, let's go to the first public hearing is item B1, which is an ordinance, Sony Amendment, at approximately 256 East 300 South, Brian Fulmer,

8:26Council Policy Analyst will give us a short introduction. Brian. Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is a proposal to amend the zoning map for the property you referenced from its current MU8 or mixed use 8 to D1 or Central Business District. The current proposal is to construct an approximately 180 foot hotel on the site. Thank you.

8:52Thank you. And please, Taylor, start with a first comment.

8:59Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have about 13 people registered to speak to this item. The first will be Marilyn Kurch followed by Taylor Mott and then Travis Starling. Marilyn, you may not unmute. Thank you so much. My husband and I have a home, we considered our home at 230 East Broadway in the Broadway Towers on the seventh floor.

9:23We have lived here for 13 years and I've enjoyed being able to have a view not only of the skyline, but also of the changing of the seasons. With the proposed building of this hotel, it would greatly block and disturb the quietness of our neighborhood within the city center, but also it would lead to a very disruptive location of a hotel that would lead to more business and busyness within our area. We also are not only advocates for maintaining the structure of what is currently here in our location, but we want the cityscape to be maintained.

10:12We have currently a belief that if this were to go forward, it would actually look at a place. It would, again, the design and what they're trying to propose would lead to even further changes to what is currently established within this neighborhood. We also have in the neighborhood an area where there are children across the street and other families that are needing safety and there would be just an issue with having people coming in and out right across the street from the YMCA, but particularly the need and the desire for more space would begin to take over, not only our area, but the other area for apartments and single family dwellings. Thank you. Next we'll be Taylor Mott followed by Travis Starley and long Cindy Carimer.

11:14Taylor, you may not unmute. Hi, good evening. My name is Taylor Mott and I'm a homeowner at Broadway Tower located to the west of the lot in question. I'm here to oppose the proposed rezone from MU8 to MU2D1. My concerns are fourfold. First, the scale. A building of up to 180 or 225 feet, including no height cap under D1, is more than double what the current MU8 zoning allows. This is not a modest up zone. It would obstruct light and views for every resident on the east side of our building, including upper floor units. Second, the fit. This block sits outside the city's established downtown boundary. The Planning Commission recognized this when it voted against the rezone in 2024, citing conflicts with the surrounding neighborhood character.

12:12Nothing about that context has changed. Third, the infrastructure. The Planning Commission also noted that existing utilities do not support the D1 scale development. Without a approving a rezone without addressing that gap would place an outsized burden on the surrounding area. And fourth, the use. The current MU8 zoning encourages residential development with ground floor retail. Exactly the kind of mixed use community oriented development that belongs on this stretch of Broadway. A large hotel brings late night activity and additional traffic to a street that is predominantly residential and character. I would ask the council to uphold the Planning Commission's prior recommendation and deny the rezone to D1. Thank you.

13:00And next is Travis Stolley followed by Cindy Kermer and then Amy Atkins. Travis, you may not unmute. Hi, my name is Travis Stolley. I'm speaking on behalf of the central city neighborhood council regarding the proposed zoning map amendment. CCNC's concern is about the long term zoning decision, not just one project concept. Zoning out lasts any individual proposal. If this property is rezoned to D1, that would permanently expand development and development rights and allow a much greater level of height, intensity and use, and use than the surrounding block has today.

13:44This block is not characterized by downtown tower scale development. It is defined by a mix of residential buildings and small neighborhood businesses with a predominantly two to four story pattern. The Planning Commission forwarded a negative recommendation on this rezone and we urge the council to take that recommendation seriously. This area sits near downtown but it also functions as a transition area into central city. The central community master plan emphasizes protecting neighborhood character, supporting appropriate mixed use development and ensuring thoughtful transitions between the downtown core and surrounding residential areas. CCNC supports redevelopment. We are not opposed to growth but the growth should be consistent with adopted plans

14:35compatible with neighborhood context and paired with clear community benefit when major additional development capacity is requested. In this case CCNC does not support extending D1 zoning to this mid block location. We ask the council to reject this application and preserve a zoning framework that better reflects the scale and character of the surrounding neighborhood. Thank you.

15:04Next is Cindy Kramer followed by Amy Atkinson and then Marissa Mills. Cindy is here inversion. My name is Cindy Kramer. I want to make three points tonight. The first two are ones that I made to you recently and are relevant to the requested rezoning. I'll keep them short. You've heard them. The third one is new and wonderful. It is a summary of building a community. It's close to poetry to me.

15:28Unfortunately, I'm not the author of how to build community but you'll get a copy. First, a remark about your authority over zoning. It's the same comment I made on the requested rezoning for Silverado nearby. You have the authority to steer development in Salt Lake. You have indicated that greater height for buildings should occur to the south and west. I agree completely. You also need strategies for filling in the holes in the downtown core where we now have surface parking lots and billboards. You have two requests for rezoning which asks you to steer the height to the east, Silverado and this one. If you do that, I promise you that you will get more such requests to the east.

16:09Lots of them. They will replace developments which could have occurred where you indicated you want them to the south and west. Secondly, the concept of community benefits has run amuck. I have been seeing this for over a year ever since the planning division accepted two bedroom units at market rate as a community benefit in the avenues. A bike station is small change when you upzone from an MU3 to an MU8. Please review how the concept of community benefit is being implemented when you get clear of the budget. And now for the new remark. Hotels have relatively little to do with building community.

16:48To make my point, I'm sending you a wonderful statement on how to build community. Some of the behaviors can be accomplished in a hotel, but they are far more likely to occur in a neighborhood of long-term residents and neighborhood businesses. It doesn't matter whether the residents are owners or renters. The duration of showing up matters. As you read the list when you get it, I urge you to think about which kind of... Hi. Next is Amy Atkinson followed by Marissa Mills and then Ben Ingl, Amy's here in person. Hello. My husband and I own a unit at Broadway Towers which is adjacent to the site. The current zoning is residential mixed use which allows moderate height and density.

17:37The proposed rezone to D1 is a major shift. It removes any maximum height limit and allows the most intense development in the city. While the current proposal is a 180 foot hotel, the zoning change would allow significantly taller structures in the future with limited ability for the city to restrict them. There are already taller buildings nearby and from my understanding those were built under zoning that still maintains height limits. That shows development can occur without eliminating those controls. This area functions as a transition between downtown and residential uses and this proposal skips that transition and expands downtown core zoning outward. Rezoning decisions should align with the city's general plan and demonstrate a clear public benefit. I don't see

18:28that demonstrated here. Especially given the long-term impacts that this change would allow, I urge the council to deny the rezone or consider a designation that maintains reasonable height limits and compatibility. Thank you. Next is Marissa Mills followed by Ben Ingl and then Jane Nelson. Marissa, you may now unmute. Hello. My name is Marissa Mills. I am a home owner in Broadway Towers on the 7th floor east facing. So first of all, the main thought that came to my mind was the loss of light and views of mountains and everything east facing. But in addition to that, the stretch of third south is only one lane in each direction and it's already quite congested a lot of times in the day, especially near second east. I know that as mentioned is

19:23the cut off between downtown and some of the more residential neighborhoods. Adding more density here will increase traffic on a street that's already constrained and it also raises safety concerns for residents, pedestrians and cyclists. Second, parking. Parking is already limited than many of us rely on street parking every day. Increased density without adequate parking solutions will push overflow into surrounding residential streets and make an already difficult situation worse. This area also has a character and unique neighborhood feel and small businesses and local spots that contribute to its identity. It's not just an extension of downtown. It's a distinct, more residential and community oriented area and expanding higher density zoning into

20:07this area risks of roading that character and changing the livability for the people who already call it home. Lastly, I don't believe the existing infrastructure, whether that's traffic, parking or overall capacity has been adequately addressed to support this level of increased density. I'm not opposed to growth but I do believe it needs to be aligned with the realities on the ground and right now this proposal feels misaligned with the existing conditions of this neighborhood. Thank you. Next is Ben Angler followed by Jane Nelson and then Emma Lee Nelson.

20:43Hello, my name is Ben Angler. I live on 100 South between second and 30s. We've got a little neighborhood cleanup group called ourselves Neighbors Who Care, kind of under the Central City Neighborhood Council. When we talk about neighbors who care, I would just try to encourage our developers to be good neighbors. I believe this property was an apartment building back in 1991. It had a fire that burnt it down, all those people losing their homes. They talked about millions of dollars in damage back then. I imagine there was probably some kind of an insurance payment on it. In the meantime, what we've had is the Surface Parking Lot.

21:28Until now, since 91, the Surface Parking Lot is not something that we want in our neighborhoods. We do want development but we want development that's going to benefit our community. I don't think there's any community benefit in a hotel, especially one that seems to be intended to be continued owned by the same people that have not been good neighbors up to this point.

21:55I'm also thankful to all you. I'm inspired. I'm proud to be a resident of the city because of you guys. The city has gone to a great length to plan how we want our city to develop. That did not include a D1 zone here. I would just discourage you from approving this up zone. Next is Jane Nelson, followed by Emily Nelson and then Dorothy Armane, Jay is here in person.

22:30If this were a normal hotel, I would agree with some of the people who have spoken before me. However, if you look into the details of this particular hotel, it is going to be an art focused hotel. It's done in an art deco design and it has a large multi-gallery set up in it. It's designed to help hundreds of local artists every year to increase the amount of money they make and a lot of artists are not doing very well these days. I'm a former professional photographer and artist. I want to speak out on behalf of local artists.

23:16I make a plea on their behalf. Artists have been hit very hard by AI and certain segments of artists have lost their jobs to a very good degree. About a fourth of illustrators have lost their jobs already due to AI. This hotel is not a normal hotel. It's aiming at the high end. It's designed to bring in high end buyers of art and to help local artists in a big way. The gallery is high up on the building. It has a good view. It would be an amazing location for an art gallery.

24:05There are many other benefits which the building has. Nearby people would not have to walk very far for groceries. It has a close groceries. Parking would not be an issue in the area because a lot of parking is planned in the structure. That would make things so much better for the area. Provide a lot more jobs for the area. Again, just to play on behalf of artists.

24:32Time. Next will be Emily Nelson, followed by Dorothy Henry and then Amy Isaacson. Emily is here in person. Hi. The site's immediate neighborhood is currently in new apartments and oversupply with 40% vacancies. This project proposes to add a lot of cultural uses, employment, and services. The construction will take at least three years and in that time we expect that the growth of Utah will continue. The site owners are working out a feasibility for an overall mixed use combined with long-term housing added. The goal is to add more housing units with the help of the D1 rezoned than they could now build on the site with the new restrictions they have under ME8. The proposed site is in the blocks art district. It is served by the Free Fair

25:23Zone at Library Station. It's in the Broadway district of downtown plan. It's in the corporate utilities district of the east downtown plan called an extension to the central district. The eastern extents of D1 are actually mid-block between 200 and 300 east and many D1 parcels are all on the same block as this site. The planning commission needed two more votes to recommend and three were concerned with unlimited height. We have not been asking for any unlimited height. This decision has always rested with the city council as elected officials. The council has latitude to consider the needs they see in their own districts. Utility lines are a non-issue if they need to be enlarged which they didn't under the current design. It would be a normal

26:10construction project if they needed to be enlarged. We have been including a 4,000-square-foot gallery and supports bases and that kind of use does require a program behind it. Say arthotelutah.com. Artists in Utah and the west are very dispersed and the programs here are designed to work with the vast western state situation to increase their visibility and sales to increase the local use of art collection for financial investment in general. Since the proposal by the city council to enter include long-term housing was recent. Today the owners are asking for a little extension to propose the needed and therefore financially possible. Next will be Dorothy Henry and then Annie Isaacson. Dorothy is here in person. Good evening. Four years ago actually five years ago I bought

27:04the condo in the Samson Altadena complex. My son who was disabled 53 lives on the first floor. Really this whole proposal would impact the environment of the community. Namely it would cast a big shadow on our building. What attracted me to our present residence is the sunny exposure in the sunny windows. It's a very cheery place. The neighborhood is safe for my son. It's a residential area.

27:34People are friendly and helpful. It's a nice community and I think the idea of having a transient motel or hotel even though it may attract artists which is a nice thing certainly doesn't fit the flavor of the neighborhood. So I'm very much opposed to the proposing of rezoning. Thank you.

27:56And next will be Annie Isaacson who's here. Hi I'm Annie Isaacson. I'm the HOA president of Samson Altadena. We are on the corner of 300 south denderties. We are on the local and national historic registry. Firstly I want to show you these are our buildings. This is now the overland properties as they exist and these two are parking lots. So if we were to see the overland build to their limit that they could build due to the local historic landmark status this is the maximum they can build. They need to step away from our roof line at a 45 degree angle.

29:06If the Satoru's built out their lot this is what they would have to build. This is what the wades are proposing. The other thing I want to state so as you know here's the city county building here's the library. Here are a little historic buildings. This is the Broadway tower that several people have spoken. This is what the wades are proposing in 185 feet and when Mr.

29:45Wade presented to the work session he said actually we want to build it up to 225 feet. That's 185 feet. So if you're living the metro you're looking at a Chinese wall and I really don't think this is an appropriate thing to do to our community. Build a Chinese wall three quarters away across the center of the block. It's anyway please leave it that way. Thank you.

30:14That was the final register commenter for this item.

30:24Okay. Thank you for all those that make the comment. I'm looking for a motion. Mr. Chair I move that the council close the public hearing and defer action to a future council meeting. Second. Okay I have a motion by council member Lopez Chavez and a second by council member Warden. I'm going to call the vote. All of those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay.

30:57That motion carries unanimously. We are going to be moving on on the agenda. We're going to go to item B2 which is an ordinance. So an amendment at approximately 1073 South Navajo Street. Now we're going to be welcoming Austin Kimmel who's our council policy analyst to give us a short introduction on the item. Thanks, council chair. This is a public hearing for a proposal to amend the zoning map amendment at a parse for a parcel at 1073 South Navajo Street from R15000 which is a single family residential zone to RMF 30 low density multifamily residential zone. The applicant states they plan to retain the existing two bedroom single family home and build an additional for sale family sized homes on the property.

31:52The proposed ordinance requires the petitioner to enter a development agreement with Salt Lake City with two specific conditions. The first is that the existing home on the site be retained in the second that any additional dwelling units over four units must be for sale. Thank you.

32:11Thank you, Austin Taylor. Please notify your first commenter. Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have three people registered to speak to this item. The first will be Jennifer Magigal followed by Rachel Hall and then Greg Garcia. Jennifer, you may now unmute.

32:28Hi, thanks. My name is Jennifer Magigal. I'm the newly appointed chair of the Glendale neighborhood council and I've been in the position for just over two months. So I'm a little bit concerned about diving into anything as I was not aware of the rezone. So I was consequently unable to present this at one of our public meetings just to let them know about the date for public comment and to get feedback from them. RMF 30 is going to set precedent for this entire street and this really can't be supported with high density housing by our current infrastructure including just the ability to get into or out of the block. Glendale's historically redland and probably half of those properties are owned by real estate investors. So we would love to see a real

33:22plan with the deed restricting and to make sure that that is going to be applied to any reason that goes forward. We really want to preserve the character of the neighborhood as set out in the official Westside plan, which is nearly entirely R5 and R7 single family mid-century modern and ranch style homes. So I urge the City Council to take the time to ensure a plan for all

33:49R30 rezones going forward before approving any rezone and consider the best zoning type for this area area if RMF 30 is even the right type. So I also would encourage the council to allow for one more period of public comment after I'm able to present this at our monthly meeting this month. I met with the property owner and well I'm sure he's got the best intentions for the neighborhood.

34:13Others who follow this precedent may not.

34:25We'll be Rachel Hove by Greg Garcia, which we may not unmute.

34:31Well, hi, thanks for nodding me. I currently live across the street from the proposed property and in new or typical in-day neighborhood and this proposal has caused a lot of distress in our neighborhood about what's going to happen just like these changes and it seems like all of our neighbors are really for like maybe some some housing, some you know tiny homes, some 80 years, but you really like to see some proposed plans of what might be happening to this property before this zoning change goes through. I've been on not the host street. We bought our home about nine months ago and there's so much predatory practices of you know every day I'm on the front yard people drive by asking if they can buy it off you because they are hoping for work

35:25to see to approve these money making zoning laws that will completely change the vibe of Glendale and it's been so hard to find good housing in Salt Lake. There's still young folks out here that want single-family homes, they want these starter homes, they are small and the lots are big. I think there's a lot of cool potential here, but I don't think that what's happening across the property from my own is going to make the neighborhood better. So just would really love more time for my neighbors to be able to speak up against this and just to be able to decide since this is the first one happening on our streets. Just the intention and what we're trying to create here.

36:14There also is an infrastructure for parking or our really old sewer line to be able to support much more urban inflow on the street. So much facility decides to fix some of those issues. I just urge you to pause on this. And next will be Greg Garcia who's here in person.

36:44Hi, I'm Greg Garcia. I live at 1078 directly in front of the proposed property and I'm not really excited about it. You already, there's already a development going down at the circle that is already going to bring in a lot of traffic, let alone have something directly in front of me. I really enjoy the neighborhood. I've been there for eight years. My neighbors are great. It's just kind of frustrating that they want to change the environment of the area. So I just would like to

37:19have this turn down because I really enjoy our neighborhood and really there's been nothing talked about as far as traffic through that area. Like I say, there's a big structure going down, less than a quarter mile and nobody's planned for any of that traffic to come through. So just something to consider. Thank you. That was the final register, comment for this item.

37:48Thank you for those that share your comments. I will need a motion.

37:57I move the council close the public hearing and defer action to a future council meeting. Second. Emotion by council member Pietro and second by council member Lopez Chavez. Any discussion? Okay. I'm going to call the vote. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? This motion carries unanimously. I'm going to keep on moving through the agenda.

38:22We're going to, we are at the section C section of the agenda, which is the potential action items.

38:29And item C1 is the ordinance for the expiration of the land use approval text amendment and I need a motion. Is the chair move the council to top the ordinance? Second. Council member by motion by council member Dugan and second by the Chavez. Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? This motion carries unanimously. I moving through the agenda. Item C2 is the ordinance for the Schuerthaus hotel plan and zoning amendment at approximately 21 11 South, 1300 East and I will, I'm looking for motion.

39:11Mr. Chair, I move that the council reject the ordinance. Second.

39:18I have a motion by council member Young and a second by council member Pietro in the discussion. Mr. Chair, if I can just reserve a point in personal privilege to explain my vote after the council vote. I'd appreciate it. Anybody else? Okay. I'm going to call the vote. All of those in favor of the motion say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed?

39:41This motion carries unanimously. Now is your time. Thank you. So to my community members, I'm Sugar House Park is one of our community's most valued public spaces. It's the landmark that many neighbors, including myself, use to tell people where we live in the city and it represents a shared identity and point of pride for the area. The level of engagement we saw throughout the process reflects just how deeply people care about its future and the role it plays in shaping the character of our neighborhood. My vote to reject the request today reflects a concern about precedent. Expanding the business district beyond what is outlined in our adopted community plan, particularly when our updated mixed use zoning is still in its first year, feels premature.

40:32We've not yet seen the full potential of development within the existing business core, and I believe we should allow that work to take shape before considering expansions of the business district that could have long-term implications for Sugar House. This decision was informed by the thoughtful and substantive input we heard from neighbors, including an organized effort by our leaders and trustees with the Sugar House Community Council. Residents raised important considerations around building scale and transitions, impacts to neighborhood livability, and the relationship of this site to Sugar House Park. Others spoke about broader questions of long-term planning alignment, the importance of honoring the community plan, and how incremental

41:16decisions today really shape the future of our community. These perspectives reinforce the need to take a measured approach. I want to sincerely thank the applicant for their professionalism and collaboration throughout the process. They have been a class act. I'm also deeply appreciative of the many neighbors, community organizations, and subject matter experts who took the time to engage in the conversation and share their expertise. Our community is stronger when people care, and this process is clearly demonstrated how much our residents value the future of our city, and especially cherished public spaces like Sugar House Park. I'm proud to represent this community and look forward to continued engagement as we build our future together. Thank you.

42:08Thank you, Council Member Young. I would like to echo your sentiment on this. Thank you all for the work that you have done to help us understand the community sentiment about this, but also understand the issues on the ground and how it felt for park users and how it will feel for those utilizing the site. Thank you for the work on this.

42:35We're moving on through the agenda. There is no new business, and there is not unfinished business, but there is a consent portion of the agenda. I need a motion. A little further approval. Second. I have a motion by Council Member Wharton that I felt like I'm the only one who heard that.

42:55And second by Council Member Lopez-Chavis, all of those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? This motion carries unanimously to approve the consent agenda, and now we're moving to the section G of the public comment section of our meeting. Are there any questions to the Mayor of the Mayor of the Sydney from the Council? Okay. There's none. Thank you. All of those representing the Mayor and the Administration right there. As far as the general comment portion of the agenda, this section is for the public comment of any city business not scheduled for public hearing.

43:41It is limited to a maximum of one hour, and to only those individuals who registered to speak before 7.30 pm. Our meeting rules apply to these general comments. Please help by disruptions or threats, or we will ask staff member to assist you out of the meeting. Also as a reminder, comments that include providing personal attacks, intimidation, or discriminatory language are no persuasive or compelling to this Council. They will, they are no helpful to create a respectful and safe environment. We will be calling the names in the order they sign up, and each person will have two minutes, make sure, realize that no everybody may be able to speak. If you need the staff assistance, please raise your hand if you're in the meeting. If you are online, you can contact

44:34from our staff to assist you. If you're unable to finish your comments, like I mentioned earlier, please share the rest of your message via email, mail, or call our office. Taylor, can you please begin with our first general comment. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The first will be Issa Akuna Zorate followed by Shannon Jones and then TJ Young. Issa is here in person.

45:09My name is Issa Akuna, I'm a constituent from District 3 in Salt Lake City, Utah. I want to emphasize my thanks to the mayor and the city council for doing everything they can and promising that they'll do everything they can to fight the mega detention center that was just bought by ICE. I also wanted to talk about maybe some things that you guys could do.

45:36Four different cities blocked warehouses that were bought by ICE, and they bought a moratorium, I don't want to say it correctly, but it's a permit to halt and pause things and start an amount of time. Kansas City passed a five year moratorium, Seattle passed a one year moratorium, King County, Washington passed a moratorium. I understand that the building is outside of the city council's limits, so it would fall to the county council to pass a moratorium.

46:03But I urge anyone that has connections to please talk to those people and see if there's anything that they can do. I come from immigrants, my dad immigrated from Columbia, I would not be here without him, and I saw the sacrifice and hardships that he had to go through just to access everything that people with citizenship can. And if this ICE detention center opened, there would be terror on the west side of Salt Lake City, and I don't think it'd go through that. I have many people close to me who are undocumented, and they've said that they don't even leave their house only to work, and no one should live like that. And me as a daughter of immigrants, I've felt so much pain and just fear for my parents and anyone who just doesn't look right because that's who they're

46:51targeting. And I also urge the city council to speak out against the Mathis and Courthouse that has been the bailiffs have been working with ICE and there are people detained there. Thank you.

47:07Next will be Shannon Jones followed by TJ Young and then Regal Ramirez. Shannon, you may not. Yes. Yes, thank you. My name is Shannon Jones. I'd like to thank the city council for the opportunity to speak as a district 3 resident. I'm a researcher at the University of Utah and the executive director of the University Center for Community Nutrition. However, tonight I'm speaking on my personal behalf, not on behalf of the university. Urban farm programs that employ individuals experiencing homelessness while providing free organic produce to the community are exceptionally rare in the United States.

47:54In my research, I have been able to find only one program specific for women experiencing homelessness. That program is Wasatch Community Gardens Green Team program. I've been fortunate enough to collaborate with colleagues from the Green Team for many years. Along with colleagues from the university and Green Team staff, we received funding from the National Science Foundation to understand how this one-of-a-kind program works. As far as I'm aware, it's the only grant ever funded by the National Science Foundation that recognized experts with lived expertise and homelessness as full co-investigators on a research project. This was a significant achievement to have one of the world's most prestigious science institutions recognize the innovation of the Green Team farm.

48:46At the national level, current homelessness related priorities are de-implementing evidence-based practices. Salt Lake has the opportunity to counter these regressive decisions and support a model that may provide practice-relevant evidence of how person-centered approaches and practices influence health behaviors and health equity for women experiencing homelessness.

49:13I respectfully ask the council to fund the Green Team program through the Community Development Block Grant. Thank you for your consideration. Next will be TJ Young followed by Riga Ramirez and then Katie Dryer, TJ's here in person. Hi, I'm TJ, a resident of Sugar House. I've run a community-led daily ice watch for over 14 months now. I'm here tonight to extend my support to the mayor and council for any and all efforts they can continue to pursue to slow and stop the warehouse. It's 60-20 west, 300 south from becoming an ice mega detention center, a concentration camp, a toolpath 2.0. So far in 2026, 15 known deaths have occurred in ICE detention and the number of deaths in 2025 exceeded the highest scene in over two decades. With the detainment center's ice already

50:07owns, there are widespread credible reports of overcrowding, inadequate plumbing, moldy rotten food and undrinkable water. There are problems with understaffing, a lack of adequate medical care, and a constant barrage of dehumanizing language and treatment of our immigrant friends, family and neighbors. Our friends, our family, and our neighbors. Routinely ICE is lying about incidents continuing to violate both human and constitutional rights. Locally, there are at least two incidents where ICE agents have been caught on video lying. Both times trying to charge people with federal crimes would not occur. I thank the mayor and council for your strong stance against the ICE detention center so far and support all policies, environmental restrictions,

50:56lawsuits, or anything else that can stop this warehouse from moving forward. Thank you for your continued efforts and thank you for your time. Next will be Regal Ramirez followed by Katie Dreyer and then Paul Miller because he was in person. Good evening. My name is Regal Ramirez. I'm the lead representative for the Carpenters Union Locoleira 1. Everyone you see here holding up a sign is a member of the Carpenters Union and their family. For the last several years, during this time of the year, we show up to raise awareness about tax-wrap in the construction industry. It is estimated that the construction tax-wrap is responsible for cheating communities at the millions of dollars in tax revenue. That's millions of dollars in last tax revenue that

51:46could be used for building and renovating schools, repairing roads, caring for veterans, sheltering homeless, and funding other essential public programs. The prevalence of construction industry tax-wrap has reached crisis levels and must be stopped. This April 6 through the 18th, Locoleira 1 in the city of Salt Lake and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters are taking part of the National Tax-wrap Day Subaction. A week and a half long series of events to raise awareness of our construction tax-wrap industry, a range of practices where employers evade their tax responsibilities in several ways. Often, they intentionally misclassify workers as independent contractors and pay workers in cash-only arrangements as a result. This business significantly reduced

52:41their income tax and payroll tax responsibilities and defract communities are much needed tax revenue. Now, as communities are facing budget shortfalls, it's more important than ever to crack down on these bad actor employers who are stealing from the residents of Salt Lake City and all over the state of Utah. Thank you so much, City Council members, for your support and the opportunity to speak up. Next will be Katie Dwyer followed by Paul Miller and then Jackson 83, Katie's here in person.

53:17Hello and thank you. I'm Katie Dwyer, the executive director at Wysetch Community Gardens. We are requesting $50,000 in C2BG funding to support the grantee and job training program, our farm-based job training program for women facing or experiencing homelessness. As of now, we are not recommended for this particular funding in the upcoming cycle.

53:37I'd like to be clear. This program is about more than just 16 participants. Indeed, each year we provide paid jobs, intensive training, in case management to roughly 16 women, helping them access housing, build employment skills and secure stable work, and about 80% of them achieve housing and employment within six months. But their impact extends far beyond their own program participation and this is a pivotal element to our story. These women are the workforce behind City Farm, a 1.4 acre certified organic urban farm in Salt Lake City's district too.

54:11These 16 program participants grow thousands of produce, thousands of pounds of fresh produce distributed to local partners, reaching roughly 1000 low income residents who might otherwise not have access to healthy food. In any given year, more than 40% of the Utah population served in shelters has received food grown by our green team. These 16 women also grow 45,000 seedlings for our spring plant sale, putting food producing plants into the hands of 3,000 households across the valley. Proceeds from the sale reinvest directly into our program serving low income residents.

54:46Just two years ago, our City Farm was a vacant weedy lot. Today it is a hub for regenerative agriculture, education and community engagement on the west side. Hundreds of residents visit each year to learn, volunteer and to see for themselves the food generating power created by this program. The green team is more than just a job training program, it's a multiplier. 16 women empowering 4000 people across Salt Lake City to grow and eat healthy vocal food. We hope you'll reconsider CDBG funding for the green team in recognition of the full scope of this impact and thank you very much. Next we'll be Paul Miller followed by Jackson Eardly and then Sean Ramos. Paul's here

55:29Yeah, I'm super grateful for Mayor Menonhaal's actions of withholding water from the ICE facility to preserve our water resources. Let's ignore the fact that they drink and shower at home and they just be drinking and showering at the ICE facility instead but we don't need those bastards still in our limited water resources. That's why I'm glad you did what you did.

55:52Heck, the legislator couldn't even get no driver's licenses for illegal's past or no public funds for entitlements going to illegal's. That's why I'm proud of you for Mayor Menonhaal for taking this into your own hands. I'm really surprised your base thinks that your actions are to punish ICE or ICE agents when in reality they can bring water from home and shower at home. I'm but I'd like to bring to everyone's attention who was going to these ICE facilities an illegal named Israel Esquoit Estep was caught kidnapping a 15 year old girl and raping her last week in Ogden. Jorge Luis Martinez an illegal cotton Kentucky also kidnapping and raping a 15 year old girl. Harrado Ariel with Turbide an illegal caught young

56:45caught getting young teens drunk to make child porn and to distribute it. One Padilla Victoria an illegal alien who has convictions for domestic battery, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon DUI carrying a concealed weapon and reentering the US after removal which is a felony. Now I don't want these oxygen thieves stealing our water resources either. To be honest I don't see how anyone would want these horrible people in our communities. I personally wouldn't piss on their heads if their hair was on fire. So thank you Mayor and God bless. Next will be Jackson Eardly followed by Sean Ramos and then Heather Smith Jackson here in first. See that name again one more time Taylor Jackson Eardly. Are you here? If not let's go to the next comment.

57:55Next will be Sean Ramos followed by Heather Smith and then all of Peter Cenjakobe. Sean T. Unkers. Good evening council members. My name is Sean Edward Ramos. I'm a certified emission specter who worked at a shop in Rose Park until just recently. I'm also proud to say I'm now the vice chair for precinct 21 for the Democratic Party. Have you ever gone to work every day afraid that your coworker may be abducted at gunpoint? Have you ever gone for a run on the Jordan River Trail and seen a homeless man with no legs? Have you ever found a woman unconscious on the track platform and had to revive her with naloxone? Because I have. These are abstract policy debates to me.

58:52These are things I have seen and experienced in our city with my own two eyes. When I step outside I feel moral injury. I feel moral injury. I see suffering while public officials tell us there's no money for public housing, health care or child care. But somehow there's always money for over policing surveillance and subsidies for wealthy developers. Working people in Salt Lake City need real investments in public welfare. We need housing for everyone, not just those who can afford it. We need childcare so families can stay employed. We need fast accessible public transportation so working people aren't trapped by the cost of owning a car. And most of all we need policies and initiatives centered around compassion and dignity for our most vulnerable

59:42communities. Right now many of us feel like our government has stopped working for ordinary people. So my question to this council is simple. Who's this city being run for? Thank you.

1:00:03Next will be Heather Smith followed by all of Peter Sanchikobe and then Hayley Hernandez. Heather you may not unmute. My name is Heather Smith. I'm calling in from St. George Utah. I'm opposed to the ICE Center that is planned at 6020 West 300 South in Salt Lake City. I appreciate any efforts to oppose this warehouse being turned into a detention center which is inhumane.

1:00:37We cannot use this type of building for this purpose. I am supportive of criminals being detained by our police officers as usual. I do not feel that people who are trying to immigrate to this country do whatever means they have found need to be held captive, especially children, especially women and pregnant women. And I've been hearing horrors of the ICE's centers around the country for over a year now and I cannot stand it to be in my state. Please do everything you can. And I thank you for what you've done already. Next will be all of Peter Sanchikobe followed by Hayley Hernandez and then Diane Kern. All of you may not unmute.

1:01:38My name is all of Peterson-Yikobe, all of them District 5. And I'm also here tonight to request that the city does more does anything it possibly can to prevent the ICE detention center from being opened. I understand that the mayor has cited environmental impact and undue strain on water and sewage infrastructure as well as first responders and traffic.

1:02:12I think those are all perfect. Those are all perfectly fine things to cite. I am very concerned about how we will actually enforce the limitations on water use that were recently passed. I don't believe that anyone empowered by this administration will accurately report anything regarding these detention facilities. And I certainly don't believe that they will listen if we politely ask them to stop using so much water or politely ask them to stop brutalizing innocent immigrants. So I think anything you can do preemptively before the facility is opened, anything you can do to stop it from being open in the first place, it absolutely must be done.

1:03:07An unwillingness to take politically risky action at this time will put blood on the hands of this council and the hands on any community members who might be compelled to join up and work at this detention facility. I think we should shut off their water and sewage access now, don't give me a chance to overuse. You should ensure the rights of protesters and do everything to make sure we can exercise our first time. Next will be Haley Hernandez followed by Diane Krim. Haley is here in person. Hello, my name is Haley Hernandez. Thank you for this opportunity.

1:03:59I am here to ask City Council to take every measure necessary to prevent the operation of the detention center and a warehouse north 6000 west 300 south. I have the privilege of being the daughter of a Mexican immigrant father at the Soyd Nandes who is now a U.S. citizen and business owner. My mother Mary Ann Hernandez is Dene and Hicare, a patch of woman. I have seen and feel my bones how the land of my people has been stripped from us by non-existent borders as well as seen the outcomes of aggressive immigration enforcement, not just in 2025 or 2026 but every year since this country's birth, understanding this land was originally Mexico, it was originally Indigenous.

1:04:44It is your responsibility as City Council to take every necessary measure to put an end to an illegal and deadly immigration center run by ICE, including the outline of a 7000-bed shelter. Are you aware there have been more than 30,000 habeas corpus petitions in federal court alleging illegal detention since shrub took office? At least 14 migrants have died in U.S.

1:05:09immigration and customs enforcement custody between January and April. The Salt Lake City Council can want to continue these deadly federal practices, allow our neighbors to be criminalized, do you want to continue the legacy of Topaz Camp? As a granddaughter of a survivor of a native boarding school, I have felt and continue to see the racism that placed my adolescent grandfather in a detention center disguised as an educational opportunity. This generational trauma that has rippled through my blood continues in my niece and nephew. I hope you understand the power you hold right now. Please do everything necessary to put an end to this. Children and families don't deserve to be locked up. Thank you. Next will be Diane Prim who's here.

1:06:05In line of some earlier comments, I'm going to change for my prepared remarks, but I do want to say thank you for all of the efforts that you have made in finding ways to stop the ICE warehouse. Wherehouses are for products, not people. I just retired as a middle school math teacher, math as your friend, and it has been the friend of many 12 and 13 year old humans that have come through my classroom. And they learned to be excellent problem solvers. And I appreciate the problem solving that you have done. I now am retired and I have a lot of energy for this particular problem. So I will be searching for every possible way to help you stop this. I do want to point out from some earlier comments that we are not deporting just criminals.

1:07:1170 to 73 percent have no criminal convictions. We are making horrible mistakes and we cannot stand for it. And I appreciate all of your good work. Know that I will be working too. And we are excellent problem solvers. Go math. That was the final registered commenter. Okay. Thank you everyone for sharing your comments. This concludes our select City Council meeting for today. This for me meeting now stands adjourned.