Sports, Entertainment, Culture, and Convention District
D-4 zone text amendment (adopted August 27, 2024, Ordinance 63) allowing buildings up to 600 feet by design review, plus a Capital City Revitalization Zone participation agreement with Smith Entertainment Group. On October 1, 2024 Council voted 6-0 to approve the final agreement and project area, designate SEG as participant, and levy a 0.5% citywide sales and use tax for 30 years; the Planning Commission had earlier forwarded a negative recommendation on the zoning amendment.
- Where it stands
- Approved
- Type
- Development agreement
- Location
- Downtown Salt Lake City around the Delta Center and Salt Palace
- Applicant
- Smith Entertainment Group, LLC
Every hearing and vote
August 13, 2024 · City Council
Sports, Entertainment, Culture, and Convention District text amendment (D-4 zone)
Continued · 6-0
The ordinance would amend the D-4 Secondary Central Business District to support a Sports, Entertainment, Culture, and Convention district. It would raise the maximum height allowed through design review from 125 feet to 600 feet, let buildings with plazas exceed maximum setbacks, make stadiums and commercial parking permitted instead of conditional uses (the ban on demolishing a building for principal-use parking stays), and extend the Delta Center sign overlay to the blocks containing the Salt Palace. The Planning Commission had given a negative recommendation. About a dozen speakers commented: several asked that Abravanel Hall be removed from the sign overlay and objected to allowed building height and to bypassing Planning Commission review; a Planning Commissioner said the commission was able to review large projects; representatives of nearby faith communities asked for protections and more frequent meetings during construction; others raised cost, pace and the lack of a guarantee, while some supported added height and housing above venues. Council Member Young thanked speakers and said comments were being considered. Council closed the hearing and deferred action.
August 27, 2024 · City Council
Ordinance 63 of 2024: Sports, Entertainment, Culture, and Convention District text amendment
Approved · 7-0
Council adopted the amendment to the D-4 Secondary Central Business District that raises the design-review height limit from 125 to 600 feet, lets plaza buildings exceed setbacks, makes stadiums and commercial parking permitted uses, and expands the Delta Center sign overlay to the Salt Palace blocks.
August 27, 2024 · City Council work session
Sports, Entertainment, Culture, and Convention District text amendment
Discussed
Staff reviewed the text amendment and earlier straw poll results on building height, setbacks and signs. Council Member Dugan and staff clarified that the Planning Commission reviews design while Council reviews and approves development agreements. Council Members asked about marking areas where signs would not be allowed; staff said that could be specified in a development agreement.
October 1, 2024 · City Council
Capital City Revitalization Zone participation agreement, project area and citywide 0.5% sales tax hearing
Continued · 6-0
Council heard from more than 40 speakers on the agreement with Smith Entertainment Group (SEG). Opponents said the decision was rushed and should be delayed or put to a vote, that the Planning Commission had forwarded a negative recommendation, that sales tax would push shoppers elsewhere and burden elderly and lower-income residents, that sports stadium investments rarely pay for cities, and that a developer should not receive public tax revenue; one speaker cited a newspaper poll and said residents would petition to overturn the ordinance. Supporters, including the Downtown Alliance and Chamber of Commerce, restaurant associations, Utah Symphony and Utah Opera, the University of Utah, a carpenters' union and others, said it would revitalize downtown, benefit the state and prepare for the Olympics. Representatives of Japantown and the Buddhist Temple thanked officials for protections and asked for continued involvement, and several speakers asked for Abravanel Hall's preservation and clarity on its operation. Others asked for fail-safes if the Jazz leave, transit and street activation, and consideration of nearby small businesses during construction. Council closed the hearing.
October 1, 2024 · City Council
Resolution 31 of 2024: Capital City Revitalization Zone final participation agreement, project area and designation of Smith Entertainment Group
Approved · 6-0
Council approved the final project area and participation agreement and designated Smith Entertainment Group, LLC as project participant. The motion added that the city will work with the county, SEG and others on a plan to preserve, renovate and operate Abravanel Hall at its current location, and recognized the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. City Attorney Katie Lewis said the final agreement included the development areas Council approved in July. Council Member Petro said the project was about Salt Lake City and county relationships and the arts, and that fail-safes were included. Council Member Puy said the tax excludes groceries and the agreement funds affordable housing and justice for Japantown. Council Member Wharton thanked skeptics for helping craft a better product. Council Members Lopez Chavez, Dugan and Young also spoke in favor.
October 1, 2024 · City Council
Ordinance 68 of 2024: 0.5% citywide sales and use tax for the revitalization zone
Approved · 6-0
Council levied a 0.5% citywide sales and use tax on eligible transactions under Utah Code 59-12-402.5, imposed for 30 years from the first imposition, in addition to existing sales taxes.
October 1, 2024 · City Council work session
Capital City Revitalization Zone participation agreement, project area and citywide 0.5% sales tax
Discussed
City Attorney Katie Lewis recapped the July 9 endorsement, the Revitalization Zone Committee's September 17 approval, and the Council's possible votes that evening on a resolution approving the final agreement and designating Smith Entertainment Group, LLC as project participant, and an ordinance imposing the 0.5% citywide sales and use tax under state law. She said a clause was added so that if both teams leave, Smith Entertainment would be liable to repay the bond; the Delta Center sits on RDA-owned property leased to an SEG partner; and three blocks around the arena form the core district. Negotiated community benefits include jobs and apprenticeships, youth sports, public gathering spaces, a Japantown rebuilding commitment, affordable ticket fees, public safety and public art, and a non-discrimination clause. Council Member Petro thanked staff and said she was confident in taking this step. Members also discussed a home game covenant and future deliberation on ticket fees.