Salt Lake City’s long-in-the-works overhaul of its Northwest Community Plan finally landed at the Planning Commission this week, with planners pitching denser, mixed-use corridors and a major buildout of the Power District. After a lengthy briefing, commissioners opted not to vote, keeping the most sweeping pieces of the draft very much in play.
At a public hearing, planning staff said northwest side neighborhoods have trailed citywide growth and need more space for both businesses and housing. Staff ultimately recommended holding off on a decision to give residents more time to weigh in, according to Building Salt Lake.
The Planning Division has released a draft plan and an existing-conditions report that lay out the data and outreach behind the recommendations. As described by the Salt Lake City Planning Division, the update refreshes the North Temple Station Area Plan and sketches a 15-year vision for Rose Park, Fairpark, Jordan Meadows, Westpointe, and parts of Poplar Grove.
What’s changing on the northwest side
The draft concludes that the northwest side is starved for commercial zoning. Staff note that most of the land is locked up in residential or manufacturing districts, with only a sliver currently mapped as mixed-use. To balance that out, the plan calls for low-scale mixed-use along corridors such as 1000 North, 600 North, 300 North and 900 West, and mid-scale commercial at key nodes like 700 North and Redwood Road, according to Building Salt Lake…