The downtown Salt Lake City retail and restaurant marketplace has seen some big shake-ups since the end of lockdowns. The demolition of the former Sears, which bookended State Street for over 65 years, now leaves a very large visible void. But State Street has seen some positive developments. iconoCLAD clothing (which offers costumes and clothing for festivals and raves) … [Read more...]
Utah’s City Leaders Duped into Believing Subsidizing Big-Box Stores is Smart City Planning
Like Oliver Twist seeking more porridge, giant corporations are going to communities with their bowls out asking for more. But unlike Oliver, they usually get exactly what they want from city leaders. “Rent seeking” is conducted with the best of intentions: they want to help ensure profits for shareholders by asking communities for welfare for “tax abatements”. These … [Read more...]
Moab, Utah: Uranium Boom Led to One of the Most Vibrant Towns in Utah
How the uranium boom went bust but still led to one of the most vibrant towns in Utah Charlie Steen’s rags-to-riches story has been told so many times it’s reached legend status: how he prospected unsuccessfully for two years in the Moab area before deciding to call it quits, and in testing his very last core sample, he discovered the high-grade uranium ore that made him … [Read more...]
City of Centerfield Responds to NIMBYISM Claim Against Affordable Housing
Gunnison, Utah is home to a bustling sprawling Utah State correctional facility. In 2017 the prison expanded to add more jobs and more inmates. The area is also home to a log-cabin builder, and thousands of acres of farmland. The city is expected to dramatically grow in the next decade. But there is just one problem: A shortage of affordable housing. In our previous story, … [Read more...]
Gondola up Little Cottonwood Canyon Proposal: Short-sighted, waste-of-money, elitist visions of grandeur should remain in the clouds
It appears that the $1-$2 billion dollar gondola-up-the-canyon proposal is currying favor with more elites. Snowbird has purchased the land where the base station and parking lot of the proposed gondola would be located. Snowbird currently charges $130 for a day pass and for an extra $60 elites can get a special exemption from waiting in lines. Snowbird is probably the best … [Read more...]
Inland Port Ruling: Utah Supreme Court Says Utah State Legislature Can Usurp Salt Lake City’s Authority
The Utah State Legislature determined four years ago that 16,000 acres of land in mostly Salt Lake County would be the best place for a massive inland port. The inland port initiative began over a decade ago when the Wasatch Front was seeking new economic opportunities to build our economic tax base and add high-paying jobs. But the picture since then has completely … [Read more...]
Moab Growth Limited by Building Cost and Water Supply
When a mobile Park home went up for sale on Walnut Lane in Moab, it would have been a sure bet for any area developer to realize windfall profits if they flipped it into luxury condos. Instead, Moab City stepped in and decided it would be better to safeguard the park and its residents against eviction and use the site for future affordable housing. In the past five years, … [Read more...]
Bulldozing Utah Farms For Vacation Condos: Is this what progress looks like?
Why isn’t food security and the preservation of farms and fertile soil and water an issue in Utah? Fights in Costco and grocery stores over scarce food items during Covid-19 demonstrate that food security and preservation of farms must be a greater concern of Utah political leaders. This past spring we had a small window into what happens when food insecurity and the … [Read more...]
Salt Lake City Must Decide If We Are Smart Enough for Smart Growth with Soren Simonsen
There is plenty of excellent planning in the Salt Lake Valley. "But we have to focus on implementing what we say we are going to do," says Soren Simonsen, executive director of the Jordan River Commission. Simonsen says that the focus on the auto must evolve to emphasize public transit and personal mobility. "We don't solve our traffic problem by adding capacity to roads. … [Read more...]
Six Legal Questions Concerning Salt Lake City’s Inland Port
Salt Lake’s contentious inland port will undoubtedly impact the quality of life for City residents, especially those who live at the lower elevations along the Wasatch Front. It will add hundreds if not thousands of additional semi trucks to our roads, hundreds of additional jumbo cargo airplanes to our airways; and massive amounts of pollution to our air—which has … [Read more...]