Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 3

[Comrade]

In 1978, there were four proposals to change the Salt Lake County government:

1) A consolidation of all cities - including Salt Lake, which had the backing of Mayor Ted Wilson and the League of Women Voters (don't ask me why).

2) The creation of an urban county (where the county has more control and add taxing authority over unincorporated Salt Lake).

3) Wall-to-wall cities, which would mean every area of unincorporated Salt Lake would either be absorbed into existing cities or form their own - leaving no unincorporated areas in the county.

4) A creation of Bonneville City, which, by the looks of it, was a very similar version of Lake Valley City (it would have incorporated all unincorporated Salt Lake - though, with a population of 300,000, since it would have included WVC, which had already existed by the time Lake Valley City came up to a vote in the early 80s, but was still unincorporated communities at this point).

Obviously the county eventually decided to become an Urban County.

Bonneville City, like Lake Valley City, went to the vote in unincorporated Salt Lake and lost badly (Lake Valley City was voted down with over 60% in opposition).

Had the county consolidated, Salt Lake City would have ceased to exist at a certain point. It's possible the area would have retained the name 'Salt Lake' - but also possible they would have renamed the area entirely. Salt Lake's mayor, who, oddly, supported consolidation, would have been out of a job, as all elective offices, from mayor to city council, would have been terminated.

There would have been 11 council districts, with members elected in non-partisan elections to four-year terms.

I'm guessing the city hall would have remained at the City-County Building, where it was during the 70s (before the county moved to its current location on State). However, it's likely they outgrow that area too (since now we're one, big city) and move to a new location - or worse, demolish the City Hall for a new, bigger building on the same spot.

That would have been a fairly radical change. Salt Lake City would've been no more and who knows what we'd be calling ourselves now? Maybe it's still 'Salt Lake' - I don't know.

It looks like county residents voted in Nov. 1978 on consolidation and it lost badly by a 3-2 margin. So, it wasn't a very popular proposition back then (and it apparently lost by the same margin in 1975, so, there was a push back in the 70s for it - and it failed both times).