Salt Lake MSA Development Thread

[slc801]

Originally Posted by UtahProjects

That is pretty impressive.

Cool! I am impressed. I still never figured out if they were just relocating from Clearfield, but this rendering makes me think no. The building that I found on googlemaps of the petzl building in Clearfield looked like a distribution center, with probably a couple of offices somewhere in the building (nothing to be impressed about. It looked like any warehouse found throughout the Valley). This looks much fancier.

[UtahProjects]

Originally Posted by slc801

Cool! I am impressed. I still never figured out if they were just relocating from Clearfield, but this rendering makes me think no. The building that I found on googlemaps of the petzl building in Clearfield looked like a distribution center, with probably a couple of offices somewhere in the building (nothing to be impressed about. It looked like any warehouse found throughout the Valley). This looks much fancier.

It's a full relocation supposedly.

“We’re thrilled to be moving our headquarters to West Valley City, just 10 minutes from the airport and surrounded by hotels, restaurants, and entertainment. This area has already attracted several major players in Utah’s growing outdoor industry,” said Nazz Kurth, President of Petzl America. “Located within walking distance of the TRAX line, this move will offer employees and guests easy access to downtown. Such a central location is especially important now that our new training facilities will be drawing a steady stream of visitors from all over North and South America.”

[SLC Projects]

We've known about this for awhile now, but at least they are talking about it.

Governor calls to move prison; Draper mayor agrees
By Celeste Tholen Rosenlof and Randall Jeppesen
DRAPER — The governor has renewed the call to move the prison from the south end of the Salt Lake Valley, and Draper leaders say the time is right.

In Governor Gary Herbert's State of State address Wednesday night, he said the relocation of the Utah State Prison from Draper would open land up for tech companies, who have expressed interest in the area. He also asked lawmakers to fund the relocation.

The prison occupies 700 acres of prime real estate in Draper along Interstate-15, near Microsoft and eBay offices. Just beyond the Point of the Mountain, companies like Adobe have settled in.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=23918650&nid...&s_cid=queue-7

[delts145]

Movie studio plan to be filed in coming month

Gina Barker - The Park Record

http://www.parkrecord.com/ci_2250108...ce=most_viewed

Within a month, the founder of Masque Studios Utah hopes to file with Summit County the plans for a $100 million movie studio in the Boyer Tech Park...

...The studio project, which has been in the works for more than a year, has prompted meetings with Founder Steve Perry and both local and state officials, including County Manager Bob Jasper and Gov. Gary Herbert.

"We are not doing anything at Masque Studios that has not been approved at the Boyer Tech Park property," Perry said. "As long as we stay in the guidelines, the thinking is there will not be too much we have to alter, but we still want the county involved in the process."...

.

[Stenar]

So, does this mean there will be TWO movie studios in the Park City area?

The previously proposed studio, which was in the work for several years is Raleigh Studios at Quinn's Junction.

This one mentioned here is at Kimball Junction.

Originally Posted by delts145

Movie studio plan to be filed in coming month

Gina Barker - The Park Record

http://www.parkrecord.com/ci_2250108...ce=most_viewed

Within a month, the founder of Masque Studios Utah hopes to file with Summit County the plans for a $100 million movie studio in the Boyer Tech Park...

...The studio project, which has been in the works for more than a year, has prompted meetings with Founder Steve Perry and both local and state officials, including County Manager Bob Jasper and Gov. Gary Herbert.

"We are not doing anything at Masque Studios that has not been approved at the Boyer Tech Park property," Perry said. "As long as we stay in the guidelines, the thinking is there will not be too much we have to alter, but we still want the county involved in the process."...

.

[delts145]

As of now the proposals moving forward are for two studios. That would be great, but of course we'll just have to see if they both materialize. It would certainly give Salt Lake Metro the capacity to start producing several episodics and or multiple projects at the same time, which is what the ultimate goal is.

[scottharding]

Delts, are you including the studio space being converted from the old Granite High School? Cuz if there's two in Park City, that would make for three studios in the metro.

[delts145]

No, I was just thinking of the Park City proposals. The Granite Studio would definitely be another major game changer for the entertainment industry. Let's hope all three get off the ground.

[Future Mayor]

There is a petition being delivered to Governor Herbert at noon today to do something about our nasty air. There is still time to sign it

http://signon.org/sign/governor-herb...b&r_by=3123864

[scottharding]

I'm not really a fan of Governor Herbert, but I have to admit that I take issue with this push to get him to do something about the inversion. There's only so much the government can do in regards to this problem. It's something caused by all of us, and we all should take responsibility. There are already measures put in place to make Rio Tinto and Chevron reduce their impact, and they are following those measures because they have to.
I'm in favor of a partnership with UTA to make mass transit free or discounted on poor-air days, but beyond that, what more can government do? Start fining people for idling in the vehicles.... place very restrictive emissions tests on vehicles, tax people for coal-burning fireplaces, etc. Great. But this is Utah, and I'm willing to bet that most of these people signing the petition today would be screaming about government interference and the taking of their freedoms tomorrow.
Calling on the Governor seems like a passing of the blame to me. We're all causing the inversion, and making it worse every year.

I do think it's kind of laughable that our blood-red conservative state, where most people deny climate change and get pissed about any environmental protection measures stands as the best example in the country of those progressive needs.

[Future Mayor]

There are much greater restrictions that can be put on Rio Tinto, and the refineries. Yes, tougher emissions standards on cars is a possibility. Another thing that the Governor can do is to not push for oil shale development in Eastern Utah, that will only continue to promote the status quo for petroleum, it can also push the Governor in the direction of not approving an expansion of the refineries.

The petition includes exploring free ride days on UTA on bad quality air days. Yes it's hard, but is it not worth it, Utah has a higher rate of Autism and Autism has been linked to the PM 2.5 that is the worst part of the inversion. So just because "it's hard" we should risk our health, our children's and future children's health?

I know it's a contentious issue, even on this forum and I for one have not been a huge proponent of them in the past, but Growth Boundaries are something that should be looked at, as well as impact fees for developments that continue sprawl. Local municipalities aren't the only ones being impacted by new development.

It's not simply a health issue, it's an economic development issue. Utah is making national and international headlines. Sure it's a great place to move a business or start a business, but companies will start to look elsewhere when considering a move, if the air isn't cleaned up the health risks of moving a business to Utah will start to out weigh the many other benefits.

CEO of a company moving to Utah: "Hey everyone, we are moving the business to Utah in 12 months because the business climate and tax rates are beneficial to the companies bottom line. If any of you are thinking of having kids you might want to do so now, because there is a much higher risk of Autism once you get there, and often times during the winter months pregnant women are encouraged to not step outside. Oh and by the way, I won't be moving with you because I don't want to breath that crap!"

[Wasatch_One]

Hate to burst all your green bubbles people, but a little background on me... I had planned to be a meteorologist since the age of 7 when I moved to UT from CA in a raging blizzard. I studied climatology and meteorology in college, was the Univ. TV weatherman .... and theeeeen I got myself into software/tech sales, haha, but that's a different story.

Anyway, there really is little you can do along the Wasatch front because of highly sensitive geographic features, prevailing wind direction vs. mountain positioning, length of the day from Dec 1 to Feb 15 and a few other things that play the biggest role in our dirty air.

We would still have "inversions" (not to be confused with smog) even without any pollution along the Wasatch Front. Everyone associates the word inversion with pollution, and that's not the case. Inversion is when the cold gets stuck in the lowest parts of the valley(s) because cold air is dense and "heavy". It doesn't move without some major help from high-level winds and then traps pollutants, creating smog.

Even in the times before the pioneers, there have been inversions. There really isn't much we can do to stop or even weaken an inversion. Mother Nature has to breathe deep and blow the low level cold air out.

Now iiiif we were able to ban all petro burning engines (go ride TRAX or FrontRunner if you really want to do something about it - ScottHarding is right that WE, the people, have to change). If that doesn't happen, then we have to figure out how to lengthen the daylight (to provide more heating power to dissipate entrenched cold air between Dec 1 and Feb 15) we might be able to do something.

...for some reason, I don't see us figuring that one out anytime soon. Oh, and these petitions to the Gov. are stupid, for that exact reason.

[Deek1978]

I may be wrong, but didn't the Native Americans that were here refer to the valley as "Smokey Valley" because of the winter inversions? They may have been referring to Utah Valley, but I can't remember for sure. Or is this just an urban legend?

[SLC Projects]

I too agree that the petitions to the Governor is kind of pointless since there's very little the government can do just as scottharding and Wasatch_One already stated.
But I do also agree that we need smarter development.

[Future Mayor]

The petition isn't to get rid of the inversion, because as we all know, but you choose to remind us anyway, that it's not going away. The petition is to get our lame ass Governor to grow a set and get tougher on the pollution that the inversion traps in the valley. Yes we will always have an inversion, but we don't have to accept having the most polluted air in the nation as part of that inversion.

[SLC Projects]

Originally Posted by Future Mayor

The petition isn't to get rid of the inversion, because as we all know, but you choose to remind us that's not going away. Th petition is to get our lame ass Governor to grow a set and get tougher on the pollution that the inversion traps in the valley.

How?, by kicking everybody out of their cars? Yes it's a good idea for UTA to have a ride free day on those red alert air days and that more people could drive less in smaller vehicles, but there's too many people who will never give up their monster trucks and SUVs anymore then they are willing to give up their guns. ( But that's a whole different subject for a different day. )
Point is there's already measures in place to make companies like Rio Tinto and Chevron reduce their impact as well as trying to inform the pubic to try to drive less on those bad air days. But again, there's only so much that can be done. IMHO.

[scottharding]

Governor says public must help as Utahns rally against pollution:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55...rally.html.csp

Don't mistake me, I DO think the Government should take whatever measures are possible to curb the severity of the inversion, and pollution in general year round. As we grow, it is only going to be more of a problem if it is not addressed.
But at the same time, as Wasatch One pointed out, there always has been and always will be an inversion here. It's up to the PEOPLE, including those bitching on the steps of the capitol to do something about it. It's largely a mentality thing. I'm sure most of us here on this forum are mindful of what we must do, but as an example, I was at Costco the other day for work (I only specify that I was there for work because I hate the damn place. It's like Animal Planet), and as I parked outside, there was some soccer mom in this SUV, idling while on her phone. I didn't think anything of it until I came back out nearly AN HOUR later and she was still there, running her engine on her gas-guzzler, waiting for her husband or litter of kids or whatever. This is the kind of stupidity that will always be a stumbling block to fixing this kind of problem. This type of person likely wouldn't ride public transit on a red-air day even it was free, because this type of person is a thoughtless, self-centered idiot.

[SLC Projects]

Idling is a big issue here. I know that in Salt Lake a law has been pass that one can't idle for longer then 2 mins. However this time of year when it gets this cold and cars start to freeze over most people will idle their cars to warm it up.
At work, when ever I pass by the rent-a-car lots alot of times I see that the employees would start up rows and rows of cars to warm up before taking up to the ready lines. Alot of these cars could idle for hours before they are taken up. While I don't agree that 30+ cars need to be idling all at once, I can see why they have to do it. The reason is because people would bitch that their rent-a-cars has frost, snow or otherwise water spots on their cars. I'm sure if Mayor Becker who came up with the don't idle for longer then 2 mins rule in Salt Lake would see those back lots he would have a shit fit.
By the way the air at the airport has been BAD these last few days when the snog would be so thick I wouldn't see the other nearby buildings around.

[Makid]

There are a few things the Governor could do to assist with limiting the amount of pollution that is trapped by the inversion.

1. Push legislation to reduce/eliminate fares on yellow/red burn days.
2. Push legislation to reduce transit fares year round.
3. Push legislation that limits urban sprawl.
4. Push legislation that encourages smart growth policies.
5. Push legislation that backs the WFRC growth policies.
6. Appoint people to the Division of Air Quality that will not just rubber stamp all items.
7. Push legislation to require 1% of all new funds be directed to transit operations/expansion.


There are 7 things the Governor could do. The problem is that he won't, not until it is researched and vetted for at least a year and he knows if it will hurt his re-election or not.

The only way things happen faster is if a large group of public leaders get together to push the idea through. Or if 1 large company states they would relocate to Utah only if something is done to help curb the pollution levels. Then and only then would the Governor push something quickly.

[Future Mayor]

Well said Makid.

I can add one to your list. The Governor could encourage legislation to eliminate the law on the books that the state can't have stricter standards than the EPA. That's an asinine law that one session of the legislature probably came up with so they could pass the buck and say, "We're following EPA standards" which we are actually failing miserably at.


Each municipality needs to enact and enforce anti-idling laws. People need to be effected in a negative way, besides the cancer causing agents in their lungs, like financial. Ignorance is not an excuse. I am actively working to get a new vehicle that gets much better mileage and will do so as soon as I am financially able. I can understand that vehicles, particularly those at rental agencies need to be warmed up, but honestly do they need to warm up for 20 minutes? No, warm them up for 5 minutes and call it good. Plus the law in SLC states that over 90 and under 40 the anti-idling isn't in effect. Yes I realize these are the worst pollution days, but if the previous 7 days the idling didn't occur the coldest days wouldn't be as bad.

Even if UTA saw a mere 5 - 10% increase in transit use on Red Air days, because it was free, that would take a significant number of cars off the roads. If even a small percentage of those people actually converted to transit use on a regular basis that again would take a significant amount of traffic off the roads. If steps aren't take now to reduce the pollution, then it's will only get worse as each year passes.

Industry is well over 50% of the pollutants, in the air, so yes removing some cars off the road, or getting people to turn off there damn engines while sitting in the costco parking lot will help, but there needs to be much tougher standards on industry, and not allow industries, such as the oil refineries to expand. Curb the amount of pollution going into the air now, and as technology advances, for cleaner industry and more fuel efficient vehicles and alternative energy vehicles, the result in 5 and 10 years and beyond could be significantly better air quality.

We have to improve the pollution issue, federal funding for roads is tied to that. If federal funding goes away, road conditions get worse and pollution gets even worse from there.