Friday - April 22nd
By Rosemary Winters
The Salt Lake Tribune
Arts-and-culture district,Sandy eyes zoning change that would send new buildings skyward
Building height limit would rise from 140 to 600 feet or 50 stories
SANDY - This southern Salt Lake Valley 'burb could bust through its 140-foot-capped skyline to allow buildings up to 600 feet tall.
On Thursday, Sandy's Planning Commission recommended that the city create new arts-and-culture zoning in its central business district to pave the way for a proposed $560 million, mixed-use project that includes three towers, each up to 40 stories tall.
The Proscenium, plotted near 10100 South and Interstate 15, would be home to a 2,700-seat Broadway-style theater, three smaller theaters, a performing arts school, offices, condos and a hotel.
The Planning Commission also recommended on Thursday that the 12-acre Proscenium site be given the new zoning. The Sandy City Council has final say on whether to approve the arts-and-culture designation and apply it to The Proscenium.
"What we've laid out is . . . what we need to build our project," Proscenium architect Russell Platt told the commission.
Within the arts-and-culture zone, the Planning Commission would have discretion to approve building heights beyond the city's 140-foot limit to up to 600 feet, or roughly 50 stories.
To snag a loftier height, a building would have to score silver or better in the national LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program, contain at least three different uses and have distinctive ground, middle and top sections, including an interesting street-level design. The developer would be required to provide a report on the project's economic impact.
The arts-and-culture zoning, which land owners could apply for throughout Sandy's commercial core, also requires a developer to provide open space, public art, pedestrian promenades and a 24-hour population - through building a hotel, housing or both.
Sandy resident Larry Engel worried about the traffic problems that could be caused by allowing high-density towers in the city center.
"We can't handle the traffic. We can't handle what we've got now during rush hour," he told the commission. "Part of being a resident of Sandy was coming here to live for the quality of life."
Sandy also is crafting a separate ordinance that could raise the 140-foot limit, or about 10 stories, to 200 feet, or 15 stories, throughout the central business district, which spans the Interstate 15 corridor from the South Towne Exposition Center near 9400 South to the South Towne Mall near 10600 South.
What's next - Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
The Sandy City Council will consider adopting a new arts-and-culture land-use zone and applying it to the planned Proscenium project at its meeting today, Tuesday, 7 p.m., Sandy City Hall, 10000 S. Centennial Parkway.
.
Prev
Linear Mode
