January 10, 2010

Salt Lake City Planning Commission

451 Washington Square

Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Dear Commissioners:

The Sugar House Land Use Committee met with Paula and Joe Sargetakis on December 15, 2009 to listen to their plan to rezone 1794 Texas Street from Institutional to Residential. The entire Sugar House Community Council heard a presentation by them on January 6, 2010. I have attached the comments that were made during the latter meeting.

The Land Use Committee in general was very favorable to this proposal. We have not seen a project like this before, and it is an exciting opportunity. There were a number of questions, similar to those asked by the Sugar House Community Council trustees on the attached pages, but no big objections raised by anyone.

The predominant residential use in the area surrounding this parcel is Low-Density Residential. Since the Institutional use that was on this parcel for many years is no longer needed, it is natural that this reverts to a Low-Density Residential zone. R 1/7000 is the zone of the surrounding neighborhood. As you read the comments of the trustees and neighbors on the attached pages, you will see that there is some concern as to whether R 1/7000 is the proper zone, or whether it should be something like R 1/12,000 since the parcel is 1.8 acres. However, when considering what would happen should the parcel be rezoned, and then the urban farm concept is abandoned, the parcel could then be broken up into approximately eight R 1/7000 parcels. This would lead to a housing development pattern similar to what is already in the surrounding area. A different designation would probably result in houses that are much larger than what is already there.

Salt Lake City’s new Sustainability Community Development Code Revision Project clearly proposes that sustainable farming and food production contribute to the beauty of the landscape while playing a role in strengthening environmental management practices within cities. The idea that we produce food that doesn’t have to come from long distances is very appealing and efficient. The Sargetakis farm has as its purpose to be a home occupation, urban farm, that grows vegetables and fruit for sale to local restaurants and at fruit and vegetable stands in the city. No produce would be sold on site. The neighbors worry about traffic. We think this is a less intense use than eight houses with two cars each, in terms of trips per day through the neighborhood. There will be no employees, maybe a small tractor and a pickup truck, plus a trailer large enough to haul four snowmobiles to use to transport produce. This isn’t any more than many houses have now.

The Urban Agriculture section of the new Sustainability Code seeks to provide opportunity for community education in gardening and food production and hands-on involvement for citizens. The petitioners plan to involve the children from the two adjacent elementary schools, along with interns from the University of Utah, and Red Butte Garden, which will contribute to this sustainability goal.

There are a lot of unknowns about this project, which won’t be known until the property is purchased and the architect produces a design for the house and potential layout for the urban farm. That is not a reason to delay approval. The neighbors do have questions, but we haven’t heard any real objection to this, mostly questions that need answers. I recommend that the petitioners stay in touch with the neighborhood as the project moves forward. It is a terrific opportunity to show how this sort of energy efficient, sustainable project can be built within the confines of our city, which is pretty much a built environment. It can be an example for those of us who attempt to buy local, and eat food that comes from near by, instead of across the world. It has the potential to convert others to that way of thinking as well.

Sincerely,

Judi Short, Chair

Sugar House Community Council Land Use Committee

First Vice Chair, Sugar House Community Council