The Council is considering zoning changes and a street vacation to help facilitate the construction of the new West High School. On Aug. 19, the Council will be briefed on the proposal at its 2 p.m. work session and may take action during the 6 p.m. formal meeting. Learn about the meeting and how you can tune in.
Proposed Text Amendment
The proposed text amendment aims to make the temporary zoning standards adopted by the Council in February permanent. These standards were created under a Temporary Land Use Regulation (TLUR) to update zoning rules for K-12 public school development in the Public Lands (PL) District. A TLUR allows activities that don’t meet the permanent zoning rules for a specific time. The changes include:
- Increasing the maximum building height to 125 feet for public schools
- Decreasing setbacks when next to any zoning district that isn’t residential
- Setbacks are the minimum distances a building or structure must be from property lines, streets, or other designated boundaries.
- Side-yard – 30 ft (previously 50 ft)
- Rear-yard – 50 ft (previously 100 ft)
- Introducing allowed obstructions in required yards
- Exempting K-12 public schools from historic preservation overlay district provisions
Please note: These standards and changes don’t apply to charter schools, colleges, or universities.
Proposed Street Vacation
The proposed street vacation involves a 1.3-acre section of 200 N between 200 and 300 W, currently part of the school’s athletic fields under a 1987 lease agreement. This right-of-way transfer to the school district would allow the ongoing use of the property for public school purposes.
As shown on the map, the proposed street vacation does not include the existing constructed section of 200 N near 200 W. If approved, this section and access to the surrounding properties would not be affected.
Background
In November 2024, voters approved a $730 million general obligation bond to rebuild two high schools, West High and Highland High, among other school district upgrades. Since existing PL zoning standards created obstacles to the planned upgrades, the Council adopted a TLUR on Feb. 18, 2025. This aimed to help remove these obstacles and avoid delays to the design and construction schedule. The TLUR is in effect for 180 days (until Aug. 17, 2025), allowing the City to go through the formal process to make the zoning changes permanent. View the TLUR and associated meeting materials.
Planning Commission Recommendations
On July 9, the Planning Commission forwarded a positive recommendation for the street vacation and a negative recommendation for the text amendment to the City Council. Commissioners raised concerns about uncertainties around height limits, setbacks, and neighborhood effects. For more information, access the meeting materials or watch the meeting.
Resources
- Read the Administrative Transmittal
- Visit the Planning Division’s project page
- View the school district’s Bond Updates & Construction Projects page
- Share comments with the Salt Lake City School Board
- Get details on the current PL District zoning standards
- Learn about land use and zoning in Salt Lake City