S.L. Council OKs City Creek skybridge in a 6-1 vote

The skybridge — which will feature etched glass and a retractable roof — will connect east and west sides of the $1.5 billion City Creek Center, an LDS Church development of office, residential and retail space.

"We are one of the few cities in America that actually has construction happening now during a recession," Councilwoman Jill Remington Love said.

Six of seven members of the City Council voted in favor of the motion. Councilman Luke Garrott voted against it. "I'll be voting against this proposal because I'm against this type of development in general," Garrott said. "... I don't think you develop downtown through mega-projects."

After years of economic downturn, the LDS Church demolished the former ZCMI Center and Crossroads Plaza last year to build City Creek Center. The church estimates City Creek Center could draw 10 million people downtown a year. But Garrott doesn't believe City Creek Center will solely revitalize downtown.

"Revitalizing Main Street is still a public responsibility, and complacency that this project will take care of Main Street may be the death of Main Street," he said.

"I don't subscribe to the point of view that this will not harm Gateway or that in fact it may be positive," said Councilman J.T. Martin, who voted in favor of the skybridge. "I think it's going to affect it quite a bit. It will be interesting to see what Gateway becomes. We know there's only so many national tenants."

The skybridge became controversial shortly after the LDS Church announced it in 2006 while unveiling City Creek Center plans with development partner Taubman Centers Inc., of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Skybridges in recent years have been shunned in Salt Lake City, after a 1990 downtown master plan and 1995 urban design document warned against them. Both documents state that skybridges would keep pedestrians off city streets and block views. Documents specifically cite Main Street's sight view toward Ensign Peak.

However, the LDS Church has maintained the skybridge is necessary to the flow of pedestrian traffic at City Creek Center. In April 2007, the City Council announced a compromise on the matter: The skybridge would be allowed if it had a minimal impact on views, yet also used urban design elements and did not adversely affect street-level businesses.

The LDS Church and Taubman made changes based on the City Council's feedback, said Councilman Soren Simonsen, who opposed the compromise last year but voted in favor of the skybridge Tuesday night.

"The decision we're making tonight is not really about the bridge," Simonsen said. "It's about whether or not they responded to all the criteria."

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