Salt Lake City sets hearings on theater, parking

The Salt Lake City Council, which plans to hold just three more meetings before adjourning for the holidays, is dressing City Hall with public hearings, hoping to resolve a number of spending and policy questions before year's end.

On Tuesday at 7 p.m., residents will have a chance to weigh in on Mayor Ralph Becker's proposed Broadway-class theater and on high-tech parking pay stations poised to replace coin-operated parking meters.

Final votes on those items could come Tuesday or in early December.

Becker wants the council to authorize $15 million for theater design costs and an interlocal agreement that would steer the property tax increment set to expire at EnergySolutions Arena toward the $110 million mega-playhouse planned for Main Street. Insiders say a favorable vote likely locks up support for the 2,500-seat Utah Performing Arts Center, Becker's top priority since he first was elected in 2007.

A second public hearing is set for upgrading parking meters to digital pay stations that take debit and credit cards. To pay for the tall, blue, solar-powered machines, the city may extend parking enforcement hours until 10 p.m. on weeknights — it ends at 6 p.m. now — and until 10 p.m. on Saturday. Questions remain about the technology powering the pay stations, which can alert drivers to open slots and allow payments from smart phones, but also can signal parking enforcement when a car's time has expired.

In addition, the council is debating whether to spend about $500,000 on redoing downtown's fading blue and bronze "way-finding" signs in time for March's opening of City Creek Center.

Three new Planning Commission members are set to be approved Tuesday, including one to replace Charlie Luke, who was elected earlier this month to the District 6 council seat.

There also will be a presentation about allowing mother-in-law apartments in residential neighborhoods and another debate about green-fee hikes for city golf courses.

Public hearings for the apartments, called accessory dwelling units, and on the green fees will be scheduled Dec. 6. That same night, the council is expected to host a hearing on scrapping the limit for domestic dogs and cats while requiring capital pet owners register their cats.

djensen@sltrib.com —

Public hearings aplenty

Tuesday at 7 p.m., the Salt Lake City Council will stage a series of public hearings — including initial funding for a Broadway-class theater and for new parking pay stations — in Room 315 at City Hall, 451 S. State.