Salt Lake City appears ready to abandon a proposed special assessment that would have charged Sugar House commercial property owners roughly $1.7 million to fund district marketing, events, an ambassador program and year-round specialty lighting.
The groups that first asked the city to pursue the idea back in 2021 have withdrawn their support.
In an Oct. 14 letter to the city’s Department of Economic Development, leaders of the Sugar House Community Council and the Sugar House Chamber & Community Alliance formally retracted their request that the city explore a special assessment area, or SAA.
The city mailed out estimates to property owners within the proposed district earlier this year, with many facing hundreds of dollars a month in additional fees that some retail experts said would be passed onto business tenants through NNN fees.
The letter asks the city to stop relying on it as an expression of support from either organization.
The letter is signed by Sugar House Community Council Chair Landon Clark and chamber co-chairs Scott Lyttle and James Roberts. It does not say why the groups changed course.
The City Council is scheduled to take up the Sugar House Business District 2027 at its meeting later today.
In a staff report, council policy analyst Austin Kimmel advises the council to deny two resolutions: one designating the assessment area and another appointing a Board of Equalization to hear disputes over individual assessments. The prepared motion asks the council to “not adopt” the designation.
The council isn’t legally required to vote to end the process, according to the staff report, but the resolutions remain on the agenda so the outcome is clear on the public record. The city will post notices on its website and mail them to affected property owners.
Because the withdrawal letter arrived before the 60-day written protest period closed Oct. 19, the city stopped accepting protests, the report says.
Under state law, protests from owners of 40% or more of the assessed valuation would have blocked the district.
The proposal would have levied a base assessment of 0.00249 of 2025 taxable value — about $2,490 per $1 million, payable over three annual installments — on commercial properties in an area bounded roughly by Ramona Avenue, 1300 East, Interstate 80 and 700 East. Properties fronting 2100 South, 1100 East and Highland Drive would have paid an extra $13 per linear foot for lighting and signage.
Residential, church-owned and government properties were exempt. The city also left out apartment buildings with five or more units, citing sensitivity to housing costs.
The proposal would have added yet another headwind to retail operators in the area who face pressure from rising inflation and a nagging perception that recent traffic changes and years long construction in Sugar House made it more difficult to visit the neighborhood’s core.
The city’s Oct. 1 transmittal projected $1,682,701 in total revenue. About $1.4 million would have gone to a contracted district manager, with roughly $279,000 covering city administrative costs and a reserve.
The council voted June 9 to declare its intent to create the district and held a protest hearing Aug. 18. Had the process continued, Board of Equalization hearings were set for Dec. 9–11, with a final assessment ordinance vote in early 2027 and payments due in April.
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