Ballpark Neighborhood Master Plan
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CMP 6160 - Plan Making - Spring 2020 Department of City and Metropolitan Planning The University of Utah BALLPARK NEIGHBORHOOD MASTER PLAN May 2020 Contents Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................... 3 Executive Summary [Meadow, Byron, Lily, Maddy] .................................................................... 4 Introduction and Community Profile ........................................................................................... 7 Plan Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 7 Definition of Area Boundaries ................................................................................................. 8 Community Profile .................................................................................................................. 9 Community Vision .....................................................................................................................32 Community Engagement .......................................................................................................32 Vision ....................................................................................................................................34 Focus Areas ..............................................................................................................................39 Focus Area 1: Reimagining Main Street: A New Centrality for Ballpark .................................39 Focus Area 2: Creating Housing Opportunities for Current and Future Neighbors .................49 Focus Area 3: Increasing Mobility Options .............................................................................57 Focus Area 4: Greening Ballpark ...........................................................................................69 Focus Area 5: Creating Vibrant Transit Station Areas ............................................................84 Appendix ................................................................................................................................. 101 2 Acknowledgments This plan was prepared in Spring 2020 by the students in the Plan Making class (CMP 6160) at the University of Utah, Department of City and Metropolitan Planning. Liz Arnold Ian Bradley Katie Bussell Mehrnaz Fereydouni Jake Gallaher Mitch Gardner Molly Gaughran Byron Head Hanna Hutcheson Mohammad S. Lari Janie Lundgreen Maddy McDonough Lily Oswald Brad Potter Damian Rodriguez Monika Roy Shi Jie Sheng Brandon Siracuse Derek Stephens Meadow Wedekind Yi Wei Instructor for the class: Alessandro Rigolon - Assistant Professor in the Department of City and Metropolitan Planning Partners for this project Students and faculty at the University of Utah would like to thank the following partners who have made significant contributions to the activities that led to this plan: Ballpark Community Council Amy J. Hawkins - Chair Salt Lake City Council Darin Mano - District 5 Salt Lake City Planning Division Molly Robinson - Planning Manager Special thanks to all of the Ballpark residents, business owners, employees, and visitors who participated in the master plan process. 3 Executive Summary [Meadow, Byron, Lily, Maddy] Introduction The Ballpark Neighborhood Master Plan, the first comprehensive plan for this neighborhood, will act as a framework for guiding new growth, development, and public investment in the area. This plan represents the community’s vision and goals to be realized over the next 20 years. The Ballpark neighborhood is located near the center of Salt Lake City, Utah, and is approximately 1,172.9 acres, or 1.65% of Salt Lake City’s total land area. The neighborhood is bounded by 900 South on the north, State Street on the east, 2100 South on the south, and the I-15 freeway on the west. Due to its proximity to downtown and current neighborhood amenities, including the Bees’ baseball stadium, Ballpark is in a position to expand significantly with the projected growth of Utah’s population in the coming decades. Ballpark is on the cusp of redevelopment and reinvigoration, spearheaded by dedicated community members. This master plan serves to guide the community’s current and future residents toward a cohesive and inclusive neighborhood, well-connected and integrated with all that Salt Lake City and the surrounding region has to offer. Current Conditions The Ballpark Neighborhood Master Plan process began with identifying existing conditions regarding demographics, housing, land use, and ownership, transportation, community facilities and businesses, and urban design within the Ballpark area. The current conditions of each sector are illustrated in detail throughout this report and include how they affect the lived experiences of Ballpark’s residents and Salt Lake City at-large. Ballpark lies geographically just south of downtown Salt Lake City. This location affords Ballpark the position of leveraging its economic assets while continuing to provide for its long-term and short-term residents and managing traffic through the neighborhood. There are several other community improvement efforts affecting areas in and near Ballpark including the Life on State corridor plan, the City’s Affordable Housing Overlay, the Fleet Block rezone, and rapid redevelopment in the Granary District; these projects are complementary to the vision for Ballpark and the future land use recommendations outlined in this report. Findings from the analysis of the existing conditions will provide a useful benchmark for Ballpark as it anticipates growth and will be advantageous when the neighborhood considers future land use decisions. Community Engagement The primary data source for this report’s analyses was a survey produced by the University of Utah’s Plan Making class which was distributed at a Ballpark Community Council meeting, via an email link, and linked on various social media pages. Most responses were collected online through Google Forms, and a small number of paper surveys were completed at the Ballpark Community Council meeting on February 6, 2020. The Ballpark survey yielded over 50 responses which informed the creation of the Vision and Focus Area sections of this report. Local and regional news articles and their comment sections, online ratings for businesses and places, and prior surveys and plans were used as secondary data sources for community insights to the Ballpark neighborhood. These comments were used to represent and supplement opinions and findings from Ballpark residents that may not have been captured by community surveys or public participation. 4 Vision The community vision for the Ballpark Neighborhood is a safe, vibrant, diverse, connected, and accessible neighborhood that welcomes new growth while preserving the existing sense of community. Safe- Residents will feel safe in their homes and throughout their community, and the neighborhood will be perceived as a safe area of the city. Vibrant- The Ballpark Neighborhood will be a destination for culture, arts, and entertainment that will be economically thriving and attractive to new businesses and visitors. Diverse- The neighborhood will include a wide variety of land uses, amenities, and housing types to serve the needs of its diverse residents. Connected and Accessible- The Ballpark Neighborhood will be a “gateway to the City” that feels both physically and socially connected to the rest of the City as well as internally. Balanced- The neighborhood will welcome new growth while preserving the existing sense of community. Focus Areas The strategies to implement the plan’s vision are organized into five key Focus Areas. These focus areas represent discrete yet related planning issues that are integral to this neighborhood plan. Each focus area is then further divided into more specific Guiding Principles, which are key values or objectives that will help direct decision-makers as they facilitate change in the neighborhood. Reimagining Main Street is the focus area considering land use in the Ballpark neighborhood. It consists of four guiding principles: encourage small business development, create gateways to the neighborhood at specific intersections, promote mixed-use development along the Main Street corridor, and create lively public spaces. The second focus area is Creating Housing Opportunities for Current and Future Neighbors. This focus area is concerned with housing conditions in the neighborhood. Its four guiding principles are: plan for gentle density, increase housing opportunities along 300 West, create transit-oriented communities (TOCs), and turn blighted lots into opportunities for affordable housing. Increasing Mobility Options is the focus area addressing transportation in the Ballpark neighborhood. It is organized under the following guiding principles: improve the bicycling network, improve the public transit network, improve pedestrian safety, and improve pedestrian comfort. The fourth focus area is Greening Ballpark. This section concerns the effort to provide outdoor green and recreational spaces for the people of Ballpark to enjoy. Its guiding principles are to create spaces for community gardens, beautify the neighborhood’s alleys, integrate privately- owned public spaces (POPS) along the neighborhood’s corridors, and ensure that all Ballpark residents live close to these spaces. 5 The fifth and final focus area in this report is Creating Vibrant Transit Station Areas.