City kills idea to sell piece of park

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Article Last Updated: 4/20/2006 11:16 AM
Salt Lake Tribune

City kills idea to sell piece of park
Council's listening: Even before a public hearing could be held, residents' outrage stops exploration of a plan to parcel part of Riverside
By Jacob Santini
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune

South Jordan officials recently floated an idea to sell a piece of the Riverside Park.

Just a few days later, the concept died.

The reason: Residents who frequent the open space found at 11050 S. River Front Parkway (1000 West) protested so loudly at the suggestion that the city dropped the notion.

"We are so happy," said Jennifer Oldroyd, who lives two houses away from the park.

South Jordan City Council was set to hold a public hearing Tuesday to discuss whether to sell off four acres of the park. The city controls some 300 acres in the area - including a nature preserve for migratory birds and an urban fishery. The idea was pulled from the agenda a week before the meeting.

"The purpose [of the meeting] was to know the opinion of the public, and now we know it," said City Manager Ricky Horst.

The city never had a buyer lined up or even one under consideration, Horst said. It simply wanted to air the idea and get the feedback of residents.

Horst adds the "rumor mill is going crazy down there" and the idea was never fully understood.

The land in question was four acres of grass adjacent to a fitness center that recently opened. The land doesn't include any playgrounds, restrooms or picnic areas.

The purpose of the potential sale was to fund improvement at other parks.

"We own a lot of property down there," Horst said. "We were looking for cash for improvements to some of our less-fortunate parks."

Oldroyd, however, says the four acres are critical to the park.

It's grass that kids play soccer on and fly kites from. Families have picnics, birthday parties and play Frisbee on the parcel, too. Without that land, Oldroyd says, use of the park's other facilities would have dwindled.

Residents opposed to the concept were planning to hold a protest last week. With the city's decision to scrap the public hearing, that protest turned into a celebration and Easter egg hunt.

jsantini@sltrib.com