It didn’t come as much of a surprise, but still, for many residents of West Valley City, the news was a disappointment. The city council, acting on a recommendation from its Planning Commission, voted to rezone the 26-acre site of the Redwood Drive In Theatre from general commercial to medium density residential at its Sept. 17 meeting.

The decision, along with two other approvals from the council including a development agreement, paves the way for demolition of the theaters and termination of the city’s swap meet at that site. Edge Homes, which is purchasing the property from DeAnza Land and Leisure Corp out of Los Angeles, can now build 300 for-sale housing units on the site. That plan calls for three-story condos (40 units), two-story townhouses (244 units) and 15 single-family homes.

The rezone application was recommended for approval in June by planning commissioners. DeAnza informed the city it has operated eight drive-in theaters and three indoor theaters in Utah in the past, with only the Redwood still in operation. The company wants to get out of the business completely and has been working to sell the property, which it can now do to Edge Homes.

Opponents of the rezone, centered almost entirely around vendors and supporters of the swap meet, began taking action immediately. A new nonprofit called the Redwood Road Chamber of Commerce was formed to gather ideas for an alternative way to save the swap meet (see separate story in this edition). An online petition on change.org received over 22,000 signatures in opposition to the rezoning. And before the Sept. 17 council meeting, hundreds of people held a peaceful protest in front of city hall to draw attention to their pleas for keeping the swap meet alive. Many of them later sat in at the meeting, holding signs for their cause, and over three dozen spoke during a public hearing on the issue.

Only one spoke in favor of the request—Steve Maddox, the owner of Edge Homes. He said his company has been working to understand the community’s needs and pledged to remain committed to the city’s objectives. Then it was the public’s turn, and the next 39 speakers (the council limited comments to 40 people total) were a combination of remembrances of the swap meet and its history, pleas for denial of the rezoning request, and personal stories on the importance of the swap meet culture to the community.

Doris Marquez spoke of her father who as a vendor supported a family of seven, allowing his children to pursue higher education. Humberto Sanchez, vice president of the Redwood Road Chamber of Commerce, presented a counterproposal to the current rezoning plan and said the current Redwood site is vital to the community’s history and culture. State Rep. Brett Garner from West Valley City said some residents have concerns about higher-value homes and said there’s a need for better density in the Edge proposal. And Christian Gutierrez Carbajal, who spoke on behalf of the vendors, shared their sentiment that rezoning would mean not just a loss of the swap meet, but possible displacement of many of the vendors who might leave the city because of their loss of jobs and income.

It was then council’s turn to discuss the issue. 

Councilmember Tom Huynh spoke first, saying he was concerned about the Edge Homes proposal and how it would displace the swap meet site, and asked if the city could work with vendors to find a new location where the meet could continue. He asked if City Manager Ifo Pili could help those business owners. He also suggested an underutilized parking lot near the Maverik Center could be used as a temporary location.

Councilman Lars Nordfelt said the city can’t dictate how property owners use their land, and Councilman Jake Fitisemanu said Huynh’s suggestions were good but fell outside the scope of the published agenda items for this meeting—those being approval of the rezone and of a development agreement between Edge Homes and the city. Mayor Karen Lang said any discussion about supporting the swap meet should be addressed in future study sessions, and the votes were conducted.

The general plan rezone from commercial to residential passed by a vote of 5-2, with Huynh and Fitisemanu voting no. A second motion to amend the zoning map with the changes was also approved by a 5-2 vote, with Huynh and Fitisemanu dissenting. A third motion entering into the development agreement was approved 6-1, with Huynh voting no.

There is not a specific timetable for what comes next, also a statement circulating a few days later said vendors should be able to continue operating the swap meet at least through October. λ