From a concerned citizen:

Tomorrow the Salt Lake City Council will be hearing a petition from a neighborhood bar, Andy’s Place, for a zoning change that would allow them to become a private club.  This change would then apply to the entire R-MU (residential-mixed use) zone, which runs roughly from South Temple to 400 South, 200 E to 500 E.

This kind of zoning change will allow more neighborhood bars and taverns to flourish in Salt Lake.  This means more local, neighborhood-based economic development, more fostering of strong neighborhood communities, and less driving to reach the nearest private club.

Zoning restrictions on these establishments need to be lifted if Salt Lake is to take the next step toward becoming a truly great city.  Councilman Garrott is supportive of the change, believing that bars that serve liquor are a legitimate downtown amenity, increase walkability, build community among neighbors, and decrease impaired driving.

Make your voice heard!

As a Salt Lake City resident interested in the further development of our city, the City Council needs to hear from you on this important issue! Bring your friends, your neighbors, even some strangers to the Council’s meeting on:

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 – 7:00 pm
Salt Lake City Hall, 3rd Floor – 451 South State Street.
(City & County Building by the downtown library)

It won’t take long, and you’ll be helping Salt Lake take a big step forward in our development. So pass this email along to your contact list!!!

And if you can’t make the meeting on Tuesday, you can still help by sending an email to your City Council representative (District Map: http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/council/pages/maps.htm) and tell them you support this change.

Send your comments to council.comments [at] slcgov.com, and to your Council Member (e.g. eric.jergensen [at] slcgov.com).  Here is a sample email you can copy and paste if you like:

City Council Members:
I write in support of the petition of Andy’s Place to be able to become a private club.   The residential mixed-use (R-MU) zone is an appropriate zoning category for a neighborhood bar to serve hard liquor.  I am excited that the residents of this neighborhood will have the option of walking to a pub instead of having to drive to a different establishment downtown.  In fact, I support allowing other downtown zones to have private clubs in them, including the mixed-use (M-U) zone in the Marmalade.
Thank you for your consideration on this matter.

Thank you for your support on this important issue!  Turn out on Tuesday and help us make some real positive change for our great city.