Proposed Sugar House business district receives pushback from businesses

SALT LAKE CITY \u2014 A Sugar House business-led plan to create a special assessment area within the heart of the Salt Lake City neighborhood's business district is facing some pushback from other Sugar House businesses.A handful of business owners attended a protest hearing on Tuesday, which is part of the lengthy and complicated process initiated by the Sugar House Chamber of Commerce earlier this year.The proposal calls for a small tax-like collection from commercial properties within the district that can fund new events, signage and holiday lighting used throughout the district, as well as public safety ambassadors and other services. It's similar to a district in downtown, which created the Downtown Alliance.The proposed district would span from 700 East to 1300 East, and Ramona Avenue and as far south as I-80. While proponents say it could help boost activity in the area, business owners who attended the Salt Lake City Council meeting argued against it.Some said they don't believe their businesses should be included in the assessment district because they're not sure their office buildings and commercial services would benefit from potential services.Many businesses are still struggling from the impacts of wholesale road and utility repairs that ended last year, said Melva Sine, president and CEO of the Utah Restaurant Association. She said she was asked by members to speak, saying that surviving restaurants have exhausted their reserves and don't believe the new road configuration has helped with traffic.All of it comes as labor costs, wholesale food prices, rent and other expenses are up, which is why she said businesses need hardship grants and not new assessment fees."Recovery is not finished in the Sugar House area," Sine said. "These businesses are still struggling. ... We feel like we need to have support for the Sugar House area, but we don't feel like \u2014 and the restaurants don't feel like \u2014 they should be paying for something and fixing a problem they didn't create."The construction project to improve 1100 East/Highland Drive within the area began in 2023. A section project targeting 2100 South ended last year, and the two overlapped at one point.Construction carried on for so long that it drove customers away, said Jeff Goddard, owner of Gutherie Bicycle. He doesn't see how events would get people to his business unless it's getting people to know that construction is over."I don't see this exorbitant amount of fees to