By Shaun Delliskave | [email protected]

City planners invited the public to comment on the creation of a Fashion Place West small area plan at a Feb. 12 open house held at the Murray Senior Recreation Center. The purpose was for Murray City to gain public input about the future of the neighborhoods located between Fashion Place Mall, westward, to the Fashion Place West TRAX Station.

“The area presents the most challenges for the city,” said Murray Community and Economic Development Supervisor Jared Hall. “The area can best be described as eclectic.”

The creation of a small area plan does not mean that any development is taking place, but rather it is a set of documents that address the goals for a small defined portion of a city such as a neighborhood or street corridor. These documents contain a set of detailed strategies that are chosen to respond to the specific needs of the people, places and processes in the planning area. These needs are grouped into categories such as transportation, economic development, land use, housing, historic preservation, aesthetics and many others.

According to Hall, the study of the Fashion Place West small area plan is funded by a Transportation Land Use Connection Grant. The city has contracted with community planning firm VODA as a consultant on the project.

“We are trying to not only get input from neighbors but also from transit users and those who have a stake in the area,” Hall said.

According to the open house’s presentation, “Fashion Place West neighborhoods are also facing growth, change and development pressure. There is momentum for positive change in the area with new commercial development along Winchester Street as well as continued redevelopment and expansion of the Fashion Place Mall.”

Murray City is seeking input on the creation of an area plan west of Fashion Place Mall. (Photo courtesy Murray City)

An opportunity and a challenge the city has identified is the location of the Fashion Place West TRAX Station. As the junction point for Utah Transit Authority’s red and blue lines, the station receives plenty of traffic. However, due to the location away from Fashion Place Mall and other retail centers, transit riders rarely walk down Winchester Street to the shopping centers.

“We believe the area is well-sited with I-215 and the TRAX connections,” Hall said. “We hope that the creation of this plan will inform us of any necessary rezoning.”

The primary street corridor of this small area plan is Winchester Street, with State Street, Cottonwood Street and I-215 as the main bifurcations. The boundary follows I-15 on the west, 6100 South on the north, 6790 South on the south, and Fashion Boulevard on the east.

City planners hope to build on Murray’s central location and recent multi-modal infrastructure improvements. They would also like to build on Murray’s commercial district along State Street, complementing cultural assets and steering development toward making entire neighborhoods that are vibrant.

The city also wishes to build on Murray’s retail base and create Class A office and employment centers as well as linking centers such as downtown Murray to a neighborhood and their surrounding context.

Among the input planners are most interested in concerns housing. Planners believe the area is amenable to Life Cycle Housing. This approach focuses on providing as many housing choices as possible in every neighborhood to accommodate the many kinds of stages in life.

The consultants presented different types of housing that are believed feasible in the existing neighborhood context. In addition to potential apartments, townhomes and duplexes, the area could host cottage clusters (a collection of small-scale, single-family homes that are oriented to an open common space) and accessory dwelling units (located at the rear of a lot, providing space for a small residential unit, home office, or other small commercial or service use).

Murray City Community and Economic Development Office hopes to have a draft of the plan by the end of spring.