Salt Lake City passes ordinance banning new gas stations near 'sensitive lands'

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Salt Lake City bans new gas stations near water sources and parks.
The ordinance requires gas stations to be 350 feet from sensitive land.
Existing stations are unaffected; emergency power facilities are exempt from the ban.

SALT LAKE CITY — New gas stations will no longer be allowed to be built in Salt Lake City if they're considered too close to bodies of water or public parks under a new ordinance created in the fallout of a failed attempt to build a gas station next to Sugar House Park.

Members of the Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve the new standards, which ban all underground and above-ground fuel storage tanks and gas vents within 350 feet of water sources or "sensitive lands." It applies to any stream, river, pond, canal or any other body of water, as well as any public park or open space that is at least 1 acre in size.

It also requires that new tanks and vents must be at least 30 feet away from a property line, while pump islands must be 25 feet from a property line and adjacent buildings. Fuel tanks that utility facilities, hospitals and public safety entities rely on for "emergency power" needs are exempt from the ban.

Many other regulations are included in the new ordinance, including a requirement that all gas station lots are at least 30,000 square feet in size to accommodate all of the changes. It does not apply to existing stations.

Tuesday's vote marked the end of a journey that began nearly three years ago, when Kum & Go, an Iowa-based gas and convenience store company, applied for a conditional use permit to turn an abandoned Sizzler restaurant on the northwest corner of Sugar House Park into a gas station.

Residents and city officials alike raised concerns about the plan, largely because of the site's proximity to the park's pond, a retention basin along Parleys Creek. City planners published a report that noted that about 7% of all underground storage tanks inspected in the state around 2022 and 2023 had some sort of fuel leak with an average leak of 524 gallons.

Staff noted that a leak could travel downhill toward the pond, adding that a gallon of leaked fuel could make 1 million gallons of water undrinkable.

A rendering of the proposed Kum & Go gas station at the corner of 2100 South and 1300 East in Salt Lake City. The city rejected a permit for the project and passed a new ordinance on Tuesday that introduces new regulations for where gas stations can be placed. (Photo: Galloway & Company)

The Salt Lake City Planning Division ultimately denied the permit. Kum & Go — since acquired by Maverik — appealed the city's decision, but a city appeals officer upheld it in July 2023. The site remains a fenced-in open lot after the vacant restaurant building was torn down last year.

City officials began work on a citywide ordinance while that played out. The proposed ordinance received a positive recommendation from the Salt Lake City Planning Commission in April 2024 despite pushback from Maverik.

"If the proposed 30 feet requirement is implemented, the result would be storage tanks placed very close to fueling canopy where there is a lot of vehicle traffic," Holly Robb, director of government relations for the company, wrote in a letter to the city. "This is an unnecessary risk."

City planners disagreed with that assessment, citing the property size rule in place. The proposal also received support during a public hearing held in October.

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