Salt Lake City mayoral candidate Ralph Becker is being criticized by opponent Dave Buhler for his work as a consultant on a new U museum.
Bear West, Becker’s environmental consulting firm, conducted the environmental impact statement for the new Utah Museum of Natural History, which is set to be built on the undeveloped foothills above Research Park adjacent to Red Butte Gardens. Environmentalists have opposed development in the area.
Buhler, a Republican, says Becker missed an opportunity to object to construction on the environmentally sensitive site. He says the museum would be better suited downtown.
“They were looking to Ralph and his firm for advice and I wish that they would have said ‘don’t build it’,” Buhler said during a debate broadcast on KUED last Friday.
But Becker, a Democrat, said his role as a consultant was to simply determine the environmental impact construction would have-not to take a position one way or another. He said it would be unethical to take a position on a project being studied by his firm. If Buhler was concerned about the issue, Becker said, he should have said something before the decision was final.
“We never heard from Mr. Buhler during that process…” Becker said at the debate.
However, Buhler said Becker could have recommended that the museum not build on the site or encouraged them to look at other building sites.
“it just seems odd that Ralph, who is normally a good environmentalist, would make this recommendation,” Buhler told The Chronicle.
Becker said “all of the options (in the EIS) involved building on the site,” and that if his firm recommend that the museum take no action the land would have gone back to Research Park and been leased for commercial development. He said Buhler is trying to create an artificial issue.
“I think (Buhler) knows better,” Becker said. “I think he’s saying it because he’s trying to make an issue of it.”
Museum Executive Director Sarah George said the U had already selected the site for the museum and that the EIS was used to determine where the museum would be located on the 17 acre lot.
Though the decision to build the museum on the foothills has been made, Buhler said still supports the museum and might help administrators lobby the Utah state Legislature for money to fund the project.
“Personally and I’ve talked to two university presidents about this without success. I wish it were located downtown helping to make our downtown more vibrant, but that decision truly has been made and I certainly support them…” Buhler said during the debate.
George said the cost of the new building has risen to about $95 million or more, so far the museum has raised $41 million. Construction on the project has continually been delayed and is now tentatively set to begin next spring.
“I’m disappointed that Dave doesn’t agree with our final decision,” she said.
Becker would not discuss his opinion of building the museum on the site, though he said “we have much too much development in the foothills,” during the debate. If elected mayor, Becker said he would work to limit development that would hurt Salt Lake’s foothills.
Buhler first criticized Becker about the project during a press conference two weeks ago and again at last week’s debate. He too stresses the need to limit development on the benches.
Environmentalists and others have objected to construction on the site because they say it could hurt the area’s natural habitats, create visual blight and obstruct the Bonneville Shoreline Trail that runs through the lot.
Lisa Schmidt, executive director of Save Our Canyons, said the organization objected to the museum’s location, but agrees that Becker should not take a stance on project’s studied by his firm.
“If (Becker) felt strongly about the issue he shouldn’t have taken it on,” she said.
Schmidt said the debate illustrates the importance of creating zoning that discourages development high on the foothills. She said the candidates should be looking at the broader issue of reigning in development.
“Pointing out each other’s faults does nothing,” Schmidt said.
Although the museum originally received hundreds of comments about the new location in 2005 and 2006, George said the museum received little comment about the final decision.
“We haven’t heard very much about it (since),” George said.
Becker leads Buhler by 18 percentage points in the latest Dan Jones poll. Voters will pick between Becker and Buhler on Nov. 6.