The Campus Master Plan was approved Sept. 5 by the Utah State Board of Regents, despite concerns from Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker.
Becker, concerned about how the project would impact local residents, requested that approval be delayed. He also conveyed interest in compromising with the U and applauded many aspects of the plan.
The U is a state-funded institution and falls under state jurisdiction. Because of this, it isn’t required to receive city approval. However, the presence of the university does affect the city and its residents. Even though it’s not required, the U should make it a priority to work with the city.
Public meetings were held to discuss the Master Plan, but some locals feel that their input was ignored. The Regents were right to push forward the project. However, the U should have worked harder to assuage community concerns beforehand.
It is impossible to please everyone. Construction projects like the proposed Universe Project, a multi-use development slated to be built west of Rice-Eccles Stadium, are bound to put some people out of their way.
Even with consideration of the cons, the Master Plan is still a worthy goal. It would have been nice if the U took extra time to engage the mayor, who didn’t receive a draft copy of the plan until Aug. 27. In the future, the U should strive harder to be a good neighbor to those who live on its borders.