OGDEN -- A downtown business organization will go toe-to-toe with the city council to increase building height limits on Historic 25th Street from 45 feet to 55 feet.
"I don't think we are going to get this passed without a big fight. But I think it's a fight the 25th Street Business Association is willing to take on," said Steve Conlin, president of the association.
The city council is scheduled to consider the height extension request Oct. 5.
The proposal isn't tied to an earlier request to increase the height of the Windsor Hotel or any other specific project, said Conlin.
Rather, it's an attempt to allow new four-story buildings to be built on some of the 11 vacant parcels along 25th Street, he said.
"We have a situation where we will have vacant lots and empty buildings for years to come," Conlin said in an e-mail to the Standard-Examiner. "It is time the city council take a big picture view and not be run by one or two people who refuse to look at an issue with logic and truth."
The planning commission has recommended that the city council amend the height ordinance.
Ron Atencio, a member of the planning commission and chairman of the Ogden Landmarks Commission, said the ordinance needs to be changed.
"I certainly hope that city council will consider all these facts and give all stake holders a chance to discuss and hear input further rather than deny this ordinance change," he said in an e-mail to the Standard-Examiner. "Perhaps tabling it would be appropriate for now until all facts are on the table and all parties listened to as well. It is important to attract developers so they have this flexibility to be able to justify the cost and expense of new development especially to have more rentable space to cover the costs and make the project pencil out profitably."
Atencio went on to say additions to historic buildings on 25th Street would have to meet the same design criteria as new construction, but with even more stringent requirements.
City Councilman Doug Stephens questioned whether it is prudent to change the height ordinance, as there is no building project on the table for 25th Street that requires the height extension.
"We need to protect the historical elements of 25th Street and provide a method that 25th Street can attract business into that area and be successful," he said. "If there is no project coming forward, is it necessary for the council to be reviewing this ordinance?"
However, City Council Chairwoman Caitlin K. Gochnour described the amendment as a good compromise that allows economic development to occur in the 25th Street Historic District.
It's vital that new buildings of adequate height be constructed on Historic 25th Street to keep pace with development at The Junction complex and the proposed mixed-use Ogden River Project, both located downtown, said Conlin.
Height restrictions within the 25th Street Historic District have been in place since 1989 and are aimed at keeping buildings in scale with existing structures.
Union Station, which stands 58 feet tall, and a building at 115 25th St., which is 50 feet tall, were built before the restrictions went into place.
The restrictions don't apply to towers, such as the Times Square building at the southwest corner of Lincoln Avenue and 25th Street.
In September 2008, the council rejected a similar ordinance change that would have allowed the Windsor Hotel, 166 Historic 25th St., to add a fourth floor and increase the building's height to 52 feet.
At the time, several council members expressed concern that waiving building-height restrictions and adding another floor at the Windsor would jeopardize 25th Street's National Historic Registry designation and eligibility for federal funding.
Altering height restrictions would not threaten the street's historic registry designation, said Greg Montgomery, the city's planning manager.
Only a significant change in the entire character of the district could affect the street's placement on the registry, he said.
This topic is being discussed at the Weber County Forum.
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