WEST VALLEY CITY — The West Valley City Council on Tuesday approved the controversial redevelopment plans for the site of the Redwood Swap Meet despite the strong opposition of many in the city.
That paves the way for the razing of the 26-acre swap meet at 3688 S. Redwood Road, which doubles as the Redwood Drive-In Theater, and development of some 300 housing units.
City Councilman Lars Nordfelt, who voted for the proposal, characterized the question as a property-rights issue, saying it’s not for city officials to say if the property owner ought to maintain the site as a swap meet. Tuesday night’s meeting packed the City Council chambers. Given the strong emotions the issue has generated, numerous police officers were on hand, though the gathering unfolded largely without incident.
“We can’t force them to continue to do the swap meet. If we vote no, it doesn’t save the swap meet,” Nordfelt said. “It’s the landowners that decide whether or not to save the swap meet. We don’t own that land. It’s not up to us to decide what business is there.”
The vote followed a public hearing during which 39 of 40 speakers voiced opposition to the plans, many speaking in Spanish with the assistance of an English translator. Per Tuesday’s action, the City Council rezoned the commercial property to allow for residential development, updated the city’s general plan to accommodate the project and approved the development agreement with the developer, Draper-based EDGEHomes.
City Councilman Jake Fitisemanu voted against the general plan update, the only “no” vote on the question, while he and Councilman Tom Huynh proffered the only “no” votes on the rezone question. Huynh cast the sole vote against the development agreement.
“A minority is a majority in the city,” Huynh said during Tuesday’s discussion, alluding to the strong population of Latinos and other people of color in West Valley City. “That’s what’s special about West Valley City. I love it, and I want to serve you well.”
During the hearing before the vote, swap meet vendors and their backers — most of them Latinos — focused on the importance of the site as the source of their livelihood, echoing comments they have made as the debate on the issue has unfolded dating to last June. Backers say several hundred vendors, many of them immigrants, sell at the site, everything from produce to sporting goods to tools to clothing. “A lot of the community depends on the swap meet to support their families,” said Doris Marquez, one of the speakers.
Utah Rep. Brett Garner, D-West Valley City, also spoke against the project. “We need to have better density, not just cramming it in a particular part of the city,” he said.
Steve Maddox, chief executive officer of EDGEHomes, was the only speaker during the hearing supportive of the project. He said he had paid close attention during work sessions on the project in crafting the plans.
“I am not an absentee owner,” he said. Plans call for 244 townhomes, as many as 40 condominiums and 16 single-family homes at the Redwood site. The property is now owned by Los Angeles-based Land and Leisure Corp., which city officials say is intent on selling the location.
After Tuesday’s meeting, Cristian Carbajal Gutierrez, who has spearheaded opposition to the development plans, said swap meet boosters have been looking for an alternate site.
“Don’t lose hope. We’re here to help you,” he told the vendors and their backers from the steps of West Valley City Hall. “We have a voice, and the people inside did not represent us. They don’t care about us.”
Similarly, Huynh broached the idea of city officials helping find an alternative location for the swap meet vendors during the debate on the issue. “I just wonder if we can find a place to help them out,” he said.
Fitisemanu indicated a willingness to explore the possibility but at a future City Council meeting. Mayor Karen Lang also said the issue would be more apt for discussion at a future meeting but also indicated that the city has a limited role in dealing with private business operators.
“It’s not our responsibility to find them a new place or help them,” she said.
Carbajal Gutierrez, speaking after Tuesday’s action, lamented the lack of Latino representation on the West Valley City Council. Nearly 40% of the city’s 140,230 residents are Latino or Hispanic as of 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.
“That’s why that vote was not a surprise for us because we don’t have representation,” he said. “That’s a big thing that worked against us. Who are we going to talk to in our language? None of them.”
