SALT LAKE CITY — Among the Tudor and Craftsman homes that line the quiet streets of the Yalecrest neighborhood, a plan to prevent demolitions and monster homes has pitted neighbors against one another in a fight between preservationists and property rights advocates.
With city leaders putting the finishing touches on a citywide historic preservation plan, a six-month moratorium on teardowns in Yalecrest and Westmoreland Place was supposed to mean a quiet summer for two east-side neighborhoods that have seen plenty of wrecking crews in recent years.
Instead, the phrase "historic preservation" has become fighting words.
"The neighbors are hot — hot, hot — about it," says Pete Williams, a longtime Yalecrest resident.
Usually small, community meetings have suddenly become chippy, and neighbors on either side of the issue accuse the other of spreading "misinformation."
"Oh, it's personal," said Yalecrest Community Council board member Sally Patrick, before a standing-room only meeting Tuesday. "This is a property rights issue and, in the West, that's a big deal."
For Williams and a number of other neighbors, the city's proposal for historic preservation is "using a jackhammer to do dental work."
"You can accomplish what they want to accomplish without a historic district," he said. "We want preservation, but we also believe people have property rights."
Williams worries about the cost of living in a historic district, where an extra level of inspection would be required for some remodels and improvements.
The cost of replacing windows and gutters could potentially prevent some residents from improving their homes, he said.
"This thing is full of pitfalls," Williams said. "Repairing and restoring is extremely expensive. We envision people doing nothing and creating blight."
Patrick and other proponents of turning Yalecrest into a local historic district say the intrusiveness of the plan has been somewhat exaggerated. The plan focuses on the streetscapes, not interiors or the rears of homes, Patrick said.
With city leaders prepared to designate a new historic district for the first time in 20 years, Yalecrest would be passed over if residents there do not want the designation, said Councilman JT Martin.
"These are 100-year-old neighborhoods, and this conversation is long overdue," he said. "I'm sure those other neighborhoods are hoping Yalecrest passes."
Martin, who lives in the neighborhood, said he does not have a "dog in the fight."
"But I'm bound and determined to make this a positive thing for the community," he said.
In Yalecrest, the process has been much more contentious than in neighboring Westmoreland Place, where officials point to the smaller size of the neighborhood for a lack opposition during a recent open house that functioned more as a wine and cheese party.
City leaders hope breaking Yalecrest up into smaller groups might have a more civilizing effect.
"Nobody wants to live in a community where you're not speaking to each other because of a house being built," said Councilwoman Jill Remington Love.
Ryan Bell, a young attorney who lives in Yalecrest, said the historic district's restrictions on additions could hurt growing families living in smaller bungalows.
"This threatens the demographic mix," he said. "There are people who fear they will have to move out."
Williams and other opponents would prefer to see the city fight monster homes by simply amending its infill ordinance. Still, some worry starting over would set the city back two or three years and, in the interim, more houses would come down.
"Both sides are upset about the demolitions and the McMansions," said Janet Kay Hemming, who chairs the Yalecrest Yes Committee. "We disagree on the mechanism. But if this fails, dozens, maybe hundreds, of houses will be demolished. That's something you lose forever."
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