Having lived near the University of Utah for about four decades now, Esther Hunter was used to dealing with parties until about five years ago.
The types of college parties that spilled into her neighborhood suddenly seemed louder and rowdier, leading to concerns that she and her neighbors raised with city leaders.
“The parties have gone crazy, and they are extreme,” said Hunter, chair of East Central Neighborhood Council, as she supported a new city ordinance that seeks to curb “unruly” gatherings.
Members of the Salt Lake City Council voted Tuesday to approve the new ordinance, which increases penalties for parties, gatherings or events on private properties that “disturb the public peace, safety and welfare of the community,” and shifts the penalties to property owners.
“What we’re doing is closing a loophole,” said Salt Lake City Councilwoman Eva Lopez Chavez, whose district includes the East Central neighborhood, shortly before the vote.
The measure was approved as the city has dealt with an increasing number of loud parties, matching what Hunter described.
Salt Lake police issued 46 loud party citations last year, which was nearly twice as many as in 2023 and about five times as many as they handed out in 2022, according to data outlined in a city memo. There have already been 31 citations issued this year, surpassing all of 2023.
“Late-night parties, excessive noise, property damage and unsafe gatherings have become too common, affecting our ability to enjoy our homes and feel secure in our communities,” said Jonathan Ramras, who lives near Rice-Eccles Stadium, as he described the situation to the City Council.
Shared spaces like the 1200 East median near the university have also attracted large gatherings that have become a nuisance in the neighborhood, he added. Others described parties that attracted hundreds of people, lingering into the early morning hours with excessive noise and other concerns.
They said it became frequent enough that some of their neighbors moved out.
Over 80% of the citations issued since 2022 have been directed to loud parties held at rental properties, but there has been a more recent uptick in loud parties at owner-occupied housing. Most of the owner-occupied citations over the past four years have been handed out this year.
Those citations were delivered to an event host, but finding an event host isn’t always easy, Salt Lake Deputy Police Chief Bill Manzanares explained to the City Council when the measure was brought up in a meeting last month. The hosts that were found were assessed a $428 service fee.
The new ordinance defines “unruly” parties as gatherings with three or more people on or within 600 feet of a residential property that involve visible law violations; public peace disturbance; health, safety or welfare concerns; fighting; obstruction of public ways; littering or other disturbance.
Citations will now be directed to the property owner under the new ordinance. A violation will result in a warning, but a second violation within a 365-day window will result in a $1,000 fine. Every violation restarts the 365-day clock for when a fine is assessed.
City officials said they hope that this ordinance will reduce the number of incidents on rental properties by encouraging landlords to be more vigilant about how tenants are using properties. The measure also allows for nonsworn officers to handle party complaints.
Some residents who have dealt with increasingly rowdier parties said they’re not sure that the change will make a difference, and called for fines tied to every offense. Former Mayor Rocky Anderson argued that stronger enforcement would be more effective.
The new fine is the maximum the city is allowed to fine people for violations, said Salt Lake City Council Vice Chairman Alejandro Puy.
Hunter is equally hopeful that the new code can serve as a turning point, especially as the fall semester at the university begins next week.
“This will be a very effective tool for us to begin addressing this,” she said. “We’re very thankful for it.”