Mayor of Salt Lake City Ralph Becker, wants the residents of Salt Lake City to feel that their hometown is just as “wholesome” as the next town. However, that could be hard to do with a prison within miles of their homes.
Fortunately, current and future residents of Salt Lake City can rest assured knowing that Becker believes that it is “wholly inappropriate” to build the state’s new prison within city limits.
Becker sent a lengthy book illustrating environmental concerns and potential building costs of such a structure to the Prison Relocation Commission, in attempts to discourage Salt Lake City from being a potential location.
At this point, there has only been disapproval from several elected community members.
Becker maintains a strong argument that will likely discourage the new prison location from residing anywhere within Salt Lake City limits. Apart from environmental concerns and costs, Becker provided evidence for how the requested land for development contains wetlands and endangered species that would qualify for several lawsuits if developed upon.
All My Sons of Salt Lake City has reviewed the issue and found that the Prison Relocation Commission would have to tackle several valid arguments before gaining the approval to build. For now, the future of Salt Lake City shows no sign of a new prison building.
The Prison Relocation Commission is keeping all options open. They are looking for a location that lies ideally close to courts and hospitals, that will also have a minimal impact on the environment. With that being said, if you are moving to Salt Lake City and are worried that the new prison building will be too close for comfort, it can be safely assumed that The Prison Relocation Commission will be forced to find another location, outside of city limits, to build a new state prison.