LDS Church to Take Control of Main Street Monday

The Mormon church will officially take command of the much contested Main Street Plaza after a meeting Monday.

Associated Press/July 23, 2003

The swap takes place a few days after the city commemorates the day Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. According to the settlement agreement, the first day the city could have transferred command of the plaza is July 24th, a state holiday recognizing the arrival of pioneers in 1847.

Instead, church representatives and Mayor Rocky Anderson are scheduled to meet Monday at eleven a.m. to exchange money and property. Then, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can limit behavior on the plaza, and the city can begin to build a west-side community center in Glendale.

The City Council voted last month for Anderson's proposed land swap. However, the minute the documents are signed Monday, the public easement will vanish, and pedestrians will not have a right to walk through the plaza -- though church representatives say they plan to keep it open.