facebook-pixel

Letter: City decisions should be made by the city

(Leah Hogsten | Tribune file photo) Deeda Seed with the Center for Biological Diversity discusses various locations of the proposed inland port, Tuesday, April 2, 2019. Last year, Utah lawmakers took control of a massive portion of land in Salt Lake City's northwest area in an effort to create a distribution hub on the city's northwest side, sparking outrage among residents.

Imagine how you might feel if, say, a group of your neighbors — not close neighbors, but several blocks away — got together and decided that a corner of your yard was the ideal place to put, say, a toxic waste holding area that would require a constant flow of trucks in and out of your alley.

Imagine that they voted to take this piece of your property without asking for your permission or even caring to listen to your concerns.

If you can imagine how you might feel, then maybe you can understand how a lot of Salt Lake City residents feel about the inland port.

Decisions on whether to build an inland port should be made by Salt Lake City residents and their mayor and City Council, not a bunch of out-of-town legislators. Anyway, that’s my understanding of how a democracy is supposed to work. But then again, democracy is not something the reigning political party in Utah seems to have much respect for.

Mark Molen, Salt Lake City

Submit a letter to the editor