Dense housing can save the Redwood swap meet [Video]

On June 12, I attended the West Valley City planning commission meeting. The commission reviewed Edge home’s proposal to build townhomes, condos and single family homes on the property of the Redwood Drive-In Theater. The proposal is to rezone that property from commercial use to residential use. At the meeting, I heard opinions from community members saying the only way to save the swap meet is to keep the property zoned for commercial use only.

It’s a false dichotomy to say we can either build housing or we can save the swap meet. In fact, I believe if we don’t build dense housing on the property, we won’t save the swap meet.

Per the planning commission’s reporting, the owners of the theater are aging and no longer want to operate management intensive properties. Due to the need to hire operating staff, the writer’s strike in Hollywood affecting movie quality and movie-goers preferring streaming services over attending any …