Home Depot has been operating a store outside of Salt Lake City for roughly three years. But officials in the county are ready to shut the store down. Officials have told the retailer they must met all the conditions found in the company’s Conditional Use Permit, or face closure. “This is obviously an extreme measure, but it’s the only measure that appears to be getting their attention,” a county planning official told the local media. Home Depot has been under the gun for quite some time, but still is in violation of as many as 9 provisions of its permit, including having an improper storage unit in the parking lot, failure to install metal deflectors on parking lot lights to cut down on the spillover glare onto neighboring properties, and not replacing dead trees and shrubs. When County officials threatened to close the store, the dead trees and shrubs were replaced, shields were placed over the lights, and construction debris was removed. But the county is not satisfied that much work still remains to be done. “We are not going to play games,” one county councilor warned. “Just because they have a large amount of revenue coming in, doesn’t mean they can skirt the rules.”
Home Depot told the media that the company expects to stay open, and is working on the problems. “We have satisfied many of these conditions, and continue to work with the county on resolution of this matter,” a spokesperson for Home Depot said. Not, apparently, to the satisfaction of county officials. Sprawl-Busters has a thick file of local land use code violations by Home Dept in a number of other states outside of Utah. The company has frequently forced local officials into a showdown over municipal rules. “Good things happen when Home Depot comes to town,” the company used to say. They don’t say that anymore. For earlier stories, search by “Home Depot” or “code violations.” For further background, contact [email protected]
