The Yalecrest Neighborhood Council helps promote a safe and vibrant community in this historic neighborhood
with its iconic architecture, tree-lined streets and parks.
We act as a forum for residents to voice their opinions about issues vital to the community and to engage in activities, projects and causes that reflect Yalecrest’s vitality.
MONTHLY MEETINGS
YNC meetings are typically held the second Thursday monthly at 6:30 p.m.
at Anderson-Foothill Library. Zoom attendance is also available.
MONTHLY YNC MEETING THURSDAY, FEB. 12TH
Two Great Salt Lake experts will headline next community meeting Feb. 12.
Deep Dive into the Great Salt Lake Crisis
Two law professors at the University of Utah who specialize in water and environmental law — Beth Parker and Brig Daniels — will share their insights about the crisis facing The Great Salt Lake at the next Yalecrest Neighborhood Council meeting Thursday, Feb.12 at 6:30 p.m. It will be held at the Anderson-Foothill Library, 1135 South 2100 East. A virtual option is available at this link.
Both hold executive positions at the Wallace Stegner Center which hosts the Great Salt Lake Project. Daniels is director and Parker is associate director. Daniels’ current scholarship focuses on policy responses to help save the Great Salt Lake while Parker’s scholarship focus on developing legal and policy solutions to restore the Great Salt Lake.
SLC PUBLIC LANDS WANTS YALECREST OPINIONS ABOUT NEW LAIRD PARK RULES
Public Lands places Laird Park in new reservation category
Constructive dialogue with Yalecrest residents and PL Director Kim Shelley last fall have led to a new set of criteria to reserve Laird Park. Illegal and intensive use of the park over the last three years by a commercial soccer operation triggered concerns and complaints from nearby homeowners bordering the park.
The recommendations are in an early draft stage and were introduced at the monthly PNUT (Parks, Natural Lands, Urban Forestry and Trails) board meeting last Thursday. Representatives from the Yalecrest Neighborhood Council attended and spoke at the meeting to give context to the situation.
Laird Park, along with Stratford Park, Curtis and Kay Rees Park would be designated “mini” parks with special restrictions.
Among the recommendations are:
– Limit athletic reservation use to 3 days a week
– Maximum group size: 25 people per reservation
– All reservations must be cleared through email or phone contact with the PL staff– not automatically online.
– Misuse will incur fees and possible revocation of the permit.
Several Yalecrest residents who received early copies of the draft document have also proposed:
– Restrict reservations to 2 days a week or remove Laird entirely from the field reservation inventory.
– Clear definition of what “25 per reservation” means to avoid work-arounds adding multiple sections to one reservation — without disclosure.
– Does 25 per reservation include family and friends who observe? These classes often attract a cadre of onlookers that fill the park.
– Number of sequential reservations.
– Attempts to use stealth names for the same organization to disguise the identify of the reserving party. Yalecrest has learned this tactic is under consideration by one soccer organization.
– Restrict use to certain hours during the reservation to avoid morning, afternoon and evening use.
– Since there are no bathrooms at the park, solutions to soccer participants relieving themselves in the bushes was discussed, with no viable solutions.
The draft policy is available for review here.
Public comments can be sent to Kim Shelley at kim.shelley@slc.gov; reservation manager Ryen Schlegel at ryen.schlegel@slc.gov or Tyler Murdock at tyler.murdock@slc.gov. Early field reservations for SLC parks opened Feb. 1. Once approved, these new codes won’t take effect until March 1.
2025 BIRD COUNT IN MILLER PARK
Nearly 60 species were identified during Tracy Aviary’s annual survey of birds in the Miller Nature Park and Bird Refuge this year. This compares favorably with previous counts, suggesting a steady population. Among the sightings were the Yellow Warbler, the Black-capped Chickadee, as well as owls, a ruby-crowned kinglet, and the Northern Flicker.
FINAL SUNNYSIDE PARK DESIGN
A final design concept for Sunnyside Park has been released by SLC’s Public Lands Department. It was selected from three options presented to the community for review last spring. Most of the existing sports fields will remain with a few new amenities like mini pavilions, pickle ball courts, trees, a walking path, and an enlarged children’s playground. Construction is not expected to begin until 2027. The redesign was initiated when the University of Utah won approval to lease about 1.2 acres of park property for a new baseball stadium in exchange for $4.2 million that was set aside for park improvements.
SYCAMORE TREE UPDATE
The first phase of Salt Lake City’s effort to reduce or eliminate the harmful effects of pathogens attacking sycamores in Yalecrest and throughout the city was launched in 2025. This past spring, experimental tests were conducted by Urban Forestry at select locations. More treatment options are planned.
The city acknowledged that trees under the greatest threat are on Michigan Avenue.
To learn more visit these sites:
Anthracnose Management: A Guide for Salt Lake City Trees
Yalecrest Neighborhood Council sycamore tree meeting recap Nov. 2024
YALECREST CANCER STUDY
A working group under the direction of Dr. Douglas Sborov, director of the Multiple Myeloma Program at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, has been launched to study cancer cases in Yalecrest. Sborov’s team, in collaboration with the Utah Population Database, will investigate if environmental incidents like the PCE plume on Sunnyside or the Chevron oil spill, may have been contributing factors. Anecdotally, the percentage of blood cancers in the neighborhood is above the statistical norm. Yalecrest resident Vicki Varela initiated the study after she and several nearby neighbors were all diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Anyone wishing to contribute information about Yalecrest cancer cases is urged to contact Vicki at vicki.varela@gmail.com. Dr. Sborov is expected to deliver an initial report after the first of the year.
THE PCE PLUME IN SUNNYSIDE
Latest update December, 2025:
Treatment options to remove toxic PCE from the groundwater and soil from Sunnyside Park to East High School will be presented to the public in 2026. A public comment period will follow with a final selection sometime in 2027.
Background: PCE began leaking from a dry-cleaning operation at the VA hospital between the mid-1970-1980s. First detected in an irrigation well in Mt. Olivet in 1990, the hospital source was not determined until 2004. The map below indicates two major areas of PCE concentration—an underground area near the new U of U baseball stadium and the grounds of East High School west to 900 East. It was declared an EPA Superfund site in 2013. More information.