Utah News Dispatch
Frustrated North Salt Lakers looking at new homeless campus ask for another site
The site of a future homeless services campus at 2520 N. 2200 West in Salt Lake City is pictured with I-215 in the foreground on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
After the state announced a 1,300-bed homeless campus in northwest Salt Lake City, nearby North Salt Lake neighbors have been touring the undeveloped site, measuring the time it would take someone to walk from the campus to their city’s border, taking note of the nearest gas station to the campus, and eyeing other potential properties that they hope could move the project away from their backyards.
Wayne Niederhauser, the state’s homelessness coordinator, sat in front of an often rowdy crowd at the North Salt Lake City Hall Tuesday evening to answer questions about the project, which represents a major move for the Utah Office of Homeless Services and the Utah Homeless Board, tasked with increasing the state’s emergency homeless shelter capacity in a campus-like setting with support and treatment to help people moving out of homelessness.
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Some residents walked around the room asking for signatures opposing the development. And, while North Salt Lake Mayor Brian Horrocks asked attendees to refrain from yelling or clapping during the meeting, few complied.
“They don’t care about us,” a resident yelled while Niederhauser answered a public safety question. “Put it in your backyard,” others shouted at different points of the meeting.
Utah officials unveil site for 1,300-bed homeless campus after long, secretive search
The state entered a contract to purchase a Salt Lake City parcel to build the 15.85-acre campus at a site in the Northpointe neighborhood, roughly a mile from North Salt Lake’s boundaries, raising many eyebrows from residents in the surrounding communities. The purchase closing date will be sometime after the legislative session, Niederhauser said.
“The legislature will need to weigh in on some things before we move ahead with any construction or proceed with any development of that property, we want to engage the public,” he added.
Niederhauser spoke about the need for such a campus in the state, where homelessness increased 18% last year — Utahns experiencing homelessness are in need of resources and mental health and addiction support, and a centralized campus would offer an all-day, all-year operation for those needs, he said.
The state has proposed a $4 million budget for public safety around the campus, conducted a wetland study of the property and is contemplating how to best work to mitigate the notorious mosquito issue in the area, and how to best transport people in and out of the campus that is far from any public transit.
But, neighbors remained skeptical and deeply frustrated with the plans.
Neighbors ask for another site
Brittney Souther, who lives near the proposed site, said she worries about North Salt Lake’s Foxboro neighborhood.
“The nearest grocery store, the nearest bus stop, are not in Salt Lake City. They’re here in Foxboro,” Souther said. “Without reliable public transportation to take people back into the city, they will absolutely end up walking this way into our neighborhoods, towards our businesses and our schools.”
In her view, the campus should not move forward without strong safeguards for the surrounding community and without independent oversight to ensure the area’s safety.
“You mentioned putting aside $4 million towards security, but you don’t even have enough money to build what you want, much less run it. Where will you even get the funds for that?” she asked Niederhauser.
But mostly, she wanted to know why a site west of the Salt Lake City airport was not under consideration for the project instead.
“We looked at property there, similar to this property,” Niederhauser said. “This is the one that works for us.”
Shane Moser, a fire captain with the Salt Lake City Fire Department, speaking as a resident, also worried about public safety. His team, he said, responds to two or three calls a day at the Gail Miller Resource Center, a homeless shelter in Salt Lake City with a 200-bed capacity. Given the new campus’ 1,300-bed capacity, he expects the site to have an impact on the South Davis Metro Fire Department as well as the North Salt Lake Police Department, he said.
But, Moser said, some solutions could decrease those concerns.
“I would recommend that you guys look at a gate in, gate out, controlled access,” Moser said. “At the other resource centers, that is not the case. They’re allowed to freely roam the neighborhoods, and that has a significant drain on resources, as well as impacts crime levels.”
An emotional response
Mayor Horrocks said he wasn’t surprised by the highly emotional response of the community.
For those who live on Salt Lake City’s west side, the project “is a disaster,” he said. But, in North Salt Lake, there may be ways to protect the city by controlling its access through the bridge over the Jordan River.
“Obviously just to take the bridge out would be perfect,” Horrocks said. “If that’s not an option, then we maybe make it a toll bridge, and nobody comes or goes without someone checking in with someone.”
While he supports helping people who are going through rough patches to get back on their feet, he said it gets harder when those dealing with addictions don’t want to receive help. So, he’s unsure on how the campus will succeed. But, for now, he’s focusing on what can be done to protect his city.
“I think the decision’s been made. And when people say, ‘well, I’ll call my legislator,’ the legislature was the one that told Wayne to go make a recommendation, and he’s done that,” Horrocks. “So unless something changes dramatically, which I don’t see, I’m back to ‘OK, that thing’s coming. What can I do as mayor of North Salt Lake?’”
