A yearlong editing process eliminated 45 fees for specialized business licenses by Salt Lake County’s Planning and Development Division— such as $30 for an indoor, year-round miniature golf course or $150 for a slaughterhouse.
And that sits just fine with leaders of two local chambers of commerce that helped county officials to remove provisions no longer relevant in the modern business world.
Now was the time to update the document, added Alan Anderson, president/CEO of ChamberWest Regional Chamber of Commerce, which covers Kearns, West Valley City and Taylorsville, and the East Valley Regional Chamber in Millcreek.
"With any rebounding economy, it’s the entrepreneurs of the world who come into play," said Anderson, whose chambers represent about 3,000 unincorporated-area businesses. "It should be easier now to start a business in Millcreek or Kearns."
Division Director Rolen Yoshinaga cited several other oddities removed from the books. Laundromat owners will be spared a fee of $6 per washing machine — and county officials won’t have to put stickers on machines to show the fee was paid —while grocery stores won’t be charged an extra fee based on the gallons of milk in the store.
All that remains in the ordinance are chapters dealing with businesses regulated by state or federal governments — establishments selling alcohol and tobacco, massage parlors and sexually oriented businesses, residential solicitors, taxi companies, check cashers and alarm businesses.
The County Council voted 6-1 last week in favor of the revisions. Salt Lake Tribune
