SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah — In June 2021, Talia and Maxwell Walker bought and renovated what they hoped would be their dream home in South Salt Lake.
What the Walkers didn't know was that a car dealership had expansion plans that included two homes on Winslow Avenue where they had bought their house.
"For the last two years these homes were not on the market and could have been lived in and renovated like this one, they weren't," Talia said.
Mark Miller Subaru says they considered the neighborhood when creating plans for the houses the dealership had purchased.
"The house we bought in the middle actually recently tested positive for meth and is not a structurally sound house, so it's not capable to be used as a single-family home," said Jeff Miller, CEO and General Manager of Mark Miller Subaru. "Then our idea for the third house was to keep the house and move the marketing center there in order to create a buffer between the neighborhood."
The dealership says their goal since they opened in 1961 has always been to take care of the neighborhood.
"We feel that what we're doing in this neighborhood will clean this street up by adding more sidewalks and vegetation. I think we could create a better Winslow Avenue than was there before," Miller added.
But the Walkers see things differently.
"No one benefits from more concrete, more pollution, more light, and more noise," Talia said.
The couple also questions whether or not the city will really benefit from the dealership's expansion.
"Is this actually going to change anything in terms of this city's revenue if they're only going to sell one more car?" asked Talia. "You're telling me one car, one car that they sell more than that tax revenue is worth more than two homes, two families?"
Mark Miller Subaru says they have the third-highest business revenue in South Salt Lake and have always found ways to give back to the city and the community. They say following growth plans by Subaru is one of the things required of franchisees.
"The parking spots would be used for cars for display purposes, for new and used vehicles, but also for our expanding service business and taking care of the community and taking care of our communities' cars," Miller said.
The issue is slated to be discussed by the South Salt Lake City Council on Wednesday. If the move is approved, the Walkers say they will fight back.
"We will 100% appeal it ... and if we need to, we will file for referendum on this. What we've done in two weeks is nothing compared to what we can do with more time," Talia said.
"I think the community has really come together in a powerful way in a very short amount of time, and it just goes to show this community is worth fighting for," said Maxwell.
