The Greater Avenues Community Council is weighing no-confidence votes for the department and for the city's legal and business services divisions. Board members say the planning process has fallen into dysfunction and Mayor Ralph Becker, who campaigned as "Blue Print Man" and a champion of planning reform, hasn't done enough to fix the problems in his first six months in office.

At a meeting Wednesday, past community council Chairman Michael Hughes presented the board's concerns to a group of about 50 Avenues residents. He complained of preferential treatment for builders, a tendency to push projects through without public notice and slow and incomplete responses to public records requests.

"We feel that this culture seems biased to people coming to the city with building applications," he said. "We feel that this is inherently unfair, and we want the city to look at it and address it."

Becker has agreed to meet with the some of the Avenues board members on July 11 to hear their concerns. The community council plans to consider a no-confidence vote, which carries no weight besides its message, on Aug. 6.

Becker said change is under way at the city's community and economic development department. He ousted the department's director - a position recently filled by Frank Gray - and has launched a national search for a new planning boss. He also created one-stop shopping for permits at City Hall.

"We have been making very substantial changes," the mayor said. "We've completely reorganized the division."

He also called the community council's advocacy "enormously valuable."

"Of course there's room for improvement. And we're working on it."

Salt Lake City Councilman Eric Jergensen, who represents the Avenues, urged attendees of Wednesday's meeting, to be patient and work cooperatively.

"Often times . . . there appears to be sort of this feeding frenzy of frustration," he said. "I suggest . . . that this be a productive, collaborative effort."

rwinters@sltrib.com