Almost a year ago, Salt Lake City voters agreed to raise their property taxes to protect open space. Now, the city is getting closer to being able to spend that $5.4 million, which it hopes to leverage for millions more in private funds. On Tuesday, the City Council created the Open Space Lands Program to protect, acquire and manage the city's open space lands. But first, it must appoint a nine-member citizen board to help identify potential purchases, prioritize them, monitor those lands once bought and leverage the bond money by seeking private donations. The council is also trying to protect the city's open spaces by requiring a public hearing before the city could sell any of the property. Open space is defined as natural areas, including wildlife habitats, wetlands or watershed lands, stream corridors, trails for nonmotorized recreation and small neighborhood parks designed for nonorganized activities. - Heather May