Seeing the acres of parking lots lining 400 South in Salt Lake City persuaded him soon after taking office in 2000 to try to make new development more pedestrian-friendly.

On Tuesday, the City Council said it intended to approve Anderson's so-called anti-strip mall measure, after a few more tweaks.

The mayor considers this a victory, saying passage will represent "enormous progress." The goal is to enliven streets with pedestrians.

However, the walkable communities ordinance actually wouldn't stop developers from building strip malls. It would simply make it more cumbersome and perhaps more expensive.

If property owners do adhere to the guidelines, expect more developments like Sugar House Commons, at 2100 South and 1100 East, where Barnes and Noble, Wild Oats and a bevy of other shops shield the parking lot.

Imagine mini-Gateways.

The regulation suggests new developments, along with major expansions, place buildings up to the sidewalk and orient front doors toward the street. Parking lots would be behind the buildings and 40 percent of the first floor should be glass. The ordinance would apply mainly to neighborhood commercial areas and State Street.

Downtown and The Gateway zones already require such urban designs. And it is traditionally what was preferred traditionally in Salt Lake City. The 15th and 15th shopping district was designed this way but, ironically, would be prohibited today without the new ordinance.

Armand Johansen developed Sugar House Commons and likes the results. But it was a struggle. "We had to talk like crazy to get Barnes and Noble [to build] two entrances," toward 2100 East and the parking lot. Normally it would build one for customers entering from the parking lot. "It's a lot of expense for a tenant to have security controls for two entrances."

That's why the proposed ordinance is flexible, as long as development in the affected zones adheres to the goal of walkability.

Developers who don't want to follow the guidelines could go through a longer approval process instead of receiving an over-the-counter permit. And they would probably spend more for landscaping to screen parking lots next to the street.

"This does not wholesale prohibit someone from doing a strip mall," said Doug Dansie, a city planner who wrote the ordinance. "It makes it a less easy choice."

The Walgreen development on 400 South illustrates what would likely be allowed under the ordinance. The 14,000-square-foot drug store is being built almost 100 feet from the busy road to make room for 56 parking stalls, but Walgreen agreed to build a 2,000-square-foot building on the corner of the lot.

Even with its flexibility, the ordinance could be too restrictive for some property owners.

"We are concerned the city not too quickly favor walking and mass transit options," said Mary Corporon, chairwoman of the Business Advisory Board. "We are hard-pressed to find businesses in this community that can survive [by getting customers to their door] without a private automobile."

Part of the problem is Salt Lake City doesn't have the population density that larger and more walkable communities have.

"It [the ordinance] is very much ahead of its time," said Jim Ack, a small-business owner.

hmay@sltrib.com