Planning always plays an important role in city government, but it figures to take center stage in Utah's capital during the next several years.

Salt Lake City Council members will be central characters in the drama as they grapple with the following planning questions: How will the city capitalize on the LDS Church's makeover of downtown's Crossroads Plaza and ZCMI Center malls? What kind of development is appropriate for the 6,000 acres of virtually untouched land in the northwest quadrant near wetlands of the Great Salt Lake? How will the city encourage more affordable housing?

"We are going to see a huge amount of changes in the next 10 years in Salt Lake City," said Brenda Case Scheer, dean of the University of Utah's College of Architecture and Planning. "There are good planning practices [to follow]. It's not about what you grab out of the air or your latest brainchild."

All the council candidates in the Nov. 8 election are touting their planning bona fides: Janneke House (District 3) and Soren Simonsen (District 7) boast master's degrees in urban planning. Eric Jergensen (District 3) helped write the master plan for Capitol Hill. Carlton Christensen (District 1) sits on a state growth board. Leslie Benns (District 1) helped write a portion of a city plan in California. Gordon Poulson (District 7) said he's a good listener with practical experience.

"The best [designs] of a new and modern kitchen don't always come from the housewife that will be using them," Poulson said.

Salt Lake City's projects are bigger than any home renovation. They will affect the quality of life and the bottom line for years to come - and they will be controversial, as many planning decisions are.

The LDS Church is intimately involved in two major plans - the $1 billion redevelopment of its Main Street malls and the development of the city's northwest quadrant, where the church is a primary landowner. All of the candidates save one (Benns) are LDS. They vow they can vote against a project for which their church leaders are lobbying.

In the case of the malls, the church doesn't expect to ask the city for money, so the council will have limited say. But the church may seek approval for a sky bridge to link the shopping centers, a device the city's master plan prohibits.

Christensen might agree to allow such a walkway if tenants like Nordstrom want it. Benns and Poulson are ready to vote yes. "I remember visiting Minneapolis, which showed me how 'cool' (and warm, too) that a well-planned sky-bridge system can be," Benns said.

House would vote no because sky bridges take people off the streets. Jergensen said he would vote against any petitioner - church or developer - whose projects don't meet city polices or plans. However, he is willing to consider a sky bridge, but noted it may be difficult to do.

Some candidates see their role in the church's Main Street efforts as one of enforcement. Jill Remington Love, who is running unopposed for a second term in District 5, wants to hold the church to its promise to reduce the amount of retail and create a mixed-used development with housing. House wants the church to divulge more information to the public.

Instead of a sky bridge, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson has mentioned banning vehicle traffic on Main Street between the malls. Poulson said keep it open. Simonsen said it might work. While lamenting the closure of Main Street a block north to create the LDS Church's Main Street Plaza because it cut off traffic from Capitol Hill, Simonsen said other cities have "wonderful" pedestrian-only streets.

"This block of Main Street could be a vibrant pedestrian- and transit-only thoroughfare," Simonsen said.

The seven-member council probably will have more of a role in redeveloping the blocks surrounding the malls. Virtually all of the candidates like the idea of boosting arts and culture - and they want more housing.

More people could end up living west of Salt Lake City International Airport. That northwest quadrant is due for a master plan - one has been funded - that could change zoning for thousands of acres from manufacturing, agriculture and open space to residential and commercial.

The area could house up to 20,000 residents.

Benns said development there should wait until the city revitalizes areas such as North Temple and Rose Park. But Christensen sees it as a place for "our children to live without going greater distances away from Salt Lake City."

Simonsen said he would want to explore a tool called "transfer of development rights" that would prevent sprawl-type development and protect the shorelands but give property owners opportunities to build elsewhere. Poulson said the city must consider developing remaining land to keep the city vibrant, but leave adequate open space.

House said downtown density is the better way to pump up the city population (currently about 182,000): "There are plenty of ways to increase the population without developing an area that will stretch thin our municipal services or reduce our open space."

Jergensen can see residential, retail and office in the northwest quadrant while avoiding sprawl or destroying wetlands. If that can't be done, he said, "we should not move forward with further action."

hmay@sltrib.com