Development of hundreds of hotel rooms and a film studio at Quinn’s Junction was possibly fast-tracked by a bill the Utah Legislature passed Wednesday, which would allow landowners to team with the U.S. Air Force to build vacation lodging for soldiers in Park City.
Senate Bill 216, sponsored by Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Lehi, passed with 49 votes in the House and 19 in the Senate, a margin which could still allow Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to veto the legislation.
“We’re aware of [SB 216] and it will go through the policy and legal review all legislation goes through,” Huntsman spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley said in a telephone interview Friday. “We have received calls from people both for and against the legislation.”
The governor must decide whether to veto the bill by April 1, she said.
SB 216 would revise the state’s so-called Military Installation Development Authority Act so the Air Force could build recreation facilities on private land in smaller counties without engaging local governments in the planning process. Landowners at Quinn’s may cooperate with military officials to build an 800-room hotel off State Road 248 near the east entryway into Park City to provide soldiers with travel discounts.
Near the project could be a movie studio with sound stages and post-production facilities.
Park City Mayor Dana Williams said he is against SB 216 because state lawmakers shouldn’t usurp zoning power from local officials.
“We anticipated the passage of this,” Williams said.
In the nation’s capital Monday city and county officials will try to convince the military to not move forward with massive development plans at Quinn’s, Williams said.
“I’ll be at the Pentagon at 9 a.m.,” the mayor said. “I don’t buy that this project is for the men and women in the service. This is about profit for the developer.”
Summit County’s two representatives, Republican Mel Brown and Democrat Christine Johnson, voted against the bill. The two Republican senators who represent the county split their votes, with Allen Christensen voting for SB 216 and Kevin Van Tassell voting against the legislation.
Instead of Quinn’s Junction, local officials want the Air Force to build near The Canyons. But if Huntsman signs SB 216 into law, they may not have much say about where a hotel ends up.
Heber resident Todd Bay claims he owns Bay Entertainment and Media, which is in discussions with studio executives in California interested in making Park City the hub of the burgeoning film industry in Utah. Bay did not return a telephone call seeking comments for this story.
Builders envision the studio and hotel going on land near the Park City limits at the junction of U.S. 40 and S.R. 248 where there is long-standing legal wrangling between City Hall, county officials and landowners over the size of projects developers have proposed.
SB 216 passed despite City Hall hiring a lobbyist to help defeat the bill.
Summit County Councilman Chris Robinson suggested hiring a lobbyist for the county if harmful bills like SB 216 need to be defeated in the future.