The Park City Planning Commission on Wednesday backed a procedural change in the way City Hall considers some development-related matters, unanimously endorsing the idea of putting in place a hearing officer to handle certain appeals instead of bringing them to the mayor and Park City Council.
City Hall staffers see the proposed change to the Land Management Code, the document that outlines development rules, as a way to possibly end the deadlock that has stalled the talks between the Sweeney family and the local government about the idea to build Treasure. Although the alteration would apply to other projects as well, the city introduced the change with a Treasure breakthrough being the goal.
The City Council must consider the change as well, with a meeting scheduled on April 1. It is expected that the elected officials will affirm the Planning Commission’s favorable recommendation.
The procedural shift would allow the City Council to appoint a hearing officer to consider appeals of many development decisions made by the Planning Commission. doing so, the elected officials would remove themselves from that role in appeals.
If the mayor and City Council did not hear appeals, they would be free to discuss alternatives with developers, such as reshaping a project or buying the land where a project might be built. Under the current arrangement, City Hall attorneys caution against involvement by the elected officials since they could be the people to hear an appeal. Their involvement could threaten their ability to impartially hear an appeal, the attorneys say.
The change would not alter the path a developer takes through the Planning Commission.
Mike Sweeney, one of the Sweeney brothers leading the Treasure efforts, listened on Wednesday and said in an interview afterward the family could support the concept of a change to create the position of a hearing officer.
“It’s got to be fair and balanced. That’s what we want,” Sweeney said. “It’s got to be somebody who is competent enough to be a hearing officer.”
The Planning Commission’s vote outlines the qualifications of an appeal officer, with the panel especially wanting the person to be from Park City or the immediate area. The Planning Commissioners wanted the person to have spent at least five years in a judicial or similar position and have a degree in law or planning. City Attorney Mark Harrington said City Hall would advertise the position and the hearing officer would be appointed in a public setting if one is hired.
The Sweeneys hold development rights at the Treasure site — situated on the slopes of Park City Mountain Resort overlooking Old Town — dating to the 1980s and have been in talks with the Planning Commission since 2004 with only scattered progress. The Sweeneys want the panel to approve approximately 1 million square feet of development spread through a hotel, condominiums and meeting and convention space.
The talks have been difficult, though, as the Planning Commission and people living on streets like Lowell Avenue and Empire Avenue have consistently criticized the overall Treasure design and the efforts the Sweeneys have outlined to reduce the amount of traffic heading to and from the site. There has also been widespread concern about the size of some of the proposed Treasure buildings, which would be among the largest in Park City.
Five people testified during a hearing that lasted approximately 20 minutes, with some of the comments including that the hearing officer should take input from the public and that the mayor and City Council are abandoning their roles as decision-makers.
“There is an extreme power here,” said John Stafsholt, who has closely watched the Treasure discussions and is a member of a coalition opposing the project, adding that the hearing officer would not be accountable to Park City voters as the elected officials are.
Rich Wyman, another Treasure critic and coalition member, said he is “generally supportive of the concept.” But he said the process in front of a hearing officer should be “transparent.”
“We feel that public input is essential,” Wyman said.