A City Hall panel on Wednesday indicated it is willing to press forward with talks about a program officials want to create that would allow landowners to shift development rights from their parcels to pieces of ground owned by others, a scenario that could enable Park City leaders to protect prized land while nudging growth toward spots deemed more appropriate.

The Planning Commission discussion, though, was a preview of what could become a complicated process as the details are worked through in coming weeks. The panel was not scheduled to cast a vote on Wednesday and wants to continue its talks at a meeting on Dec. 15.

Members generally agreed to consider a series of parcels where development rights could be shifted from, known as sending zones since the rights would be sent from the sites, and where they could be shifted to, known as receiving zones.

The sending zones that are under consideration are the Sweeney family’s Treasure acreage, situated on a hillside overlooking Old Town close to the route of the Town Lift, and a series of lots in Old Town. Some of the Old Town lots are on Ridge Avenue or elsewhere on the southern edge of the neighborhood. Some of the other lots are close to the Treasure land itself.

The receiving zones, meanwhile, include the Bonanza Park district, Park City Mountain Resort and the Snow Park area of Deer Valley Resort. The Park City Heights land at Quinn’s Junction is also under consideration, but there does not seem to be as much interest in that land as there is in the other parcels.

The two zones talked about on Wednesday closely resemble the ones discussed at a Planning Commission meeting in November.

The long-running talks about Treasure spurred the interest in allowing landowners to shift development rights off their ground, but officials say a program could be used in other instances as well.

Negotiating teams from City Hall and the Sweeney family are trying to craft a deal to preserve all or some of the acreage as open space. Putting a program in place like the one under consideration, sometimes called transferring development rights or transferring density rights, could be critical as the negotiations continue.

There is a chance that an agreement could call for the Sweeneys to move all or some of the Treasure development rights to one of the receiving zones. That sort of deal would likely also require monetary compensation to the family.

The Wednesday meeting drew a crowd of Park City officials, City Hall watchers and people with interests in the parcels under discussion. Park City Manager Tom Bakaly made a rare appearance at a Planning Commission meeting.

The Planning Commission and staffers held a wide-ranging talk about a program, with topics that were touched on including the prospects of other sites being designated as receiving zones and complications that could arise in places where development rights are sent. Some of the highlights included:

  • Planning Commissioner Mick Savage mentioning whether Empire Pass should be considered as a receiving zone. Charlie Wintzer, another Planning Commissioner, countered that situating additional development there could increase traffic.
  • Wintzer worrying that shifting development from one spot to another could be tantamount to moving a “headache” across the city. Wintzer suggested the Planning Commission could visit the sites.
  • The panel wondering whether Parkites understand the effects of a program.
  • Planning Commissioner Dick Peek indicating information about infrastructure, such as road networks, should be compiled in the zones.
  • The Planning Commission discussing whether development rights for residential square footage could be converted to commercial square footage if the rights are shifted.

    Restrictions on the heights of buildings in the receiving zones could also be of note in the upcoming talks. If development rights are shifted to the receiving zones, there could be arguments to loosen the restrictions on the heights to better position the additional square footage.

    City Hall staffers and the Planning Commission, meanwhile, broached ideas about assigning values to the development rights that would be shifted. Precise figures were not agreed to, however. Katie Cattan, the City Hall planner assigned to the talks, said staffers will make their recommendations about the values prior to the Dec. 15 meeting.

    The upcoming talks about values will likely be of considerable interest to landowners. Staffers used the term ‘development credits’ during the meeting and indicated there could be a market for the development credits someday under a program.

    Mike Sweeney, a family member involved in the negotiations with City Hall about a conservation deal, attended on Wednesday, saying afterward the discussions about shifting development rights are in the “formative stage.” He said the talks should be seen as being broader than Treasure.

    “It’s more than Treasure. It’s way bigger than us. We’re not the center of the universe,” Sweeney said.