Park City’s so-called soils ordinance has been on the books since 1994.
But not everyone whose property is covered by the law is aware of the regulations.
City Hall on Wednesday is scheduled to host two identical seminars meant to teach people about the law, which was written to protect the community from contaminated waste left from the silver-mining era in Park City.
The first seminar is scheduled from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. The second one is set for between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Both will be held in Room 205 of the Park City Library and Education Center.
Representatives from the Building, Planning and Engineering departments will give presentations. Joan Card, who is City Hall’s environmental regulatory affairs manager, is also scheduled to speak at the seminars. The City Hall officials will field questions as well.
Card said many Parkites are not aware of the details of the law.
The soils ordinance’s boundaries generally cover Prospector, the Main Street district, much of Old Town and the Silver Star development. The law requires landowners to cap their properties with six inches of topsoil or another sort of coverage like xeriscaping or pavement.
The landowner must pay for the cap, and City Hall offers financial assistance to people who must cap their properties. The number of properties governed by the law but not yet capped has steadily been decreasing over the years.
Park City was founded in the 19th century as a silver-mining camp, and the industry dominated the city’s economy through the middle of the 20th century. Mining eventually gave way to the ski industry in the last 50 years.
The mining era left a dubious environmental legacy, though, with contaminated soils in some places in Park City as well as tainted water.
For more information about the seminars, contact Card. Her phone number is (435)615-5153. Her e-mail address is [email protected].