Old Town dwellers see there being numerous icons in the neighborhood.
One person says the Park Avenue billboard, sticking out in a community that prohibits them, is iconic. Another person puts the iconic label on the Park Avenue 7-Eleven while someone else picks High West Distillery.
Elsewhere in Old Town, someone sees the miner shacks still standing from long ago as iconic.
The statements were just a handful of numerous handwritten opinions expressed during a recent City Hall event centered on individual districts in Old Town. Park City leaders are gathering opinions about the neighborhood as part of a broad discussion about the city’s future. A similar event will be scheduled later centering on the other neighborhoods in Park City.
Jeff Brabender, who lives on upper Norfolk Avenue, attended the event, known as a charrette, saying that he enjoys his neighborhood. He’s lived there for three months and has been living in Park City during the winter for 11 years. He praises City Hall’s efforts in Old Town.
“It’s what I want. It’s eclectic and quiet, and has great access to the trails and skiing and town,” he said in an interview. “It’s Nirvana.”
He said there could be minor improvements such as putting power lines underground. They are “unsightly” where they are now, he said.
Brabender said people living elsewhere might see there being everyday annoyances in his neighborhood that are not problematic for him.
“We don’t mind the narrow street, the potholes,” Brabender said.
People who live on Daly Avenue who attended left handwritten notes that they would like the power lines on their street buried. One indicated they would like the condominiums at the northern end of the street torn down.
Another person, meanwhile, said they’d like more sunlight on Daly Avenue, a difficult request to grant given the steep hillsides on both sides of the street. Someone else commented about Daly Avenue, saying they want bicyclists to abide by the speed limit. Those who don’t should be ticketed, the person said in the written comments, saying it is a “very dangerous” situation.
Linda Wright, who has lived on Daly Avenue for seven years, said she enjoys the street. It’s a dog-friendly neighborhood and there are people who worked in Park City’s mining industry still living on Daly Avenue, she said.
“The unique feature about Daly is the history is still alive up there,” she said, adding that the access the street provides to trails is a benefit of living there.
Wright, though, said drivers speed on Daly Avenue. Bicyclists break the speed limit as well, she said.
“There are cars that are screaming on Daly,” she said. “Bikes are fast, too.”
The event, held at the Marsac Building, drew upward of 120 people, mostly appearing to be from Old Town. The crowd perused maps of Old Town that were set up in the hallways and provided the written input as City Hall staffers chatted with them.
The staffers compiled the crowd’s opinions into a report that was submitted to the Park City Planning Commission this week. Another charrette, designed for people who live outside of Old Town, is scheduled on Oct. 12.
Old Town has long been the most disputed of Park City’s neighborhoods, with numerous interest groups like full-time residents, vacation-home owners, Main Street businesses and investors holding diverse visions.
City Hall is conducting a broad review of Park City’s neighborhoods as officials prepare to redo the municipal General Plan, an overarching document that guides growth within the city. The officials say the opinions from Parkites are important as they craft a redone General Plan.
Thomas Eddington, the Planning director at City Hall, said he was surprised with the attendance. A typical Planning Commission meeting draws a much smaller crowd. Eddington said the people at the event were knowledgeable about the neighborhoods and the opinions will result in the redone General Plan better reflecting the ideas of Parkites.
“It’s more real if we have this community involvement,” Eddington said.