People interested in the Treasure development proposal have opportunities to learn more about the project in the days before Park City officials restart their discussions after a hiatus that has lasted since 2010.
The Park City Planning Commission on Wednesday is scheduled to address Treasure in the first of what is expected to be a series of meetings that could stretch for more than a year. Treasure is among the most complex projects City Hall has processed during the skiing era, perplexing elected and appointed officials at many points over the course of 30 years.
The Treasure partnership, consisting of the Sweeney family, which is the historic owner of the acreage, and an investor, is seeking an approval involving upward of 1 million square feet of development on a highly visible hillside overlooking Old Town close to the route of the Town Lift. The Sweeney family in the 1980s secured development rights for the Treasure land as well as nearby parcels. Some of the other parcels have been built upon over time, but the bulk of the development rights won in the 1980s are attached to the Treasure land itself.
City Hall drafted an informational sheet regarding Treasure in anticipation of the upcoming series of meetings. It is posted on the municipal website and includes a description of the history and other pieces of information. It is available at: http://www.parkcity.org/how-do-i/treasure-conditional-use-application.
The informational sheet provides a history of the talks about the project that became Treasure, noting an overall approval of Treasure by the Planning Commission in December of 1985 that was followed by a Park City Council approval in October of 1986 after the elected officials of that era exercised their right to review a decision by the lower panel.
The document clarifies several key points regarding the Treasure timeline as it affirms that the overall 1980s approval remains intact. It says the parcels on the hillside where Treasure is proposed “were identified in the timeline as the last properties to be developed.” The 1980s decision “is still valid due to the applicant keeping within the timeline established during the approval,” the document says.
Some of the opponents of Treasure have questioned whether the 1980s approval remains intact. City Hall, though, has consistently indicated the approval is valid based on the progress the Treasure side made on other parcels included in the overall approval, such as the Town Lift Plaza.
The document also provides a rundown of the discussions that started more than a decade ago about the Treasure project itself. The application was submitted in early 2004. The Planning Commission discussed Treasure during 23 meetings between April of 2004 and April of 2006, according to the document. The talks broke off for approximately 2 ½ years as the Treasure side revised the plans, restarting in early 2009 and lasting a little more than a year, City Hall outlines. The mayor and City Council unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate a conservation deal for Treasure. Those talks ended in 2014, leading the Treasure side to return to the Planning Commission for the upcoming discussions.
City Hall on the website also includes a link to the staff report drafted in anticipation of the Planning Commission vote on Treasure in December of 1985. The report offers a detailed look at the development parameters, conditions placed on the project and insight into the thinking regarding the design at the time, which was seen as a clustered approach.
Francisco Astorga, the City Hall planner assigned to Treasure, said the Planning Department decided it would be “user-friendly” to post the information on one page. The page debuted in late May, he said. Astorga said the information will be especially helpful as people learn about the 1980s approval.
“It lets people understand that there are vested rights associated with it. There’s a lot of misconception going on,” Astorga said.
The Treasure side, meanwhile, has long operated a website loaded with detailed documents and the developer’s narrative. The Treasure partnership highlights that much of the acreage will remain undeveloped, pedestrian improvements will be incorporated into the designs and the project would generate tax revenues. The Treasure website, www.treasureparkcity.com , also provides links to presentations, City Hall staff reports and the minutes of Planning Commission meetings.
Another player in the Treasure discussions, an opposition group known as the Treasure Hill Impact Neighborhood Coalition, or THINC, also has a website. It provides commentary and links to news coverage of Treasure. The website is: https://thincpc.wordpress.com/
The Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. at the Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library. Treasure is the only item on the agenda. The Treasure side will be given time to reintroduce the project, Planning Department staffers will summarize Treasure and a hearing is scheduled. The Planning Commission is expected to hold its next meeting about Treasure on July 13.
The development proposal is the most controversial in Park City since the 1990s-era discussions centered on the project that would eventually be built as Empire Pass. People on streets like Empire Avenue and Lowell Avenue are especially leery of Treasure, saying the project would loom over Old Town and sharply increase traffic on residential streets. The opposition, though, includes people from other Park City neighborhoods and from outside the city limits.