There are a variety of possibilities for changes over time in the vicinity of the Park City-side base of Park City Mountain, but any discussions about them could draw mixed responses.
Park City officials are continuing the talks about the efforts to update the municipal General Plan, an overarching document that guides growth in the community, and are gathering additional input through open houses for specific neighborhoods.
City Hall on Tuesday evening held another in the series of the open houses with one designed for people in the area of the Park City Mountain base. There was sparse attendance at the event, held at the Park City Library.
Even so, the area of the Park City Mountain base is a critical part of the community, being one of the prime locations in the tourism industry. The base of the mountain resort draws large crowds throughout the ski season, and there have long been issues with traffic and parking in that area related to the Park City Mountain skiers and snowboarders. The area is also the location of the popular municipal golf course.
There also are longstanding development rights attached to the land where the Park City Mountain parking lots are located. It is not known what timeline Park City Mountain owner Vail Resorts is considering regarding development, but an earlier set of talks about a potential project on the land stirred neighborhood resistance. A Provo firm that reached an agreement with Vail Resorts to pursue a development ultimately opted against the project amid the concerns from people who live or own properties nearby.
The open house on Tuesday did not draw more than a few people at any one time. One of the exercises involved the attendees weighing in on a series of possibilities for the area with stickers showing someone’s level of support.
Some of the results, on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest level of support, by midway through the event:
- “Enhance pedestrian and bicyclist connections within neighborhood to community assets like parks, library, senior center, trails, and open space,” garnering a 5 and a 3.
- “Need for attainable/affordable workforce housing at resort base,” garnering two 3s.
- “Evaluate code to allow for seasonal workforce housing and explore different types of workforce housing,” drawing a range of a 5, a 4 and a 1.
- “Need for improved trail and open space connectivity,” drawing a 5 and a 3.
- “Need for traffic calming measures and circulation to mitigate peak resort traffic,” resulting in a 4 and a 3.
- “Improved transit frequency for locals and residents,” garnering two 3s.
There was limited discussion on Tuesday about the traffic patterns at the base of Park City Mountain, including on the small street of Shadow Ridge Road that borders the resort parking lots.
One of the attendees, Jamie Peters, lives in Thaynes Canyon and with family has decades-old businesses at the Park City Mountain base.
“We are fine with it the way it is. Everything’s working fine,” Peters said, acknowledging that she would support a sidewalk improvement along Manor Way.
Peters supports upgrades to lifts at Park City Mountain that have not yet been undertaken amid a legal dispute involving the Park City Mountain side, City Hall and citizens worried about the possible impact on the community.
Officials at the event presented certain statistics about the Resort Center area, including:
- A population of 221.
- A total number of units of 885.
- A breakdown of the status of residences showing 87.1% are vacant, 9.6% are occupied by the owner, and 3.3% are occupied by a renter. The vacant ones would be vacation properties.
A description presented as part of a snapshot read: “One of the most dense resort-oriented neighborhoods, with multi-unit condominiums, hotels, and time-share units. A few single family homes are along the northern edge of the neighborhood.”
The snapshot also listed the Glenwood Cemetery, the Silver King Mine building, Park City Mountain, the municipal golf course and the White Pine Nordic Center as neighborhood icons.
The General Plan has broad influence inside Park City, with officials consulting the document as it applies to more detailed questions about growth.
Additional events are planned:
• An open house designed for people in Old Town on Monday, April 28, at 5 p.m. at the Park City Library, in the Community Room.
• An open house designed for people in upper Deer Valley on Tuesday, April 29, at 5 p.m. in the Park City Council chambers at the Marsac Building.
• An open house for the community on May 13 at 5 p.m., with the Park City Library as the location. The event is planned to be the final open house about the General Plan. The event on May 13 will be held in conjunction with a municipal open house at the library focused on capital projects.
More information about the General Plan discussions is available on the municipal website, parkcity.org. The direct link is: parkcity.org/departments/planning/general-plan. There is also information available on the municipal public-engagement site, engageparkcity.org/generalplan.