Critics of a concept to build a workforce or otherwise affordable housing development close to the S.R. 248 entryway have formed an opposition group, a move that had appeared likely for several weeks as the talks about the potential of a project on City Hall land quickly became strained.
The emergence of the group, Keep Clark Ranch Wild, adds to the tension about the Clark Ranch concept as the discussions at the Marsac Building continue.
People involved with Keep Clark Ranch Wild, or supporters of its efforts, appeared at a Park City Council meeting on Thursday evening. Elected officials were not scheduled to address Clark Ranch, but the comments were notable nonetheless, with the concept fast becoming polarizing. There has been special concern in the Park City Heights neighborhood close to the Clark Ranch land.
Sue Gould, who lives in Park City Heights, identified herself as one of the founders of Keep Clark Ranch Wild during her comments to Mayor Nann Worel and the City Council. She said there are 80 people involved in the group.
Keep Clark Ranch Wild is not an anti-development group, Gould said, and it does not oppose affordable housing. She claimed there are technical difficulties with the concept, though. Gould also argued there are conflicts of interest in the discussions since City Hall itself is involved in the effort as it moves through the municipal government’s own review process.
John Greenfield, who described himself as another of the founders of the group, predicted that the project would cost more than expected and said the location is isolated. He said he is a supporter of affordable housing.
“But Clark Ranch is not it,” he said.
The land is located off U.S. 40 in the area of Quinn’s Junction. It is just south of Park City Heights. City Hall owns the land and is pursuing a public-private partnership with a firm called The Alexander Company. A development would be situated on a maximum of 10 acres. Another 334 acres of the Clark Ranch land, straddling U.S. 40, would remain as open space. The designs involve 167 multifamily units and another 34 townhomes. A large bloc of the units would be built as workforce or otherwise restricted housing.
The project is seen as ambitious as City Hall continues to pursue an aggressive housing program meant to offer options for people otherwise priced out of Park City’s resort-driven real estate and rental markets. The Park City Planning Commission began its discussions about Clark Ranch earlier this month.
There was talk of the possible formation of an opposition group at the time of the earlier Planning Commission meeting. Greenfield, who was in attendance at the earlier meeting, said then he expected there would be an opposition movement and that Park City Heights residents were preparing to mobilize against the Clark Ranch concept.
Keep Clark Ranch Wild currently has an online presence outlining the concerns with the concept, including what the group labels “Extraordinarily High Construction Costs,” “Increasing Traffic Nightmares” and “Overtaking Open Space.”
Some of the group’s other arguments include:
- “The projected costs for Clark Ranch are far above precedent and thereby reduce the number of affordable units the city can deliver elsewhere.”
- “The project would add an estimated 2,000 daily car trips to SR-248 and Richardson Flat, both of which already back up during non-peak days and times.”
- “Open space is one of Park City’s defining assets, and exceeding past agreements sets a dangerous precedent.”
There is a long history in Park City of opposition groups appearing amid discussions about significant development concepts. They have included groups critical of the project that was developed as Empire Pass, the onetime Treasure development proposal overlooking Old Town, a proposal at the Park City-side base of Park City Mountain and a vision to remake the Snow Park base at Deer Valley Resort.