The Eastern Summit County Planning Commission is focusing on preserving the area’s rural small-town character and protecting as much open space as possible in an update to an influential document.

The commission has been working for months on amendments to its General Plan, which is an advisory, nonbinding document designed to guide growth and development in unincorporated areas of the East Side. The Snyderville Basin uses a separate General Plan to guide the western part of Summit County.

A staff report says the update is intended to maintain the qualities that make eastern Summit County unique. The planning area is characterized by its rural communities, agricultural landscapes, water resources and strong connection to the surrounding natural environment, according to the General Plan.

“Periodic review and amendment help ensure that the Plan’s vision, goals, and policies continue to reflect community priorities, changing conditions, and anticipated growth,” the staff report says. 

On Thursday, community members provided input at a public hearing about the staff’s initial draft of the updated general plan. Residents spoke about specifically moving to the East Side because of its rural and agricultural atmosphere. 

One community member said a herd of cows came onto her driveway recently, and she preferred the noise they made to the noise of a city.

Another compared a rural community to a family, saying people knew who to turn to for help during the COVID-19 pandemic. The woman said people in a rural community care about each other and serve their neighbors.

Several community members said there had not been enough time to study the proposed amendments. The staff report and General Plan draft, totaling 72 pages, were posted two days before the meeting, though the discussions have been ongoing.

Planning commissioners decided they need more public input before making a recommendation on the proposed amendments to the Summit County Council, which has the final decision on any changes. Officials encourage more public outreach, which could include an open house or more hearings.

In addition, the commissioners want to shore up the draft plan with additional details.

“We’ve spent a lot of time looking at what’s in the document,” Planning Commissioner Bridget Hayes said. “What we have yet to do is look to determine what’s not in the document. I think most people here support growth, but we do not want to turn into Park City East. We need to put guardrails up that prevent that from happening.”

Planning Commissioner David Darcey said the “elephant in the room is the ability for a developer to come in now and develop 400 acres and put 2,000 or 3,000 homes on it.”

“I mean, we can say ‘rural atmosphere all day long until we’re blue in the face,” he said. “But what can we put that really comes across the same?”

Other goals in the Eastern Summit County General Plan are to provide moderate-income housing opportunities; consider incentives to encourage private sector development of moderate-income housing; promote a mix of housing types and availability; address the housing needs of county residents who earn less than 80% of the area median income, which is $134,160 a year for a family of four in Summit County; and reduce regulations related to accessory dwelling units.

The General Plan also calls for supporting a resilient and diverse economy in eastern Summit County by strengthening existing communities, supporting local businesses and agriculture, and encouraging economic opportunities that are compatible with the county’s rural character and natural environment.

Water-related goals include improving countywide drought resilience and institutional water efficiency, protecting local and agricultural water sources and coordinating with stakeholders to protect water delivery systems.

Another goal is to provide public facilities and services that protect public health and safety, support rural communities, promote fiscal responsibility and align with eastern Summit County’s long-term growth patterns.

The post Eastern Summit County General Plan aims to keep the area’s rural character appeared first on Park Record.

Technology and a growing population have increased the demand for high-speed internet in Utah and across the nation as more people connect smart home devices.

Joe and Kelly Cronley and their two children, 15-year-old Elise and 17-year-old JB who are both Park City High School students, are among them. The Park City family has phones, laptops, TVs, speakers, door locks, garage doors, skylights, a grill and other devices connected to fiber-optic internet in their home.  

The connections allow family members to do work, stream movies and TV shows, open and close skylights, close the garage door remotely if they accidentally leave it open, and turn off the sprinklers if it’s been raining in their neighborhood and they’re away from home.

Elise, a sophomore, and JB, a senior, have all their homework on their laptops and say they like being able to do their assignments wherever they are.

Joe, a financial advisor, said the devices “make you more efficient.” He and his wife didn’t intend to build a smart house but wanted one that’s functional and easy, he said.

Kelly, a teacher’s aide in science and math for the Park City School District’s Dream Big program for first-generation students, said the 5-year-old house had more options than their original home, but it’s not fully automated.

“We just picked the functions we felt were the most useful to us,” she said. “If you automate so much, then when something goes wrong, it’s more complicated to fix it.”

Ben Elkins, the CEO of Utah Broadband, an internet service provider, said the average household used to have four to six connected devices but that number has risen.  

Elkins, who is also CEO of the Arizona-based AireBeam, said the company surveyed its customers in Maricopa County and the average home had 14 devices connected to Wi-Fi. Those devices include smart TVs, cellphones, desktop computers, laptops, Ring doorbells, Apple watches, thermostats, refrigerators, coffeemakers and other appliances, he said. 

The number is probably the same in the Wasatch Back and maybe even higher because of Utah’s big families, Elkins estimated.

“More and more devices are being used at the home front,” he said. “And then people want streaming. They don’t want a buffer when they turn on Netflix. Kids that are doing their college term papers want access to stuff on the internet fast. They don’t want to sit there and watch the internet move at a tortoise pace. They want fast, instantaneous information and that’s what fiber or high-speed internet in general provides.” 

Parks Associates, a Plano, Texas, market research and consulting firm, estimates the number of connected devices in the average internet household is about 17 and says approximately 45% of households now own at least one smart home device. 

Several other surveys put the number in the 20s, including AccessParks, which serves RV parks, campgrounds and manufactured home communities with internet. The number represents a “dramatic increase” from five years ago when 10 to 15 devices were typical, the Houston company says on its website.

Some internet users, including the Cronleys, have more than 30, according to Access Parks.

“The average household in 2026 connects approximately 20-25 devices to their home internet network, with tech-savvy homes or families with teenagers often exceeding 30 connected devices,” AccessParks says.

Utah Broadband was recently awarded nearly $23 million in federal funding to help bring high-speed internet to underserved rural areas in Cache, Summit, Utah and Wasatch counties. The funding, provided by the USDA Rural Utilities Service ReConnect Loan and Grant Program, is a 50% grant and a 50% loan.

The money will enable the company to build 315 miles of new fiber-optic infrastructure and provide broadband capabilities to more than 3,000 homes, businesses, farms and essential community anchor institutions. Those institutions include schools, libraries, health care facilities, public safety entities, public housing organizations and community housing organizations. 

The federal government has been working to connect every American to reliable, high-speed internet through USDA ReConnect, the BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) program, matching funds from states and other initiatives and grants.

On Wednesday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced it had approved $42.45 billion in BEAD proposals from the 56 states and territories. Utah was allocated $317.4 million.

According to data from BroadbandNow, a research platform, 55.7% of U.S. households and 67.7% of Utah households have access to fiber. The Fiber Broadband Association puts the availability of fiber nationwide at more than 60% of homes.

Elkins thinks a fiber option probably will expand to 75% or 80% of the country over the next five or six years. He noted almost all builders require a fiber element in their developments. 

Brandi West, All West Fiber marketing manager, said residential and commercial growth in the Wasatch Back has increased the need for modern broadband infrastructure. The number of devices in a typical home has grown from computers and smartphones to smart TVs, security cameras, thermostats and other connected devices, she noted.

“At the same time, activities such as remote work, video conferencing, online education, streaming, gaming and cloud-based applications require more bandwidth and more reliable connections,” West said.

The company, which is based in Kamas and provides internet services to customers in Utah and Wyoming, changed its name in October from All West Communications. 

“We have made substantial investments in fiber-to-the-home infrastructure because it provides the speed, reliability, capacity and scalability that customers increasingly need,” West said. “Customers increasingly view reliable, high-capacity internet as an essential utility rather than a luxury, particularly as more aspects of work, education, entertainment and daily life depend on a strong internet connection.”

She said All West Fiber also operates other broadband technologies in areas where fiber is not yet available.

Remote working has contributed to the number of connected devices at homes. 

A research brief released July 29 by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute says 22 million Americans were home-based in 2024 and working from home is most common in the West. Utah ranked ninth in the nation that year for its share of home-based workers, with 15.7% of working Utahns, or 278,000 people.

Among the most populous counties, Utah (17.7%), Davis (17.5%), Salt Lake (16.3%), Washington (15.7%) and Tooele (15.6%) reported the highest rates of working from home in 2024.

Single-year information is not available for counties with fewer than 65,000 residents, but estimates from the American Community Survey show Summit, Piute and Wayne counties had rates between 2020 and 2024 of about 20%, the highest in Utah, according to the most recent available data. Wasatch, Kane and Rich counties had rates from 18% to 19.9%.

In a recent survey, BroadbandNow asked respondents what tasks they had done online in the past 30 days. 

“The answers read less like a list of leisure activities and more like a checklist of modern life,” a post on the site says.

Almost 90% banked, shopped or streamed; 60% played online games; 57% did work tasks for a job or business; 49% used the internet for healthcare that included telehealth visits and prescription refills; 31% conducted job searches; and 13% did schoolwork.  

“Home internet is so fundamental to daily life that it barely registers as a subscription anymore,” the BroadbandNow post says. “Now, it’s an essential utility, on par with electricity and running water.”

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The Park City Council on Thursday directed municipal staff members to move forward with a project design that will add painted buffered bike lanes and an expanded sidewalk to a portion of Little Kate Road.

The staffers also discussed different traffic calming measures that could be considered for the project including curb extensions, median islands, traffic circles, raised crosswalks, raised intersections and speed tables. 

The project — which is part of an effort to provide safe and comfortable walking and bicycling facilities for users of all ages and abilities — stretches approximately three-fourths of a mile from Holiday Ranch Loop to connect with the McPolin Elementary School pathway. Little Kate currently is a two-lane, 20 mph road with conventional bike lanes in both directions and a 5-feet-wide sidewalk on the north side.

The Park City Transportation Department recommended the design after reviewing and refining different options. 

“This recommendation reflects community feedback, provides dedicated separated spaces for pedestrians and bicyclists, and lowers the overall impacts compared to the other alternatives,” a staff report says.

The design will include complementary safety enhancements consistent with the City Council direction, according to the report. Those could include green bicycle lane paint, speed feedback signs, high-visibility crosswalk markings and Safe Routes to School program pavement markings. 

Little Kate Road is part of the program, which helps students walk or bike safely to school. Staff members are working with the Park City School District to enhance the program, transportation planner Anna Maki said.

The Little Kate project has evolved over the past year through rounds of technical evaluation and City Council discussions. Staff members also collected feedback through open houses, community meetings, one-on-one discussions with property owners, emails, mailers, a survey and a project website.

Maki told the councilors there was not unanimous support from residents for the same design but that they largely agree speeding on Little Kate Road is a problem. Park Meadows residents in particular have been engaged in the process, she said.

The residents would like to see safe access to McPolin Elementary School, keep pedestrians and bicyclists separate and maintain that neighborhood character, Maki said.

Once the design is further along, staff members plan to hold an open house in the Park Meadows neighborhood so residents can review the design, as well as any traffic calming elements that are included, she said.

The Little Kate upgrades have been bundled with a plan by Park City Municipal to redesign and enhance 83 bus stops across the community. The city has secured federal, county and local funding that will cover approximately 85% of the costs, and the improvements include filling key gaps in the pedestrian and bicycle network to make it safer.

The post Design of Little Kate pathway project advancing appeared first on Park Record.

A Summit County Housing Authority commissioner has proposed designating  “housing overlay” zones within future conservation easements and rezoning infill sites for mixed-use development as ways to create affordable housing for the workforce.

Rich Sonntag, the authority’s vice chair, also supports incentives that encourage private homeowners to build accessory dwelling units, such as mother-in-law suites and converted garages, as a strategy to provide affordable rental housing on their residential lots.

Approximately 21,000 workers commute daily from outside the county to their jobs, many of them lower-paid hospitality and service workers, he noted in an article in a Summit County newsletter.

“Others work for our local governments, for our sheriff’s, police and fire departments, or for our school districts,” Sonntag said. “While some may prefer to live outside the county, say in the more vibrant social scene of Sugarhouse, many would prefer to avoid the time and expense of commuting if only local, affordable housing were available. Unfortunately, high costs for both property and construction have made it all but impossible for the free market to provide such housing. A scarcity of available property appropriate for such housing is also a big part of the problem.”

Sonntag’s article reflects his personal views and not the position of the housing authority as a whole. The Summit County Council established the body in late 2024 and set a goal to bring 1,500 affordable housing units to the area by 2035. 

He is proposing the “housing overlay zones” only in future conservation easements and as part of the negotiation between the landowners, any private entities involved with the conservation, and the public organization providing funds, according to a county spokesperson.

The electorate has been willing to approve open space bond issues that have preserved a large portion of the remaining undeveloped but developable property, Sonntag said. Some of that land — which is next to existing neighborhoods, served by existing public utilities, located near public transit, and accessible to shopping and local services — could have been used for workforce housing but it is covered by conservation easements, he said.

Most of the public open space acquisitions involve the bargain purchase with private contributions and public monies of a former ranch, which includes a compound area, he said. His proposal is to exclude from the easement the compound part that was bought with public funds and suitable for clustered housing.

The Housing Authority already is working to find remaining infill parcels under public ownership, such as state and county agencies and school districts. The idea is to work with the public entities to rezone the sites for affordable and attainable housing.

“The Housing Authority might serve as the catalyst in helping these owners work  with planning/zoning authorities, funding sources (both public and private), and construction partners (such as Habitat for Humanity) who can help achieve their goals most cost effectively,” Sonntag wrote. “For example, under this strategy school districts might create housing for their employees and fire districts might build homes for firefighters.”

He said another move, increasing the size limits of ADUs from 1,000 square feet maximum to 2,000 square feet on properties that are at least an acre, would benefit families with children and people with roommates because they could have more bedrooms.  

“This strategy holds special promise for eastern Summit County where there is no small-lot or multifamily zoning which might otherwise permit affordable small homes and multifamily rentals,” Sonntag said.

The Housing Authority already has been considering incentivizing the construction of ADUs to address the housing shortage along the Wasatch Back.

Ultimately, financial resources to subsidize affordable housing are limited, Sonntag said. He noted some people have suggested just letting things continue as they are with workers commuting from the Salt Lake City area, Heber or even Evanston.

“However, this won’t work in the long run, as the continued expansion of our resorts will ultimately lead to complete local gridlock as residents, resort guests, and commuting workforce all hit the roads at once,” Sonntag said. “We can avoid (or at least delay) this approaching Carmageddon with strategies such as those outlined above.” 

Editor’s note: This story was clarified to reflect that the overlay zones would only apply to future conservation easements and with full agreement among all parties to do so.

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A warm winter that led to the early closure of ski resorts and a decline in tax revenue from seasonal tourism were among the factors that made fiscal 2026 challenging for Park City Municipal. 

Another challenge will be in January with the loss of the Sundance Film Festival, which has moved to Boulder, Colorado, after being hosted in Park City for decades.

The impact of reduced visitation and shortened ski operations was reflected in the March 2026 drop of sales tax distribution. The distribution — excluding lodging taxes, which are called the transient room tax — came in nearly 20% below the same period in fiscal 2025. Transient room tax collections dropped 17.3% compared to March 2025.

And the effects of the weak winter system extended into spring activity more than anticipated, according to a July staff report on April sales tax. Transient room taxes were down 31.8% and citywide sales tax, excluding the transient room tax, was down 5.1% compared to April 2025. 

Despite the challenges, Park City Manager Adam Lenhard said the city remains in an “exceptionally strong” financial position in fiscal 2027, which began July 1. 

The City Council adopted an overall fiscal 2027 budget, which includes capital projects of about $235 million, on June 25. Nearly $56 million of that amount is in the general fund, which pays for city services and personnel expenses. 

The overall fiscal 2026 budget was a little more than $304 million, with about $55 million in the general fund.

The city updated its fiscal 2027 sales tax projections to reflect current conditions and to base the budget on realistic expectations, Lenhard said in a written statement outlining budget highlights.

He said the general fund has a reserve near the 35% ceiling allowed under state law, which provides a resilient buffer that helps the city weather economic fluctuations without compromising essential services. 

In response to evolving economic conditions, the municipality is taking proactive steps to ensure continuing delivery of excellent public service, Lenhard said. 

Those steps include redirecting resources once dedicated to public safety, transportation and event management during Sundance to broader community services and year-round priorities.

In addition, the city is eliminating several contingency line items and redirecting $4.9 million of resort tax revenue into the general fund to support immediate community needs without raising taxes or impacting service levels.

The reallocation of the tax revenue was possible because after years of strong performance and successful grant leveraging, the transportation fund’s net position grew from $47.3 million in fiscal year 2021 to $88.7 million in fiscal year 2025 and the general fund no longer requires the same level of resort tax support, the statement says. 

“Together, these initiatives help protect the services residents depend on — snow removal, transit, public safety, parks and recreation, and public works maintenance — while supporting ongoing financial sustainability,” Lenhard’s statement said.

The city will continue monitoring economic trends closely and adjusting as necessary, he said.

“This budget positions Park City to remain resilient and focused on the future,” Lenhard said. “We will continue monitoring economic trends closely and adjusting as needed, while delivering reliable services, strengthening our community assets, and investing in the people who live, work and visit here.” 

The fiscal 2027 budget has raises for the mayor, who now earns $66,683.62 per year, up from $55,209, and for the five members of the City Council, who are paid $34,373 annually, up from $28,520. The compensation was scaled back significantly from what the council supported with a 4-1 vote originally.

The budget includes major community investments, including affordable housing at Clark Ranch; a new senior center; the Bonanza Park 5-acre site mixed-use development; expanded childcare scholarships; more support for local arts and culture; and improvements to bus stops, recreation facilities and historic sites. 

The budget has reserve funds that can be used for qualifying city expenses, not only emergencies, said Penny Frates, the city’s assistant budget director. A fund balance is commonly used to make up for shorter-term revenue shortfalls, economic downturns and one-time expenses, she said. 

“Some entities accumulate and utilize fund balance with a specific purpose, such as acquiring a particular parcel or funding an initiative,” Frates said. “Some one-time examples may be a new city vehicle or a one-time project, such as updating the general plan.”

The city was prepared to use a fund balance as an option during COVID, but Frates said it was not necessary. The net balance of the general fund has increased each year from 2016 to 2025, so those reserve funds have not been used, she said.

At the end of fiscal 2025, the general fund balance was $18.3 million and $17.4 million that was not earmarked for any specific project, department or unexpected needs. 

Mayor Ryan Dickey also said the Park City economy is resilient and the outlook for 2027 is good.

“However, we are not immune from uncertainty, whether in the broader macroeconomic picture or the local effects of snowfall and weather,” he said. “We budgeted 2027 quite conservatively in light of all these factors.”

The loss of Sundance will have some impact, but Park City has a diverse year-round economy and Dickey said he’s confident in the community’s long-term strength. He pointed out the tourism economy weathered two years without the festival during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also noted it had been decades since the city increased property tax rates. The rise in home valuation over that time has more than kept pace in helping filling the city’s revenue coffers, though most of the city’s tax revenue comes from sales tax. A home in Park City cost on average $139,000 in 1990, according to the Park City Board of Realtors. That rose to $2.8 million on average in 2025-26.

“Overall, the council’s focus is on supporting a resilient, vibrant local economy that relies less on any single source of revenue,” Dickey said. “That said, the city stays open to welcoming new events when they align with our community’s values and goals.”

He cited as examples the new Fox US Open of Mountain Biking coming to Deer Valley Resort in September and Shaun White’s The Snow League coming in January, “both of which reflect the type of organic vibrancy that aligns with our local culture.”

“We are always in conversation with residents about new initiatives and evolving priorities, though what I hear most from Parkites is a desire to keep moving forward on the opportunities before us, and I think the council has done a fantastic job in 2026 of doing just that,” Dickey said.

The post Park City’s financial outlook deemed ‘exceptionally strong’ despite challenges appeared first on Park Record.

Developer Vincent Criscione says he believes in both sustainability and affordable housing. His proposed project has both.

Criscione, the owner of Crisco Development LLC, wants to build a mix of affordable and market-rate housing units at 2400 W. Rasmussen Road. The development — which would have commercial space, including a daycare — would be sustainably built and operated and all electric under his plan.

In a presentation to the Summit County Housing Authority on June 15, Criscione described the 23-acre site as beautiful and pristine, with a Basin Recreation trailhead and trail along the creek and a view of the mountains.

“It’s such a great location for any housing to have that be your backdrop,” he said.

Criscione, who developed Lincoln Station Apartments at 670 Bitner Road in Park City, asked the board for feedback on his proposal. He is seeking a letter of support for the project before going to the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission with a rezoning request and then eventually to the Summit County Council.

Board members said they want more details about the project before making a decision on a recommendation.

The proposal calls for 108 affordable and market-rate apartments for rent on 6 acres on the east side of the property. The nine studios, 45 one-bedroom units and 54 two-bedroom units would be in three buildings. A clubhouse, a gym, 293 parking stalls and the 10,000-square-foot Mountain Sprouts Children’s Center would be on this part of the site.

The number of apartments that would be affordable has not been determined yet.

A 5-acre parcel on the west side of the project site would have 60 condominiums in five buildings and 124 parking stalls. The two-bedroom units would be available for sale for approximately $400,000 to buyers who make no more than 80% of Summit County’s average median income.  

The east side amenities would support the west side, which would be developed first.

The development site is on the north side of I-80 between Summit Self Storage and RV Resort above East Canyon Creek. Kimball Junction with all of its services — a grocery, gas station, post office, shopping restaurants and a transit center, among others — is 1 mile away. An I-80 overpass is a half mile away and Whole Foods and Walmart are a six-minute bike ride away.

Residents would be close to everything they need, which makes the location a good place for higher density affordable housing and reduces driving and greenhouse gases, Criscione said.

Criscione, who has lived in the Park City area for 30 years, is working with three affordable housing programs to help with the project, including one that provides assistance with down payments. He likely needs to begin construction of the development next spring because one of the programs sunsets in a few years, he said.

“I have to get things through in a very expeditious manner,” Criscione said.

There have been at least two previous plans to build a mixed-use project at the site but they did not come to fruition.

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A project to make the Trailside Wheels Park more accessible and inclusive for people of all ages and abilities is moving forward.

The Administrative Control Board of Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District voted unanimously on June 11 to approve the conceptual design, which completely renovates the skate park with new street-style terrain and a warm-up/beginner area. 

The design also expands the skate park’s footprint from 16,000 square feet to a little more than 25,000 square feet. Included in that expansion are about 4,500 square feet of transition-style features and 3,000 square feet of integrated pump track. 

Phase two of the project now begins for Spohn Ranch, a Los Angeles-based company specializing in skate park design that was hired to overhaul the facility. This construction documentation phase includes finalizing drawings and specifications for the project. Spohn Ranch is handling all aspects of construction, including labor, materials and equipment.

The plan is to transform the skate park into a modern “wheels park” that serves a broad range of users, including those on skateboards, scooters, BMX bikes and inline skates. 

The skate park was created at Trailside in 2010 by placing prefabricated features on an outdoor skating rink. 

“This approach limits performance and durability when compared to purpose-built skateparks,” a district staff report says. “After more than a decade of use, the facility has outgrown its original design, and a renovation is now needed to replace and modernize aging components.”

The design was developed with the help of community input. Staff members and Spohn Ranch representatives made presentations at an open house and a town hall-style meeting of proposed features, took feedback from attendees and offered an online survey. Two conceptual designs were shown at the town hall and there was a clear consensus among participants that one of them was preferred.

“We wanted to create something that’s wheel friendly,” Jason Baldessari, Spohn Ranch’s global director of skatepark development, told the board. “So as long as you don’t have a motor, we want you to be able to come here, use this facility, and not only have fun, but also challenge yourself. We designed features in here that can be used by adaptive users.”

The design also focuses on the experience of non-users, such as parents who plan to stay at the park watching their children skate, Baldessari said. No one likes waiting in a car, especially on a warm day, and a plaza provides a comfortable and shaded space for them to sit, he said.

In addition, he said the skate park is not going to have a negative impact on adjacent amenities, including a basketball court and a shade structure, as well as a future parking lot expansion.

After the public engagement, additional geotechnical work was done on the site and showed extremely shallow bedrock, the staff report says. 

“This shifted the extent and depth of some features, but the design was still within the public’s expressed acceptable range,” the report says.

The approved project cost is $1.85 million and the funds are coming through Basin Recreation’s capital improvements budget and impact fees. In addition, the district staff applied for a grant from the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation and was awarded $500,000, which will offset the cost.

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Sarah Hall enjoys biking with her daughters to McPolin Elementary School and the Park City Municipal Athletic & Recreation Center, but she also has safety concerns because of the amount of traffic on a stretch along Little Kate Road. 

She said their route to school is a wonderful path along Holiday Ranch Loop Road from S.R. 224 that is separated from traffic but it becomes unsafe once they’re on Little Kate Road, where there is no barrier between bikes on the shoulder and cars that often speed. 

So when the city began planning the pathway project that would upgrade Little Kate — which is currently a two-lane, 20 mph road with conventional bike lanes in both directions and a sidewalk on the north side — she was thrilled, Hall said. The original concept was to put in a 12-feet-wide shared-use path along the north side of Little Kate for pedestrians and bicyclists.

“A continuous, physically separated path would make a meaningful difference, especially for the many families and children who use this corridor daily, particularly around school times,” Hall said in a letter to the Park City Council in support of the project.

But other residents are not in favor of the plan and they expressed their opposition at City Council and community meetings and in written comments.

Katherine Fagin suggested at a May 7 meeting of the City Council that the funds for the Little Kate project be used to deal with speeders. Tightening intersection curves would slow down drivers and putting in better striping would make the bike lanes more visible, she said.

“Maybe we don’t need to rip up the road because we already have two good bike lanes,” she said.

At a community meeting a few months earlier, in February, some of the residents said they had comfort and safety concerns about mixing pedestrians, children, dogs and bicyclists, especially on e-bikes, on a 12-foot-wide pathway, according to a city staff report. Many of the 60 attendees also questioned how bicycle speeds would be managed and there was notable skepticism regarding the city’s ability to enforce bike speed limits, the report says.

The report notes there were residents who supported the pathway as a safer option for children and themselves when going to school or the PC MARC.

Hall, a former Park City Planning Commission member, disputes suggestions that the path would create a hazard. She believes the vast majority of people support upgrading the path but haven’t been commenting at public hearings because the project had already been approved.

In response to the input, the City Council directed staff to develop and present additional concepts for community consideration. The councilors approved amending an existing agreement in May with Kimley-Horn & Associates to add $140,000 to further explore alternatives for the Little Kate corridor. That amount includes the full design effort for an option that the councilors might choose. 

The project goals are to enhance walking and biking facilities, calm traffic speeds and strengthen Safe Routes to School, a program that helps students walk or bike safely to school. All of the new concepts separate pedestrians from bicyclists.

Little Kate has a roadway width of about 38 feet and the sidewalk on the north side directly accesses the PC MARC and is along a Safe Route to School. Staff members counted 107 people walking and 172 biking along the road in a 24-hour period in September 2025, a rough breakdown of 30% to 40% walkers and 60% to 70% bicyclists, according to the project website. 

The amount of traffic along the road varies, with up to 6,000 cars a day in the busiest area near the PC MARC. Data shows the speed of 85% of vehicles is at or below 28 mph, the website says. 

“At these speeds and traffic volumes, the street is on the higher end of what typically feels comfortable for people biking, especially children and less experienced riders,” the website says.

The city does not expect crowding to be an issue under any of the new concepts being evaluated, Park City communications manager Clayton Scrivner said.

“Traffic calming is a key component of the project,” he added. “The goal is to improve safety for everyone who uses Little Kate Road.”

The community will have opportunities to weigh in on the concepts and the feedback will help the city narrow down which ones will move forward for more analysis and design.

A Little Kate Road open house is slated for 5 to 6:30 p.m. on June 23 at the PC MARC’s front lawn. Bike, pedestrian and transit improvements will be discussed and attendees can share their ideas for the future of Park Meadows. 

Respondents also can give their opinions of four concepts for the project on an online survey through June 30 at polco.us/n/res/vote/park-city-ut/little-kate-bike-and-ped-alternativ.

The preferred concepts will be further refined and brought back to the City Council on July 9 and Aug. 13. If the councilors support a concept, construction is anticipated to begin in 2027. 

Concepts 1a and 1b have bike lanes on both sides of the road.

Concept 1a is similar to the existing Little Kate Road, with a wider painted buffer between the bike and vehicle travel lanes. The existing sidewalk could stay the same or be widened.

Benefits include separation from traffic for bicycles and pedestrians and limited roadway widening required. The primary tradeoff for this concept is no physical barrier separation from vehicles for bicyclists.

Concept 1b is similar, with a larger barriered buffer between bicyclists and vehicles. Benefits include separation from traffic for bicycles and pedestrians and potential traffic calming. Tradeoffs may include increased roadway impacts and removal of vertical buffers in the winter for snow removal.

Concepts 2a and 2b have bike lanes on the south side of Little Kate.

Concept 2a places barrier separated, bi-directional bike lanes at street level. Benefits include separation from traffic for bicycles and pedestrians, potential for a wider sidewalk and limited roadway widening. 

Tradeoffs include a different bike facility than typically seen throughout the city and removal of a physical barrier in the winter for snow removal.

Concept 2b builds on Concept 2a with raised bike lanes. Benefits include separation from traffic for bicycles and pedestrians, and traffic calming potential with a narrowed roadway. Tradeoffs include a unique facility type with potential for user confusion and greater roadway impacts.

The Little Kate Pathway is the largest of several bicycle and pedestrian improvements included in an effort by Park City Municipal to redesign and enhance 83 bus stops across the community. The city has secured federal, county and local funding that will cover approximately 85% of the costs and the improvements include filling key gaps in the pedestrian and bicycle network to make it safer. 

“By bundling these pedestrian and bicycle improvements with the bus stop work, the City can deliver safety upgrades now that would otherwise take years to fund and build independently,” the project website says. “This approach makes the most of available resources and accelerates a project the community has identified as a priority.” 

So far, 18 bus stops have been upgraded and nine new shelters installed. The remaining 65 bus stops will be upgraded now through 2027.

The post Park City seeks community input on plan for a pathway along Little Kate Road appeared first on Park Record.

Summit County has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a composting and recycling facility that challenges a decision to suspend a conditional use permit that allowed the business to operate on property in unincorporated Browns Canyon.

In a motion filed May 20 in Third District Court, the county says Spoil to Soil and the property owners have not exhausted administrative remedies, and Utah law does not recognize a vested property right in a conditional use permit, among other grounds. The motion requests that all 14 claims in the suit be dismissed. 

The property’s two conditional use permits, which were approved in October 2024, authorized the operation of the recycling facility and a nursery and tree farm. 

The Eastern Summit County Planning Commission voted last August to revoke those permits based on a 55-page staff report alleging dozens of violations, including accepting prohibited materials and engaging in unauthorized soil processing. In addition, no trees have been planted and trash and fecal matter were found in the area designated for them, according to county planner Amir Caus.

The revocation was appealed to the County Council. Rather than adopt the commission’s decision, the councilors suspended the facility’s operations in October and imposed a six-month “cure period” with authorization to do compliance work during that time. 

In November, Spoil to Soil owners and operators Mike and Kylee Mimbach and property owners Jared and Kristen Clayton filed suit challenging the decision to suspend the conditional use permit. The suit was dismissed in March because Spoil to Soil did not serve the county within 120 days of filing the complaint.

The plaintiffs say they have made consistent good-faith efforts to coordinate with county and state regulators, including voluntarily removing materials and addressing every concern raised by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. 

They filed a new lawsuit on April 15, the day the cure period closed, and asked for a temporary restraining order stopping Summit County from enforcing the suspension of the conditional use permit. The county is opposing the motion.

The suit claims Summit County initiated revocation proceedings based on vague “potential violations,” and staff members recharacterized the pre-authorized activities of mixing soil and compost and dumping of fill dirt as prohibited soil processing. 

The county has created a circular trap by ordering remediation while simultaneously prohibiting the authorized operational activities and material sales necessary to fund the work, the suit says.

“Absent judicial intervention, petitioners face the permanent loss of their business during their critical spring season based on an arbitrary process that has never afforded them the fundamental procedural protections required by Utah law,” the suit says.

The suit requests that Judge Richard Mrazik vacate or annul the County Council’s suspension of the conditional use permit, bar the county from continuing enforcement pending “lawful reconsideration,” issue an order allowing Spoil to Soil to operate under the existing conditional use permit and award monetary damages and attorney’s fees.

In a memorandum opposing the temporary restraining order, Summit County says Spoil to Soil accepted the six-month cure path in October 2025, voluntarily ceased operation the same day the County Council acted and waited until the cure deadline expired to seek emergency relief — “conduct that defeats any claim of irreparable urgency.”

“The specific harms they identify — lost revenue, lost contracts, disrupted customer relationships, and remediation costs — are economic injuries they themselves seek to recover as money damages in their verified complaint,” the memo says.

The balance of harms favors the county, “which faces the prospect of compelled resumption of operations at a site with unpermitted electrical work on a fire-damaged battery system, an unpermitted septic system, a Health Department occupancy directive, and non-green-waste materials in active compost windrows as recently as December 2025,” the memo claims.

A motion hearing in the case is scheduled for June 3 before Mrazik.

The post Summit County seeks dismissal of Spoil to Soil suit over permit appeared first on Park Record.

Cascade Academy wants to continue operating a residential center for up to eight girls ages 13 to 18 who have severe anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders. The average stay at the facility, which is called Cascade Home, is 45 to 90 days with 24-hour supervision. 

The center at 1374 Red Filly Road is in the residential-agricultural, or RA-1, zone. Residential facilities for persons with disabilities are one of the permitted uses in the zone.

The facility has been legally operating under a conditional use permit since July 2024 and has provided services to about 40 students, including some scholarship care for several local families, according to Bekah Schuler, chief executive officer of Cascade Programs.

The Utah Court of Appeals ruled on April 30 that Cascade did not meet a specific requirement that residential facilities in the zone be operated under a contract with the state Department of Health and Human Services. While Cascade has a valid license with the department that would allow it to operate, “it does not have any other contractual relationship with DHHS,” the decision says.

Schuler said Wednesday that Cascade Home will pursue an appeal through the appropriate legal channels.

“We remain committed to providing adolescents with access to specialized residential care in a supportive home environment, consistent with federal protections and applicable law,” Schuler said.

Cascade also has a residential treatment center in Midway that provides treatment, recreation therapy, academics, extracurricular activities and other services in settings of no more than 26 adolescent girls. 

When Cascade applied for a conditional use permit for a Heber facility in 2023, some area residents said putting the center on the Red Filly Road property would be contrary to land-use regulations. 

At an April 2023 meeting, community members said they were concerned about possible parking, traffic and safety problems. Some said a residential neighborhood is not the right place for a business. One community member said a conditional use permit is unnecessary because the girls already have homes.

Schuler said at that meeting that the Midway facility has not diminished the property value of people’s homes and that she doesn’t know of any complaints since its opening. The teens are not violent and need to feel community and be in a home environment, she said.

And Caleb Cottle, co-founder of Cascade Academy, said the center had worked with more than 74 families since opening in 2020 and had a positive success rate.

Cascade’s application for a conditional use permit was approved first in April 2023 by the Wasatch County Planning Commission in a 5-1 vote and then by the Wasatch County Board of Adjustment.

Three residents in the Summit Meadows subdivision — Dustin Sidwell, Marie Shelton and Brian Myers — then filed suit in Utah’s Fourth District Court seeking to reverse the decision to approve a conditional use permit. 

Named as defendants were Wasatch County, the Wasatch County Planning Commission and the Wasatch County Board of Adjustment. Cascade joined the suit as an intervenor, which is a third party who has a vested interest in the outcome of a case.

Fourth District Court Judge Jennifer Mabey found Cascade House met the Wasatch County Code’s conditional use requirements regarding residential facilities for persons with disabilities in the RA-1 zone and dismissed the case. 

The Summit Meadows residents then appealed to the Court of Appeals, which sent the matter back to the Board of Adjustment for issuance of an order denying Cascade’s conditional use permit application.

The post Anxiety treatment center operators plan to appeal the denial of permit appeared first on Park Record.