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General Plan efforts continue

Jay Hamburger THE PARK RECORD

Park City officials this week are continuing their efforts to complete a major rewriting of City Hall’s General Plan, an overarching document that guides growth in the city.

An open house was held on Monday evening and two important meetings are scheduled this week. There has been a desire by some officials to complete the General Plan by the end of the year, prior to changes in the mayor’s office and one spot on the Park City Council, but it is not certain that will occur.

The open house drew approximately 23 people to the Marsac Building, according to the Park City Planning Department. The Park City Planning Commission and the Park City Council, meanwhile, are scheduled to address the General Plan at separate meetings this week.

The Planning Commission on Wednesday is slated to hold a hearing and possibly make a recommendation to the City Council. The elected officials are not bound by the recommendation. The City Council on Thursday is set to discuss the General Plan for 90 minutes starting at 4:20 p.m. and then hold another discussion and a hearing at a meeting starting at 6 p.m. The Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Both of the meetings will be in the City Council chambers at the Marsac Building.

One of the people at the Monday open house is an incoming Planning Commissioner. Steve Joyce will take his seat on the panel in January. Joyce, an Aerie resident, said he is pleased City Hall took lots of feedback as it crafted the General Plan.

"I like it’s not the view of seven Planning Commissioners or the City Council," he said, adding that the document is "consistent with what I’ve heard people say."

Joyce said the redone General Plan will recognize that "all neighborhoods aren’t the same."

"It’s trying to direct the growth into specific places and with specific character," he said, describing the document as properly separating neighborhoods with lots of houses from resort-oriented locations.

Kitty Imdahl, who lives in Old Town, said she is proud that the General Plan efforts are "making sure we’re staying (a) small town and preserving our historical heritage."

"That’s why I moved here. I want to get away from the big crowds, the crime, traffic," Imdahl, who lived in the Washington, D.C., area most of her life, said.

Another person at the open house, Park Meadows resident Dave Hanscom, said he wants the General Plan to have an "emphasis on minimizing development."

"We could double the size of Park City. I don’t think that’s a good thing for Park City," Hanscom said, adding, "You have to have verbiage that says our goal is not to increase the population of Park City significantly."

Hanscom also questioned a map that he said shows the possibility of a trail through his backyard.

Park City officials spent months in discussions about the General Plan with only scattered interest from Parkites. In recent weeks, though, there has been wider interest. There have been concerns about topics like the location of work force housing and how homeowner association rules would jibe with the General Plan.

The City Council last week took testimony about the General Plan, with speakers covering a wide range of issues. According to the minutes of the meeting, some of the topics speakers broached included protecting the municipal golf course from development, the number of off-street parking spaces in Old Town and the prospects of putting work force housing on the upper floors of Main Street buildings.

Park City


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