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Newpark granted special exception

Caroline Kingsley, The Park Record

The Summit County Council granted a special exception on Wednesday to extend Newpark Town Center’s development agreement through October 2016.

"These were unique circumstances," Robinson said. "And it was in the best interest of the health, safety and welfare of the county."

Newpark’s development agreement expired in October 2011, before the final 200,000 of 800,000 square feet of development was plotted or constructed.

According to the staff report, the public would benefit by "enabling a partially constructed project to complete development."

The County Council also agreed with staff’s findings that the project meets the density, mixed use and design goals of the General Plan.

The development agreement was originally set to expire in October 2006.

The applicants requested an extension to October 2011, which was granted by the county. Along with the extension, the county approved a phasing plan for the remaining density. However, the phasing plan extended five years beyond October 2011.

In most circumstances, anything that is constructed or plotted at the time the development agreement expires is guaranteed, but anything that hasn’t been can no longer be developed.

However, the county council determined Wednesday that Newpark was a special exception.

"There are equitable claims stemming from continued county processing of applications after the expiration date, and unique circumstances stemming from the approval of a phasing plan that extended past the expiration date," the staff report said.

Robinson said he doesn’t expect developers will take advantage of the county’s granting of a special exception to Newpark in the future.

"I don’t see it as an ongoing problem as this was a unique case," he said. "I think what it does do is tell a developer that if they have the same extension language in their agreement, they should be applying for and taking advantage of their rights to that."

Robinson said it was good to have the issue resolved.

"It was causing a lot of discomfort for those involved," he said.

Summit County


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