The Summit County Council held a joint session this week with the Snyderville Planning Commission.
Afterwards, we talked to council member Glenn Wright about what he’d like to see in new development.
Wright said he thinks the county should agree to density bonuses for applicants, if their projects pursue county objectives like affordable housing and sustainability.
“Again, the legislature has some restrictions on what we can do in terms of code. In terms of mandating construction of both those issues, both sustainability and affordable housing for a strength in development standpoint. Once you get into negotiations for rezoning or for other similar issues we may come up with a mixed-use zone. Increased density can be gotten if you do things that comply with county goals. As in providing more affordable housing, as in providing sustainable buildings.”
He talked about some of the items he’d like to see in an application.
“We’ve got a lot of plain vanilla developments out there. If someone comes forth with some ideas on a really imaginative concept that cuts down on transportation and reduces the effect of cars and creates more affordable housing within a mixed-use neighborhood. I’m willing to make a deal on density personally to get some of those things. I think if we’re going to create additional density, the county also has a goal to reduce our carbon footprint. It means we have to have really zero carbon footprint buildings for additional density in my opinion.”