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Park City Planning Commission Discusses Priorities For Code Changes

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The Park City Council has already approved changes this year to the land management code, including loosening setback, open space and parking requirements to encourage affordable housing development. The land management code is designed to be adaptive — in the past five years, Park City’s land management code has been amended 38 times. The planning department’s goals for this year include deregulation, simplifying processes and cleaning up contradictions in the code.

 

To kick off the process, the planning commission on Wednesday brainstormed its priorities — items around sustainability, nightly rentals and parking.

Another major theme, unsurprisingly, was housing. Commissioner Doug Thimm says need to look at what it takes to get affordable housing in sustainable, walkable location. Need to do more.

“If we don't start looking at what is happening or what has happened from a gentrification standpoint and from a second home standpoint," Thimm said, "I think that we're going to end up with a city that, to quote a former commissioner, that is broken.”

Looking at another facet of the city’s housing concerns, Commissioner Christin Van Dine mentioned the need for housing that supports seniors in the community, especially given the uncertainty of the Park City Senior Center’s future.

“The senior population in this town is feeling very displaced and not heard or appreciated," Van Dine said. "So, finding a way to bring them back into the community, making sure that we're having affordable housing that's not just for the working class that we want to live here. We need that full lifecycle housing, so finding ways to make that sustainable.”

Commissioners also suggested looking into parts of the code that promote connectivity in terms of walkability; areas around town where there need to be improvements

“Are there places where there is enough pedestrian traffic that says we should be putting in sidewalks?” Thimm said. “We should figure out how to do that.”

The planning commission has additional work sessions planned to take a deeper dive into different aspects of the land management code. Planning staff says  Upcoming work sessions planned for lmc amendments; says will do more outreach for housing meetings.

Emily Means hadn’t intended to be a journalist, but after two years of studying chemistry at the University of Utah, she found her fit in the school’s communication program. Diving headfirst into student media opportunities, Means worked as a host, producer and programming director for K-UTE Radio as well as a news writer and copy editor at The Daily Utah Chronicle.
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