Once again, the Summit County Council Wednesday did not come to a decision on a proposed Neighborhood Mixed Use Zone.
But Council Member Malena Stevens supports continuing to work on the Zone, and adding it to the tools they’ve got in the Snyderville General Plan.
Stevens told KPCW that after their discussion on May 19th, they’re working on some additional language in the Zone.
“We massaged some language, which as I understand, will continue to be massaged over the next couple of weeks by staff, and potentially circulated. With that, I know that Council Member Robinson’s greatest concern was ensuring that in a Neighborhood Mixed Use Zone, that we’re getting more affordable housing, and that there’s an expectation that any developer would have to provide significantly more affordable housing than in a regular zone. And that was something that appeared to be, other Council Members appeared to be open to, which is why we’re looking at that language.”
Chris Robinson suggested increasing the affordable housing ratio in the Zone from 20 percent to 40 percent.
Council Member Doug Clyde said Robinson is going in the right direction, but he said that affordable housing isn’t the only item they should look to for benefits.
He said he agreed with a point from Council Member Roger Armstrong.
“Affordable house, unfortunately, is growth-inducing. It’s crazy, but it is. Affordable housing, in and of itself, is not necessarily good. It’s got to be planned. Its impacts have to be noted. We have to figure out who the people are who are living there, why that is the right place for them to live, and then we have to figure out what are the impacts of bringing that many more people into the county. Those buildings, for example, they require jobs. So not only building the building, but just maintaining the building requires jobs. I’m not convinced that I’m willing to pray at the temple of the god of affordable housing. Affordable housing can be good. But I live in a poly-god-like world. There are many different gods out there that I’m willing to pay homage to.”
After several months of discussion, Council Chair Glenn Wright said it’s time to get to a decision. Roger Armstrong offered a contrasting view.
“We have to start making decisions, and not talking about things forever. This is a good tool that has been in front of us. We have debated it extensively. And I think it is time to proceed on the NMU. (Armstrong) This is a piece of new zoning that we’re creating. This is a brand new zone. That takes time. You don’t just take it off the plate because you’ve been talking about it for a long time. There’s a reason we’’ve been talking about it for a long time. It’s complicated.”
County Council Members Glenn Wright and Roger Armstrong.
