The Summit Land Conservancy was recently approached by Iron Mountain Associates about a donation of 218 acres of undeveloped land on the northern border of Park City. Iron Mountain Associates developed The Colony subdivision and is now looking to off-load some of the excess land it owns in the area.
The Park City Council was very interested in the idea at last Thursday’s meeting.
If the deal is finalized, the 218 acres of land that is being offered to the city would be added on to approximately 326 acres of land the city already owns in the area. A deed restriction would then be put on the property to preserve it as open space.
Mayor Andy Beerman said he highly encourages the council to pursue the deal after he leaves office next month.
“We are out of land to build on in Summit County," he said. "We’ve also seen that land take on incredible value. I think the motivation by those that wish to develop it is growing by the day, and I think as we’ve seen some legal maneuverings at the legislature and other places to go after land with deed restrictions, that, frankly, keeps me up at night. I know that we have these lands protected. I know that we’ve done a good job defending those approaches, but I’m all for belt, suspenders, super glue, duct tape, everything to make sure that we have every possible layer of protection on these properties to make sure they stay open space as we’ve worked so hard for them to be.”
Mayor-Elect and current Councilor Nann Worel will step into Beerman’s shoes on January 4th. She also spoke in favor of the deal, but asked what annual costs the city would be responsible for if it took over the land.
“I just think this is an incredible offer and very generous," said Worel. "My only question is for ongoing maintenance, like weed abatement and whatever else you have to do to the land, clearing out dead wood and that kind of thing, is there any estimate of what that might add to the city’s expenses on the land?”
Summit Land Conservancy Executive Director Cheryl Fox told the council the organization is hoping to raise a stewardship endowment with help from neighboring property owners to minimize the cost to the city.
City Trails and Open Space Manager Heinrich Deters told Worel exact numbers would be calculated as the process moves along, but annual maintenance is definitely something the council should keep an eye on.
“The idea behind this one is to do stewardship up front, so you don’t add to that annual monitoring cost," said Deters. "That would be a one-time [payment], but the maintenance of the actual land, yeah, that’s a real cost, and I can give you an estimate when we come back.”
If given final approval, the deal would increase the city’s open space total to over 10,000 acres.
With a thumbs-up from the council, city staff is expected to continue its due diligence on the land and begin negotiating the terms of the deal with Iron Mountain Associates, Summit Land Conservancy, and Summit County.
