Park City began the official process of annexing 1,200 acres at Quinn’s Junction last October, 20 years after the idea was first officially raised.
Park City Mayor Nann Worel said the annexation gives the city control over what happens to its eastern entry corridor.
“It’s been a long time coming," she said. "The city’s always had interest in protecting our entry corridor there and we can do that best by bringing it into the municipal boundaries.”
The city said the idea to annex the land was contained in the late-90s Flagstaff development agreement. But the annexation was challenged in court this spring, and other legal challenges related to the land have been making their way through the court system since 2020.
So far, every legal case challenging Park City’s annexation has gone the city’s way.
The Town of Hideout attempted to annex adjoining land on Richardson Flat two years ago, but that process has been stopped by the courts. Landon Allred is a lawyer representing Hideout and told the city council that since Hideout’s annexation has yet to be struck down completely, the town should have a say in the process.
“Because [Hideout] annexed that area on the books, even if [Summit County] Clerk Furse thinks that some day that’s going to be voided, it’s not voided right now," said Allred. "As of now, the Town of Hideout is an affected entity. It was entitled to have its protest heard by the boundary commission, and that never happened, so the process is defective.”
But Park City Attorney Margaret Plane said, as far as the courts are concerned, the council was clear to move forward.
“Not all of those cases are all the way through the courts, that could take another several years," said Plane. "But until then, our recommendation is to consider this now. You could certainly choose to hit pause if you would like, but there are no procedural or legal barriers, in fact, those have been requested and denied by the courts, prohibiting you from moving forward tonight.”
The land includes the 344-acre Clark Ranch property, which is owned by the city. The city council identified the land as a possible site for affordable housing last May, but would need to rezone the land in order for that to happen.
The land also contains the seldom-used Richardson Flat park-and-ride east of Park City Heights. The rest of the acreage is undeveloped and only zoned for uses like trails or other types of public recreation.
The city now has 30 days to submit the appropriate paperwork to the Lieutenant Governor’s Office to finalize the annexation. City staff said that process could take up to 60 days.
