The Park City Council meeting will begin with a two-hour work session about the city-owned parcel at Bonanza Drive and Kearns Boulevard Tuesday.
Previously envisioned as an arts and culture district, the city has since hit the reset button. An open house to collect public input in July drew large crowds, and an online survey was also launched to collect feedback.
Survey results are mixed on whether the community still wants the district, but Park City Deputy City Manager Jen McGrath said some trends have emerged.
“The community wants this to remain a place for locals,” McGrath said. “I think that’s the thread that I heard through everything, is this is a place for locals currently. People want it to remain a place for locals. And I think the conversations going forward are going to be about - what does that look like?”
The online survey, which collected over 700 responses, asked if people were supportive of a future development that includes arts and cultures uses and features. 45% said “yes,” with the remainder split between “no” and “maybe.”
Results show people see the site supporting mixed use development, which could include housing, restaurants, and gathering spaces.
The 115 responses at the in-person community open house differed slightly. Over two-thirds said they support a future arts district.
McGrath said it’s a balancing act.
“What we heard from people is both - this is the place for height and density - and- community members are going to be concerned about height and density,” she said. “These are the kinds of challenges that you see in communities all over the country.”
Consultants working with the city on the visioning process will present the results from the survey and open house at Tuesday’s meeting. From there, they will turn community sentiment into concrete ideas.
“The consultant team is going to take the feedback that they received from the community, and then try to actualize that for folks and give them the opportunity to see what that might look like on the ground, and get feedback from the community on that," McGrath said. "Because something that might be great for someone conceptually, might not be the same for them when they see it on the ground. So that’s why we’re just going to continue through the process, and listening to people and trying to understand what people really want.”
The Park City Council meeting Tuesday begins at 3:15 p.m. in council chambers on the bottom floor of the Marsac Building. The agenda and a link to attend virtually can be found here.
