The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services tells Summit County officials it plans to build a new retail liquor store on state Route 248 just east of U.S. Highway 40.
It would be on Utah Department of Transportation land across Old Highway 40 from where Maverik will build a new gas station and convenience store.
Summit County and Park City councilmembers went over the proposed liquor store at a joint meeting Friday because UDOT’s land crosses the city-county line.
Summit County Community Development Director Peter Barnes said that could make distributing sales taxes complicated, and he’s concerned that DABS’ designs don’t meet city or county code.
But they don’t need to: UDOT’s land isn’t zoned, and state law doesn’t give the local officials a say in liquor store construction.
“I think we all recognize it's a congested traffic problem. I'm not sure if putting a destination liquor store in that particular location is a good idea, but that's not for me to say,” Barnes said.
If Barnes was in charge, he said he’d put the liquor store in Silver Summit or Silver Creek, both with pending mixed-use development applications.
Park City Councilmember Ryan Dickey said the city has discussed Park City liquor sales with DABS in the past.
“I think Snow Creek is the top volume store, or was in the past, and they just have trouble with inventory in that store,” he said. “So I think it's going to pull traffic in and out of Park City and from the surrounding area to this location, that could be a tough break.”
The intersection of Old Highway 40 and state Route 248 is changing quickly. Old 40 moved a few hundred feet east last summer, and it may soon see a stoplight.
The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission greenlit a Maverik in October, across the street from the liquor store site. The company said it would install a light to help mitigate traffic.
Summit County and Park City are financial supporters of KPCW. For a full list, click here.
