Park City officials are close to finalizing a new general plan, the community-driven blueprint that establishes a future vision for land use policy.
Park City Planning Director Rebecca Ward said the document is a guide for the planning commission and city council as they make development decisions.
“It lays out themes for transportation and community character, how we plan for housing that’s affordable and attainable, how we preserve and conserve water and our open space, and also our sustainability goals,” Ward said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” July 24.
Park City last updated its general plan in 2014. Ward said themes from the 2014 plan — like preserving the city’s small town, historic character — will remain in the new document.
Mitigating traffic congestion will be a bigger priority in the new general plan. Over 70% of Park City residents identified traffic as the area’s biggest challenge in a survey conducted last fall.
“That is now incorporated in the vision statement that we’ll be innovative with our transportation and our building of transportation options and the network for those options that meet the needs of residents and locals, the workforce and the visitors,” Ward said.
The draft of the general plan is linked online and residents can provide city leaders with feedback through a questionnaire until July 31 — click here.
The Park City Council and planning commission will meet in August to discuss the plan before its approval, Ward said.
Separately, the planning department has been working to rezone the roughly 70-acre Bonanza Park neighborhood.
It’s located at the center of town and bordered by Park Avenue, Deer Valley Drive and Bonanza Drive.
Today the area largely consists of surface parking lots and businesses, including Fresh Market, Starbucks and Boneyard Saloon.
But by changing the area’s development code through a rezone, Ward said they hope to make the area more lively.
“We heard from residents that this is really envisioned to be a mixed-use, vibrant district where we have better connectivity, and we have locally-serving commercial uses along street fronts that prioritize pedestrians and cyclists,” she said. “We also integrate residential units as part of that development to meet local needs for affordable and attainable housing.”
Buildings in Bonanza Park have historically been limited to three stories. But under the proposed zoning, developers could build up to four stories, if they provide certain enhancements, such as affordable housing or pedestrian improvements.
The city council will consider approving the zone change after a public hearing Aug. 26.
Park City Municipal is a financial supporter of KPCW.