On Thursday night, Hideout Town Council again voted to start a process to annex land extending into Summit County to allow a possible project from developers Nate Brockbank and Josh Romney.
The council approved two measures, though the acreage has been trimmed compared to the annexation they attempted in July – a resolution of intent to annex property in the vicinity of Richardson Flat, including six specific parcels.
The council also approved a motion to authorize Mayor Phil Rubin to enter into a pre-annexation agreement with the firm N. Brockbank Investments. The agreement notes that Brockbank owns or has the rights to purchase about 380 acres. The developer is contemplating a master-planned community to be called Hideout West.
The two measures were both approved by a vote of 3 to 1. In support were councilors Chris Baier, Jerry Dwinell and Bob Nadelberg. The lone dissenting vote was cast by Carol Haselton.
The Hideout Council approved similar actions in July for over 600 acres which brought a lawsuit from Summit County.
The proposed annexation here is smaller. At a Tuesday meeting, Brockbank’s attorney Bruce Baird said they were trimming out some parcels that Park City claims are bound by a development agreement. The attorney said though they don’t necessarily agree with the city’s position, it made for a cleaner proposal.
Mayor Rubin said Thursday they weren’t taking public comment then, but a hearing will be scheduled for the near future.
“There will be significant time available to hear from you regarding how we think about whether to move forward with the annexation,” he said. “We’re not dealing with that tonight.”
The pre-annexation agreement states if the council doesn’t approve an annexation by Dec. 31, the deal can be terminated by either party.
On a related item, some Hideout Council members have expressed a desire for regional planning and say they are closer to the Park City area than they are to Heber.
But Summit County Council Member Kim Carson took issue when one Hideout representative reportedly said that Summit County doesn’t want to talk to the town’s officials.
“At no time in Hideout’s existence has any official or unofficial communication been made to Summit County about wanting to engage in any type of regional planning, whether it was land use, transportation, affordable housing,” Carson said.
