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Park City Planning Commission Approves Affordable Housing Development Plan

The Park City Planning Commission approved the master planned development and conditional use permit, as well as forwarding a positive recommendation to the City Council on a plat amendment, for the Woodside Park Phase II housing development Wednesday. 

Planner Hannah Tyler, Affordable Housing Manager Jason Glidden and project architect Jarrett Moe presented the second phase of Park City’s Woodside Park affordable housing project. The project consists of 52 affordable or attainable units; five market-rate townhomes; and a historically significant single-family home. The development also features a pedestrian access easement that connects the Woodside Park Phase I development to Phase II, all the way up to Empire Ave., providing access to the Park City Mountain Resort Base.

The Planning Commission voted early in the meeting to forward a positive recommendation to the City Council for the plat amendment, which creates three lots—one for the five market-rate townhomes; one for the deed-restricted units; and one for the significant home.

During public comment for the master planned development, Nikki Deforge, an attorney representing Empire Ave. resident Doug Lee, asserted the project does not comply with the land management code and that the City should apply the master planned affordable housing development section of the code to the project, rather than the regular master planned development ordinance.

City Attorney Mark Harrington said, as staff interprets it, the affordable housing section doesn’t apply because it would require 100% of the units to be deed restricted as affordable. Harrington explained the Planning Commission has final authority on that determination, though applying the affordable housing code to Woodside Park Phase II would make every other master planned development that features affordable housing non-conforming because the Commission has never applied it before.

Members of the Planning Commission agreed that the regular master planned development code was best to use.

Commissioner Laura Suesser expressed concern over the amount of concrete in the project; that the housing displaces the Senior Center without a plan to replace it; and that the size of the development is overwhelming. Suesser said she understands affordable housing is a priority for the City but feels the project is too dense for the site.

Commissioner John Kenworthy said the project supports the goals of the community as well as assisting local businesses that need access to in-town employees.

The Planning Commission amended the MPD with a few conditions of approval, including that the public access easement be maintained by Park City Municipal Corporation—particularly regarding snow removal; that signage be added to the neighborhood to provide direction to that public path; and that resident parking be organized by some sort of parking pass system.

In the end, the Planning Commission voted five to one to approve the master planned development and conditional use permit, with Suesser as the sole nay vote. The Woodside Park Phase II plat amendment is scheduled to be heard for final action by City Council on June 6.

Emily Means hadn’t intended to be a journalist, but after two years of studying chemistry at the University of Utah, she found her fit in the school’s communication program. Diving headfirst into student media opportunities, Means worked as a host, producer and programming director for K-UTE Radio as well as a news writer and copy editor at The Daily Utah Chronicle.
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