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Summit County Council Approves Height Exception For Facility With A Climbing Wall

Summit County

Members of the Summit County Council cast a split vote Wednesday, 3 to 2, and approved a height exception for an athletic facility seeking an Olympic-caliber-sized climbing wall. The decision came down in favor of the Mine Climbing Gym business, for a parcel near Quinn’s Junction.

The business is asking for a Special Exception, which would increase the height on a portion of its building from the allowed 32 feet to 48. The applicant, Andy Jacobsen, said that will allow an Olympic-caliber height for speed-climbing, at a time when the sport is being added to the Summer Games next year.

He said his business first opened at Kimball Junction in 2013 and during that time, his customers always told him they wanted more of a climbing wall.

“There are many Summit County residents that currently drive into Salt Lake to go to a facility that offers 45-to-60-foot climbing walls,” Jacobsen explained. “We’re very excited to offer a similar facility here in Park City. But we need to be competitive with the Salt Lake market and offer an equivalent facility. The customer experience is really improved by additional height, in addition to the fact that it gives us the ability to offer a Olympic speed-climbing wall for training and for competition purposes. And that really was a big driver in us going back to applying for the height exception is, once we decided it was important to us and to the community to have an Olympic speed-climbing wall within this facility, the previous option where we were going to dig down for the climbing pit was no longer an option because we would have had to go down roughly 20 feet.”

Jacobsen said the wall, with lanes, could accommodate up to 40 people.

In a public hearing, the request was unanimously supported by the audience of 15 to 20 people. They said the wall could offer opportunities for competitions, and training for youngsters who won’t have to travel to Salt Lake facilities. One speaker said the local community of climbing enthusiasts includes Park City’s Mayor.

But the county’s planning staff said the request doesn’t meet the code.

To get a Special Exception, the business has to meet four criteria. The most challenging, said Council Chairman Roger Armstrong, is that there must be unique circumstances justifying the request.

Armstrong said he’s usually very cautious about granting Special Exceptions. But he said this situation is unique, because the climbing wall couldn’t get approved, otherwise, anywhere in the county.

“I would argue that this is, for a variety of reasons, unique,” Armstrong continued. “It is specific to our mission of health and wellness through exercise, through our identification as an Olympic community, and a center for Olympic training and excellence.”

He added it will also enhance inclusivity, by allowing recreation for Paralympians or patrons of the National Ability Center.

The Special Exception was approved by Armstrong, Chris Robinson and Kim Carson.

The opposing votes came from Doug Clyde and Glenn Wright, who supported the climbing wall, but argued they should amend the County Code to allow it.

Clyde said they followed that route for Geneva Rock Products, which is also located near Quinn’s Junction.

“Now, can we create a modification in the code that says, for this type of facility which does not increase the use, if you will, you can exceed the height for X amount of square feet for one portion of the project,” Clyde said. “We can do that—in government terms, we can do that in a heartbeat. But I feel entirely uncomfortable trying to make a finding, a positive finding on Item No. 4. I think that’s exactly why staff couldn’t get you here. We have to be honest to ourselves. We have to be honest to the code. We have to be honest to the public in the way that we deal with this stuff. And I frankly would find this dishonest if we pass it.”

Known for getting all the facts right, as well as his distinctive sign-off, Rick covered Summit County meetings and issues for 35 years on KPCW. He now heads the Friday Film Review team.
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