At its meeting Tuesday the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission will consider the Park City School District’s application to expand Jeremy Ranch Elementary School.
On July 20 Summit County issued a stop work order at the elementary school because the school district didn’t have a conditional use permit, also called a CUP. The stop work order remained in effect as of Monday.
Schools superintendent Jill Gildea said at the time that legal views differed among the district, contractor Hughes Construction and the county regarding CUP requirements for construction at schools in the Snyderville Basin.
Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson told KPCW Monday that the county does not believe there is a current legal dispute as the district is now going through the CUP process.
The district didn’t respond to a request for comment on whether any legal differences had been resolved.
Infrastructure, stormwater, parking lot, and road changes must all meet county standards and be constructed under a permit from the engineering department, according to the county.
Officials have said the stormwater management plan is especially important because of the project’s location 100 feet from East Canyon Creek.
The commission will review the application and hold a public hearing before considering approval, which would allow construction to continue.
The proposed expansion at Jeremy Ranch includes new classrooms and restrooms, a reception area, and a new playground. The school district said that the increase in space will provide more preschool services, which are in demand.
The project’s $13 million price tag is to be paid with money from the $79 million school bond voters approved last November. It’s not clear how the work stoppage will affect the cost.
Also on the agenda Tuesday is another public hearing for the preliminary “Moderate Income Housing Plan” — a state-mandated process that requires the county to implement three affordable housing strategies.
According to a staff report, the Snyderville Basin general plan already includes six strategies — such as policy 6.1, which requires new residential development to allocate a percentage of units to be affordable.
County staff is recommending additional strategies, like eliminating fees for accessory dwelling units.
Due to this year’s House Bill 462, Summit County needs to include a Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone, or HTRZ, in its plans as well.
An HTRZ requires at least 39 housing units per acre in the developable area around transit hubs, such as Kimball Junction.
Summit County officials have said developer Dakota Pacific targeted the county by lobbying to insert the HTRZ provision into HB 462.
Last year Dakota Pacific was seeking to build over 1,000 housing units, a hotel, and office space on roughly 58 acres near the Skullcandy building. The developer eventually asked the county to pause its plans after nearly 1,000 residents attended a public hearing in December to oppose the project.
The moderate income housing plan is due for state review in October.
The virtual meeting will begin at 6 p.m. A Zoom link can be found here.
