The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission will return to an application Tuesday that would put a Harmons grocery store in the Outlets Park City.
Harmons is a supermarket chain based in West Valley City that has several locations across the state. Representatives of the company have argued that the new location at the Outlets would give life to an area that is seeing declining visitorship, thanks to the rise of online shopping.
The chain of buildings that currently includes Carter’s, Spirit Halloween, and Vans would be completely demolished for the new store under the proposal. The building with Tina’s Bakery would also go away.
The grocery store would be over 72,000 square feet in density. Under the development code for the Snyderville Basin, retail buildings cannot exceed 60,000 square feet. In order to grant an exemption for a building of that size, the planning commission would have to agree that the new store would provide substantial benefit to the public.
Harmons is also seeking an exemption on height. The building is proposed to be nearly 42 feet. The maximum height in the county code is 32 feet.
The new store would include a mezzanine with a large seating area and an outdoor ground floor patio.
Key points remaining to be discussed include parking and the potential for a new transit stop.
According to a staff report, the development would reduce the overall number of parking spots by 31 spaces. Based on current county parking standards, the Outlets today has a surplus of 200 spaces.
The company has estimated the new store will create 75 full-time and 70 part-time jobs.
The planning commission has the option to forward a positive recommendation for the new area plan on Tuesday. That would then lead to the creation of a development agreement. Both would have to also get approval from the Summit County Council, which is the final land use authority.
The meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. at the Richins Building in Kimball Junction. The agenda and a link to attend virtually can be found here.
