The Summit County government owns the 30-acre parcel. Only half of it can be developed because of sensitive wetlands nearby.
It’s between Jeremy Ranch Elementary School and the Burt Brothers shopping center on Rasmussen Road.
At least a dozen residents showed out for an open house in Kimball Junction June 13 to share ideas for the property.
Jeremy Ranch resident of over 16 years, Laura D’anna, said her neighborhood needs a park with a playground. Pinebrook’s park across Interstate 80 is private, and The Woods trailhead up the road from her doesn’t have playground equipment.
“There's a pretty good trail network [in Jeremy Ranch] already. I think good access to the trails would be nice,” D’anna said. “And I would like to see more affordable and workforce housing.”
County planners set out color-coded blocks at the open house for attendees to map out their ideal community. The four types of “blocks” represented housing, streets, gathering spaces and natural spaces.
Some residents brought new ideas, too.
Heberite Tuck Lowe drives up on Mondays every winter for the Park City Curling Club. He said curlers have to compete with other ice sports for space, even when the Olympics come to town.
“In 2002, they took the the arena in Ogden, and they kicked all the skaters off for however long it took,” he said. “They made it very nice, but you can't keep it that way, obviously.”
Outdoor space is just as important to other residents. Park City Hummingbird Hospital Executive Director Jody Giddings likes the idea of outdoor education and recreation, perhaps incorporating access to the nearby wetlands.
“We personally are looking for space for a wildlife clinic and education center,” Giddings said.
Public agencies say they have needs too. Park City Fire Chief Bob Zanetti has been vocal about the advantages of relocating the Kilby Road fire station to Cline Dahle, because Kilby’s traffic has increased in recent years.
“This piece of property would give us faster access to the freeways—faster access to Pinebrook, Timberline, Jeremy Ranch, upper Pinebrook—so it’d really cut our response times down,” the fire chief said.
County planners are digesting the feedback they received, and they’ll come back to the county council with more information before the county puts out a request for proposals.
Councilmembers have indicated they’d like that to happen by or before the end of the year.
