The March letter argues that key information was omitted from the county’s staff report and public discussions. It says the proposal could significantly expand development beyond what was approved in 2013.
Sun Peak Homeowner Association board member Meta Haley told KPCW she was speaking for herself and not on behalf of the board. She says the Utah Olympic Park is seeking a large expansion that would place a significant burden on the neighborhood.
“They're asking for loopholes in their existing obligations around mitigation efforts for traffic, and they haven't provided any type of fiscal analysis that would actually give the public an understanding of what type of burden they're being asked to absorb,” Haley said Tuesday. “You compound that with the TIF, the Tax Incremental Financing that they're asking for, and again, that transparency around what the fiscal impacts of this project actually look like feels really important for both our officials and the public to be able to make an informed decision.”
Haley says the core issue is that Sun Peak property owners bought homes believing that they would be living next to an Olympic Park. She says what is now being proposed represents a fundamental shift.
“In 2013 they were entitled to 295,000 square feet of development with 10,000 square feet of commercial use,” she said. “They're asking for almost 600,000 square feet today, with about the equivalent 257,000, I believe, square feet of commercial space. So that's a very different park in terms of what it will look like in the future versus what it was portrayed throughout our neighborhood's history.”
Colin Hilton, the CEO of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, said he had not seen the letter in time to respond for this report. He noted that there have been four planning commission meetings, two public open houses, two direct meetings with the HOA board, and one county council meeting on the proposal so far. He sees the letter as another step summarizing their concerns and further delaying a vote.
In the letter, the HOA outlines several concerns, including the use of the emergency access gate outside of emergencies; the removal of the phasing map that tied future development to improvements at state Route 224 and Kimball Junction; traffic and the allowance of nightly rentals.
However, Summit County Manager Shayne Scott notes that the Summit County Attorney’s office has advised that some of those issues – including gate usage, the anticipated closure of the freestyle pool and the financial implications for the park, fall outside the scope of the development agreement amendment and should not be considered.
“I think a lot of the residents would disagree with that, but I think that's something that, if nothing else, I think we'd like to hear from the UOP how have those things been addressed,” he said Tuesday on KPCW’s “Local News Hour.” “And if the answer is, ‘We heard you and we're not going to do it differently,’ that's fine. Let's hear that answer or if it is like, ‘We can do this differently, we can do that differently,’ I think that'll be helpful in making some progress here.”
The Summit County Council has scheduled an hour-long discussion during the work session starting around 4 p.m. Wednesday. Scott says the item has already been delayed for a couple of weeks while officials were in Italy for the Olympics.
Click here for a link to agenda and to virtually attend the meeting.
