A group of Trailside residents is working to prevent further development in the area by educating neighbors about how development projects progress.
Karen Riley and Phoebe Byers started the movement by co-founding the Trailside Together coalition in July.
The pair said they were spurred into action after the YMCA of Northern Utah and developer Mercy Housing presented a partnership proposal to the Park City School District Board of Education in June. They asked the board to consider turning vacant district-owned land into 100 to 200 affordable housing units.
YMCA and Mercy Housing identified a 55-acre parcel in the Trailside area — just off Highland Drive and next to U.S. Highway 40 — for the project.
Riley and Byers said they found many neighbors didn’t know the land could be developed. Riley said they assumed it was part of the 694-acre Round Valley, which is preserved as recreational open space.
“What the perception is of the community is that it is Round Valley and that it's open space and a wildlife corridor,” Riley said. “So we all came together to make sure that we could protect this beautiful space.”
Riley and Byers created a website and petition to further those efforts. The petition urging the school district, Summit County Council and Snyderville Basin Planning Commission to protect the 55-acre parcel now has over 1,000 signatures. Almost 96% of those are from Summit County residents; 76% live in the 84098 zip code.
The district has since aimed to quell concerns about development on the parcel.
In a statement, it said organizations and community members can request time to present ideas or proposals during public meetings, and “a presentation to the board does not indicate district endorsement.”
Riley said Trailside Together understands there’s no site plan or application to develop the land.
“It's really important for visibility with Trailside Together to get this in front of the public so that everyone can give input now before decisions are made,” she said.
Riley said the coalition is also working to educate residents on how the development process works.
“We're advocating to keep this land undeveloped, but we're also trying to educate and empower the residents,” she said. “A big part of Trailside Together is helping people just understand how zoning, planning and public decisions actually happen.”
As part of Trailside Together’s work to prevent development in the area, the coalition also encouraged members to oppose Summit County ordinance 1016.
The ordinance changes the rezoning process, requiring less detail from developer applications. Before they can build, developers would eventually still need to file the same detailed paperwork the Snyderville Basin development code currently requires at the outset.
Byers and Riley said the coalition was concerned it would make rezoning in Trailside too easy. The school district’s 55-acre parcel would need a rezone before development. It’s currently zoned as rural residential, which allows one single-family home per 20 acres.
Summit County councilmembers shared similar concerns. The council had planned to vote on 1016 Wednesday [Aug. 19] but tabled the ordinance instead.
