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Show CRATIOH iLCUT.84lW Volume Three - r - : mammlmmmmmmmmmmmmmama.i ii in mi in i in i Ghost Town Saddle Proj . Suffers i For those following the bouncing ball, ithe Saddle View condominium project has suffered another setback in its seesaw 'battle for Planning Commission approval. ap-proval. Although the commission voted to deny final approval at its Wednesday -night meeting, it later took action which .could enable the development to clear its last hurdle. kkkktAkAk Study Then Vote i i Park City voters will go to the ', polls Tuesday to elect two new J ; members to the City Council. With Jan Wilking deciding not j jto seek re-election, Richard i Martinez is the only incumbent j son the ballot. Also running are i former city council woman and J ! former city attorney Mary Leh-J Leh-J fmer, Matt Alvarez, owner of the JiTimberhaus sports store, and Bob Jplanning commissioner --vj 2 A city ordinance requiring 30-foot construction con-struction setbacks from public and private roads in a planned unit development develop-ment is the main obstacle facing Saddle View. As planned, some of the condominiums con-dominiums would lie within thirty feet of the roads but engineer Jack Johnson has argued that the measurement should be taken from the middle of the road since Wells, Moana. general manager of Before casting your vote Tuesday, take time to read the statements made by the candidates can-didates on Page 3. Their views on nine separate issues are placed next to each other for easy comparison. Evaluate their positions and be sure to vote on Thursday. Wednesday, November 2, 1977 Setback they are private, not public. Most public roads have a 50-foot right-of-way and setback measurements are taken from the edge of the right-of-way. It is Johnson's contention that the ordinance or-dinance can be interpreted to mean that private setbacks can be measured from the middle of the road since private roads have no right-of-ways. "We have to decide if it (the Saddle project) meets the ordinance," chair-- chair-- man Bernis Watts told the commission. The condominium development was the subject of a lively debate between . Johnson and Watts prior to the convening of the official meeting. "As much as I like the project. ..we . have to resolve the issue of whether we're going to alter the ordinance or whether we're not," commissioner Roy . Reynolds said. At its October 12 meeting, the eom- mission agreed to amend the setback or-. or-. dinance but it was unable to reach a con- sensus opinion on the content of the amendment prior to Wednesday night's I meeting. However, after the Saddle project was r denied, the commission did agree to Continued on Page 10 Officials Endorse Trans. rat Tax City Manager Wayne Matthews, City Treasurer Bruce Decker and the Park City Chamber of Commerce have endorsed endor-sed passage of the transportation tax which will be on the November 8 ballot. In addition, all four candidates running for the Park City Council have voiced support for the proposal . Decker said Monday that the city has two years remaining on its three-year no-fare no-fare bus contract with First Park Transportation, Tran-sportation, with about $56,000 due this season, and that the payments will have to come from other areas of the municipal budget if the tax fails. Matthews called the quarter per cent sales tax "one of the easiest ways to fund our no-fare bus system on an equitable basis." ,The Park City Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has voted unanimously to endorse the tax proposal and the Chamber is circulating literature supporting it. : The tax proposal previously was put to a vote last June 7 and a small turnout defeated the measure by a 78-67 margin. 3J.TX supporters have blamed overcon-fttj;EiCefoi overcon-fttj;EiCefoi the June setback. The Chamber is urging that the measure be passed for the following reasons : -A no-fare transportation system funded fun-ded by the sales tax enables Park City to compete with other quality resort towns, bringing in more out-of-town dollars and boosting the local economy. -Tourists will generate 65 per cent of the tax money used to fund the no-fare system. -The bus system will reduce traffic congestion. -Non-drivers, including school children and senior citizens, will be able to move about town more easily. -Pedestrian safety will be improved in the winter. Although there has been no vocal opposition op-position to the proposal, transportation tax supporters are vowing not to allow a recurrence of last June's results and they have mounted a vigorous campaign. Prospect For Bike Path Favorable Park City's chances of having a bike path constructed along the new state highway are "very good." according to City Planner Dave Preece. Preece and City Treasurer Bruce Decker met with Utah Department of Transportation officials last week and reaction to the proposal reportedly was very positive. Preece also said a previous meeting with Utah Outdoor Recreation Agency officials caused him to be "optimistic" over the bike path proposal. Phil Fredrickson and John Palmer of the DOT and Terry Green of the Outdoor Recreation Agency were "all very optimistic," op-timistic," Preece remarked. As presently planned, the bike path, which would be bordered by a greenbelt. would come off Highway 224 and go into the Park Meadows subdivision. It would then wind its way through the Holiday Ranch area, cross Highway 248 and enter the Prospector Village area. From there, it would travel along the ridge line and connect with the new highway near the Snow Country condominiums. It would then travel along the highway alignment south to Main Street and branch off to Deer Valley. A bike path would also parallel Highway High-way 224 to the Snow Country condominiums con-dominiums where it would converge with the path coming from the Prospector Village area. "We're working very closely with the folks from DOT on this project." the planner said. Continued on Page 12 WE1THEM Fair Friday with unsettled weather in the South. Chance of showers in the North Saturday and Sunday. Mild with highs in the 50s and lows 25-35. Refund Boosts Reservations Last winter's drought hurt Park City lodges financially but it seems to have worked wonders in the public relations department. A survey of local property management firms and the Chamber of Commerce's Central Reservations indicates in-dicates that last year's full refund policy scored points for the town. Pre season reservations are reported to be running at or above normal and some people are compensating for the brownout by visiting twice this season. "Moana y- , ; ' ' - Asked if the drought has dampened enthusiasm en-thusiasm for the coming ski season, Mary Mayer, Moana's reservations manager, was quick to replv, "Not at all." Not only has last year's cancellation policy elicited "a lot of good comments." Mayer said, but it has also made skiers less reluctant to send in deposit money. She reported that the Christmas period stretching from December 17 to January 2 is "pretty much booked" with few vacancies still remaining. Numerous group bookings have made February and March strong also, the reservations manager said. She noted that many groups that cancelled last year are coming back to Park City and that a significant number of "new groups" also have made reservations. As usual, California will be the geographic area sending the greatest number of visitors to Park City this winter win-ter but Mayer said bookings from the Midwest and the East Coast are on the rise. Also noteworthy is that the number of inquiries concerning winter conventions has increased. Mayer said this could be a direct result of the jump in summer convention business experienced by Park City. Remarking on the winter convention interest, Mayer said, "This is really nice. These groups will come even if it isn't snowing." Central Reservations Central Reservations, now in its second year of operation, is presently handling many more bookings than it did a year ago. according to manager Tom Hansen. Hansen said although there is still some space available for the Christmas 'ewYear's period, it is limited mostly to the week after Christmas. "We're working off cancellations." he commented. Hansen said Presidents Week (February 18-25) and Easter Week (March 19-26) are "filling up rapidly in the condominiums but there's still plenty of space in town." As for the non-holiday periods, "Reservations are ahead of last year for the whole winter." The uncertainty of snow conditions traditionally makes Thanksgiving reservations reser-vations a last-minute affair and this year is no exception. "There has been little action except groups for Thanksgiving." Hansen said, "and I doubt that there wil be until there is snow on the ground." Hansen noted that there will be a new cancellation policy in effect this year. When ski conditions are declared poor-to-marginal by the Park City Ski Corporation Cor-poration three days prior to a scheduled arrival date, deposits for hotel and lodge rooms will be refunded in full except for a $5 per person handling fee. For condominiums con-dominiums and property management units, if the sub-par conditions are existent seven days before scheduled arrival, the deposit is refunded except for a $25 per unit fee. In addition. Hansen reported that Number Seven Policy Local deposits will be placed in a escrow account ac-count at a local bank rather than being sent on to the lodge owner or manager. He said this guarantees that the deposit will be returned rapidly in the event of poor snow. Last season, Central Reservations Reser-vations had to wait for the deposits to be returned by the lodges before it could send them on to the cancelled visitor. Hansen confirmed Mayer's statement that California will produce the greatest number of visitors and said the Chicago area will be the- second largest. ..generator.,' , ducting a study to determine the major points of origin for skiers but it has not yet been completed. Park City Reservations "It's very, very strong all the way across the board," reports Ed Erie, manager of Park City Reservations. "January, February and March are booking earlier than usual," he said. "The reservations are coming in quicker." Erie also credits last year's full refund policy for some of the increase in preseason pre-season activity. "One man from Chicago lost two deposits in Aspen last winter," Erie remarked. "He's coming here this winter." win-ter." "The refund policy pays off in the long-run. long-run. It's just good business," he added. Park City Reservations is experiencing experien-cing the Thanksgiving slows but Erie notes that bookings have picked up during the past ten days. "Thanksgiving is weak but it always is." he said. "If the snow comes the reservations will, too." Noting an increase in visitors from the East Coast, Erie said the coming ski season "looks good." Jupiter Georgia Covey at Jupiter Property Management said her rental units are "sold out" for Christmas and the months of February and March. "There's a good feeling about Park City." Covey said. "We've got a good reputation because we sent back deposits last year." But the deposit refunds are not the only reason the reservations are pouring in. "After last winter everybody is just dying to come out for a ski vacation," Covev observed. INSIDE The SST is the subject of this week's 'How About It?' Page 2 The four City Council candidates answer nine questions. Page 3 Freestyle skiing is hanging in there. Page 7 A timetable for the Depot project was given to the Planning Commission, Com-mission, last Wednesday: Wed-nesday: Page 10 V |