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Show THE PARK RECORD oints. WED/THURS/FRI, MAY 4-6, 2005 A-15 EDITORIAL Park City residents are encouraged to help take out the trash on Saturday eeeewww! Above eye level, Park City is on the verge of a beautiful summer. But cast E those eyes downward and there is very little beauty to behold. The receding borderlines of a snowy winter have left behind a sordid layer of litter that can put a serious damper on anyone's spring fever. But, with your help, the scenery should improve following this weekend's communitywide cleanup event. Sponsored by Recycle Utah and Park City Municipal Corp., this Saturday has been dubbed "Pride in Your Park Day" and the activities are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Organizers hope this year's clean up event will be reminiscent of years past when 'The Garbage Gurus" and friends fanned out around the city armed with garbage bags, boundless energy and that unique ingredient otherwise known as "community spirit." In order nudge residents into spending part of the weekend digging into the mess, organisers have hidden a few bonuses under strategic pieces of trash. There will be coupons to redeem at local restaurants and shops to go along with the satisfaction of making the town I DON'T KNOW HOW ANYONE GOT THE IDEA THAT THIS WAS WRITTEN DOWN ON TABLETS OR THAT I T CAME DOWN FROM MOUNT SINAI! a bit tidier. Area businesses have also donated the ingredients for a free breakfast at City Park which is also the place to pick up free trash bags and to gang up with bunches of like-minded citizens to scour nearby parks, trails, sidewalks and empty lots. There will be a post cleanup party too back at City Park with live music and lunch. But "Pride in Your Park Day" doesn't have to end there. Nor does it have to stop at the city limits. Communities around Summit County are welcome to follow Park City's lead. And while the freebies may be gone after Saturday we would encourage everyone make it a hajbil of occasionally glancing downward this summer to collect a few souvenirs that might not paint our city in the best light. By the way, beginning on Saturday the city's public works department will be placing Dumpsters around the city to encourage homeowners to get rid of unsightly oversized trash. The Dumpsters will be available from May 7-22 l?.ut residents are. asked to refrain from putting any hazardous materials in them and they are not for use by building contractors. wmmm: ^mm-m JOHN KMBOUPiHl PARK RECORD LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Aspen Highlands development Editor: I have attended all of the public hearings with respect to the Aspen Highlands proposed development. I have been impressed at the amount of time that the West Side Planning Commission has spent on the project as well as that of the County Commissioners. Anyone who aspires to such an office needs to understand the dedication of these individuals. The decision of the density of Aspen Highlands now lies with the County Commissioners. In the fairness of public disclosure, I have spoken against the development based on the code as I understand it with respect to the density proposed. The Knight Brothers, owners of 95 acres west of the South Ridge development, want to put 47 units on their land. That woukLn.ot.be approved under ajiy interpretation of the code. ' The Knight Brothers therefore made an offer to purchase another 95 acres known as the Zastrop property. Note that as recently as the last public hearing before the West Side Planning Commission, the Knight Brothers did not own this additional 95 acres, but only had submitted an offer to purchase what is termed the Zastrop, property. From the time of the original submission to develop the total 190 acres, this has been the case. In other words, the submission before the planning commission and now, I believe before the County Commissioners is to approve a 190 acres development that is owned 50 percent by the developer. Consider these facts. If the Knight Brothers were limited to developing the 95 acres they own, the maximum number of units, stretching an interpretation of the code, they could put on their land, would be 25 units. Separately, if the 95-acre Zastrop property were put before the planning commission as a separate entity, the maximum number of units allowed would be, at the outside, five. Why 25 units on the Knight's 95 acres and only five on the 95 acre Zastrop property? Very simply because the Zastrop property is comprised of 66 acres of slopes greater than 30 degrees and a number of acres that are considered wetlands. Under the present code, 91 percent of the Zastrop 95 acres are termed "critical lands." These numbers come from "Exhibit H" on file with the Summit Fair Housing - Even in Summit County? This is a response to the editorial published in the Park Record on Weds., April 27. Without much reflection. The Park Record spoke harshly against the recent fair housing lawsuit filed by my clients - a group of landowners and builders along with the NAACP, La Raza, the Disabled Rights Action Committee (DRAC) and other individuals. The editorial stated that "the NAACP, La Raza and the others have naively allowed their agendas to be coopted as bargaining tools for a group of developers." Not so. This is the third lawsuit in which that NAACP and DRAC have challenged a local government violation of fair housing and civil rights laws. Each case involved local landowners, builders, individual plaintiffs as well as the NAACP and DRAC. The lawsuit follows NAACP's and DRAC's long-standing commitment to peacefully resort to the courts to enforce civil rights and fair housing laws. The editorial also failed to mention that La Raza and the landowners had previously objected to the County's exclusionary base zoning of one housing unit per 20 acres. This lawsuit was filed in Federal District Court in Salt Lake City because Summit County's restrictive one-unit-per-20-acre zoning and other housing policies violate federal and state law. Fortunately, a jury made up of Utahans from all over the state and presided over by an impartial federal judge will determine whether these zoning and housing policies are illegal. I welcome the opportunity of presenting this case to a federal judge and jury because the facts are so egregious. According to Census data, Park City has nearly 5 times the Hispanic population compared to the near all white population in the Snyderville Basin. Why? It is because Summit County's exclusionary zoning makes it impossible to build any acceptable numbers of affordable housing units to meet demand. Why does Park City, Summit County's neighboring jurisdiction, have so many more affordable housing units? It is because Park City's government has Bill Mullen Park City Kudos to Senator Hatch GUEST EDITORIAL By Michael L. Hutchings, County Planning Department. All of us understand that 25 plus five equals 30. So the question that I believe that the County Commissioners must justify in order to approve 47 units on the adjacent properties, is how can you approve an increase in density of 57 percent? Is this a case of the whole, even if not all owned, being greater than the sum of the parts? I don't think so and the majority of people who have spoken at all the pul'l'c hearings, agree. In addition, 397 people throughout the county have signed a petition questioning the density of 47 units. Commissioner Ken Woolstenhulme commented at the public meeting on 4/27, that he did not know what else the developer could do with respect to the project. He said that they had been working with the planning department for two years. But the time the developer has spent working the county is NOT the issue before the commissioners. The question before commission is, does the proposal meet the code? Put another way, does 25 plus five truly equal 47 under the code? allowed the free market system to better meet needs by zoning properties with appropriate housing densities. Housing supply is allowed to better meet demand, especially among those who are lower income. Another egregious fact is that Summit County has no moderateincome housing plan mandated by state law. David Thomas' excuse is that 85 percent of the rest of the counties do not have a plan either. Lei him make that argument the next time he gets a speeding ticket. "But officer, 85 percent of the others on this highway are speeding also!" The fact that others violate the law is no excuse and Mr. Thomas should know it. He helps make our laws as a state legislator. As legal counsel to Summit County, he should ensure that those who have taken an oath of office to uphold the law actually obey it - all of it. Recently, a county commissioner revealed the County's true motives in reenacting the restrictive zoning ordinances of one unit per 20 acres. After enactment, the exuberant commissioner proclaimed that the County does not want to become "Anywhere USA." That elitist attitude is at the heart of the problem - not wanting to be like the rest of America; not wanting to be governed by the same laws that have made America great; not recognizing that America is the greatest county in the world because it is inclusionary, not exclusionary. Federal and state laws require inclusion of all people, not exclusion. Federal fair housing and civil rights laws ensure that the dream of fair housing will be preserved for all - black, brown, or white - disabled or non-disabled -senior citizen or young - retired on Social Security or young single mother. A dream of housing fairness and inclusion for all Americans -- not just a few that can afford expensive homes in exclusive get away enclaves like Summit County. Inclusion made America great. It will not hurt Summit County to allow those that work there to live there also. If Summit County officials are so intenfon pursuing a failed policy of segregation and exclusion, let's let a federal judge and jury decide. The opinions expressed in our guest editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the Park Record. Editor: Senator Hatch recently held hearings on an important issue facing consumers and our economy - patent -eform. Patent reform is not an issue tli normally generates a great deal of atu ition but our patent system and our commitment to intellectual property protection are at the heart of our success in the global economy. Patent protection is particularly important for small businesses and individual investors who rely on patents to protect their inventions. The hearings rightly focused on how we can ensure that the Patent and Trademark Office is properly funded by ending the diversion of fees and ensuring that all patent application fees are used to fund the office. Additionally, the committee focused on the critical issue of global piracy of American goods. Patents and intellectual property pro- tection are critical to the technology industry, consumers and the economy and Sen. Hatch deserves praise for playing a leadership role on this issue. Jim Prendergast Executive director, Americans for Technology Leadership Washington, D.C. Editor: Spring is upon us and so is the 9th Annual Park City Marathon. In our efforts to make this a quality and unforgettable event for our runners, we need your help. We are searching for volunteers to assist with registration, course monitoring, traffic control, start and finish areas, and post-race clean-up. Come join us and our many returning volunteers while we support the runners take on the "tough but beautiful" course for Dear Editor, which we are famous! Race day is I am a Treasure Mt. Middle School Saturday, June 11th with a pre-race oristudent in the IB program and did my entation for volunteers on Thursday, community service project to help the June 2. Volunteers will receive a T-shirts American Red Cross Disaster Relief and goody bags. To register as a volunFund. Thanks to the stores who held my teer or for further information please donation boxes, the Park City Rotary check out our website at Club, and the community, I raised www.pcmarathon.com or call Ann at $761.09! I would like to thank you all 435-640-0077. individually but I'm not allowed to Thank you for your support! because it's a letter to the editor, and my dad says that's the rules. Ann Hoover Volunteer Coordinator Thanks Again, 2005 Park City Marathon Katie Bernhard Park City Student says thanks HuntirT Heberoids? Editor: Wow Wendy, you are once again absolutely right - the natural process of shooting animals makes much more sense than simply using birth control or pesky sterilization. In fact, as ]fesee the population on the Wasatch Back continue to blossom to the point that we're running the risk of destroying our hardly-renewable resources like'water and land, neither of which serves much purpose unless you're a life-sustaining plant or one of those kill-'n-eat critters, it makes me think that we should start that same natural process here by shooting people as a form of birth control. What do you say we start in Heber? Jeanle Croasmun Oakley SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION 1 Year inside Summit County, $37, outside Summit County, $70 6 Months inside Summit County, $20, outside Summit County S39 Maslercard or Visa No. Name Mailina Address BXa?e: Mail to; The Park Record, P.O. Box 3688, Park City, Utah 84060 ParkRecord'e-mail addresses Andy Bernhard Nan Chalat-Noaker Valerie Deming Jay Hamburger Patrick Parkinson Jared Whitley Matt James Adia Waldburger Anna Bloom Scott Sine Grayson West Kat James Mike Duffy Matt Gordon Chris Gill Inkarna Black Joe Lair Office Manager/Front Desk • • • • • • • • • • • • • * • • • * Marathon volunteers needed ab@parkrecord.com editor@parkrecord.com ads@parkrecord.com citynews @ parkrecord.com countynews@parkrecord.com education@parkrecord.com arts@parkrecord.com sports@parkrecord.com business@parkrecord.com photo@parkrecord.com photo@parkrecord.com kat@parkrecord.com circulation@parkrecord.com production@parkrecord.com realestate@parkrecord.com classifieds@parkrecord.com scoreboard@parkrecord.com holly@parkrecord.com The Park Reco/tf welcomes letters to the editor on any subject. We ask that the letters adhere to the following guldellnes:They must include the address and telephone number of author. No letter will be published under an assumed name. They must not contain libelous material. Writers are limited to pnejetter every 28 days. Letters must not be longer than 300 words (guest editorials, 500 words) and should if possible, be typed. We reserve the right to edit letters if they are too long or if they contain statements we consider unnecessarily offensive or obscene. In addition, thank you letters may be limited in length with regard to businesses and event sponsors. The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER Andy Bemhard Editor Nan Chalat-Noaker Staff writers Jay Hamburger Pat Parkinson Joe Lair Jared Whitley Adia Waldburger Matt James Anna Bloom Contributing writers Tom Clyde Ten Orr Jay Meehan Joan Jacobson Silvia Leavitt Linda Jager Editor's assistant Courtney Herzinger Classified advertising Inkarna Black Sherree Durastanti Office manager Holly VanDenAmeele Circulation manager Michael Duffy Accounting manager Kate Fischer Advertising director Valerie Deming Advertising sales Wendy Halliday Anne Anderson Molly Ballard Cheryn McNicol Teresa Chavez Lacy Brundy Chris Gill Annie Macdonald Editorial production Kat James Photographers Scott Sine Grayson West Production director Matt Gordon Production Kristi Ruppert Scott Schlenkar Jason Plawecki Kyle Burress K I Vance "i medley Distribution .nns Anderson Todd Kendall Cartoonist John Kilbourn Contents of the The Park Record me. copyright <0 2005, Diversified Suburban Newspapers. All rights reserved. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the managing editor or publisher. The Park >V«W(IJSPS 37S-730) (ISSN 07459483) is published twice weekly by Diversified Suburban Newspapers, 1670 Bonanza Dr., Park City, Utah. Periodicals Postage paid at Park City, Utah. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Park Record, Box 36SS, Park City, Utah S4060. Entered as second class matter, May 25,1977 at the post office in Park City. Utah 84060, under the Act of March 3. 1897. Subscription rates are $37 inside Summit County, S70 outside Summit County, Utah. Subscriptions are transferable; $5 cancellation fee. Phone (435) 649-9014 or fax (435) 649-4942. Published every Wednesday and Saturday. Home delivery subscriptions in Summit County include delivery of the Sunday edition of The Salt Lake Tribune. There are no other service options available. |