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Show The Park Record Wed/Thurs/Fri, May 29-31, 2013 CITY BEAT A-3 WHY ROB THE BANK? CITY EDITOR: JAY HAMBURGER 649-9014 EXT. 111 | citynews@parkrecord.com Housing project criticized Celebrating our 37th year of business with a 37% Discount on all Dinner Entrées & Complimentary Salad Bar when ordering any home-ground Certified Angus Beef Burger at lunch! (Not valid with any other promotions. Please mention these offers to your wait staff) Lunch Mon. - Fri. 11.30 AM to 2.00 PM Dinner Daily from 5.00 PM (435)649-8060 JAY HAMBURGER/PARK RECORD The site where a cohousing project might be built along Park Avenue extends behind two old houses that are visible from the road. The project has encountered opposition from people who have places in a nearby condominium building. Letter writers say development does not fit the site By JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record The group that wants to build a nontraditional housing development in Old Town has encountered a traditional response -- opposition -- from people who own property nearby. The Park City Planning Commission has started its discussions about an application to develop what is known as a cohousing project on land along the 1400 block of Park Avenue. The group, known as Greenpark Cohousing, LLC, needs approvals from Park City leaders before proceeding with the development. The group plans to purchase the land and two old houses there now from City Hall. There has been little apparent interest in the talks about the development outside the immediate neighborhood. City Hall since the spring, though, has received a few letters from people who have places in the Struggler Condominiums next to the project site. It is not clear how deep-rooted the opposition is as the Planning Commission continues its talks about the project, and it is difficult to gauge whether there are others nearby who are displeased with the idea. The houses and condominiums along Park Avenue close to the site are a mix of full-time residences and vacation places. The section of Park Avenue, located close to City Park, is heavily developed. One of the letter writers, Ann Henderson, indicated she is one of the owners of a condominium in the Struggler building, saying that the Greenpark Cohousing development will not fit well onto the site. The land is "not sufficient," she says in the letter. "The project is very high density for the lot and surrounding neighborhood," Henderson writes. Henderson, meanwhile, says in the letter the project will block the views of some of the units in the Struggler building. That, she says, would impact real estate prices. "The value of the entire condominium building would be devalued," she says. The letter also envisions park- less living units with adequate parking and perhaps some open space," Henderson writes. Another letter writer and owner in the Struggler Condominiums, Dan Mauss, is pointed in some of his comments, calling the Greenpark Cohousing project "what appears to be experimental government subsidized housing." He says the section of Old Town is a "prized location" with views of the mountains. "Imagine our horror to pick up the paper and see this proposed project which would relegate us to looking out our windows and off our balcony to the backside of a multi-story building that will house ten residential units on land that used to facilitate a mere two small homes," Mauss says in the letter. "This kind of over-development and high density development is exactly what Park City needs less of, not more of." He also questions the deal between City Hall and Greenpark Cohousing, which will result in the municipal government losing money on the original purchase of the land and old houses. The letter says the deal "smacks of collusion at the highest level." "Moreover, there appears to be a conflict of interest at the city level since it is both the owner of the land, and in control of the planning approval process," Mauss says. The Park City Council recently agreed to extend several key deadlines on the sale to Greenpark Cohousing to Aug. 15 from an original date of May 15. The deadline for the sale to close, meanwhile, was pushed back from Sept. 1 to Oct. 1. The City Council in late 2012 agreed to sell the property to the cohousing group for $400,000. City Hall purchased the houses and the land for $750,000 in 2009. Park City leaders have said the $350,000 loss is not a concern, indicating a Greenpark Imagine our horror to pick up the paper and see this proposed project which would relegate us to looking out our windows and off our balcony to the backside of a multi-story building that will house ten residential units on land that used to facilitate a mere two small homes. This kind of overdevelopment and high density development is exactly what Park City needs less of, not more of," Dan Mauss ing problems. 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