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Show m A-22 The Park Record Wednesday, October 22, 1997 Talking Shop Buying Watts' home was right by Ann MacQuoid RECORD GUEST WRITER Hooray for the City Council's decision to buy Burnis Watts' home and garage on Park Avenue! Sure, when you consider that in 1990, the city purchased the entire 40-acre Osguthorpe dairy farm at the entrance to town for "only" $4 million, $920,000 for a three-bedroom home and detached garage may seem high, but that's definitely Park City real estate. Nowhere are escalating prices more evident than in the Historic District, and to those of us who value our town's colorful past, deservedly so. There was a time, BDV (before Deer Valley), when many homes and even commercial buildings in Old Town could be had for back taxes. Today, the greatest problems facing owners of historic homes have to do with property taxes that are higher than the original purchase price of the house, or, as in Burnis' case, the Catch-22 dilemma of living in a home that is zoned residential, resi-dential, but is clearly in the midst of commercial com-mercial development. devel-opment. There are rules and regulations governing every aspect of development, develop-ment, re-development, rehabilitation, rehabilita-tion, up- and down-zoning, and even "Cows signs" for all lots and structures struc-tures in the Historic District, and it might be interesting to see how we got to where we are. The Historic District Commission came into being in 1982, when concerned City Council members realized that protecting and even enhancing Park City's visual visu-al and architectural heritage was important. Then-Planning Director Bill Ligety recalls that serious interest inter-est in the Historic District began in 1980. Who can forget the renovation of City Hall on Main Street, the rehab of the old Marsac School building into City offices, and best of all-the relocation and resurrection of the Firm's pitch unintended Continued from A-21 victimized first," before the Postal Inspection Service could take action. A call to the Utah Better Business Bureau found no listing for UDSI in their database, meaning either that no complaints had been received, or that all queries had been referred to the Fort Worth BBB, which is normal for such cases. A Fort Worth Better Business spokesperson, however, said that the agency had already received hundreds of calls about UDSI's advertising mailer, and had previously previ-ously contacted the company about it. "The company told us that they had paid for a direct-mail list of addresses of businesses and companies compa-nies which had expressed interest in a similar promotion," said Cathy Stevens. "According to UDSI, an additional 10,000 addresses of people peo-ple who hadnt expressed any interest inter-est somehow got onto the list." She added that a UDSI representative repre-sentative told her that a subsequent mailing was planned to go out, explaining the error, but said that the company had not provided her with a date for the follow-up mail ing. To her knowledge, no such mailing has occurred. We also faxed a copy of UDSI's mailer to the state's Consumer Rights Division in the Attorney General's office, but had not received a reply by late Monday. Walker, who is an attorney employed by UDSI, attributed the foul-up to an error introduced when two corporate databases were merged. "This was intended to be a follow-up to people who had already been contacted. Somehow, as many as 10,000 names were added to this mailing-names which had not yet been contacted by our marketing people," Walker explained. "We certainly didnt intend for this to happen. It's not our way of doing business," Walker continued. He said the local postal inspectors inspec-tors had already visited, and that local Better Business Bureaus had been told of the situation. Walker said that all parties appeared satisfied satis-fied with the firm's explanations. "The bottom line is that no one has been billed as a result of this mailing, and no one will be billed without a personal contact to confirm they want the service," he said. Miners Hospital into our very first free-standing public library building. Tina Lewis, City Council member mem-ber and historic advocate, orchestrated orches-trated the "human chain" from the storefront library on Main street to the new red brick edifice. Everyone in town got into the act, and NBC actually sent a news crew to report the grand event! At the time, Ligety recalled, "replicative architecture" was very much out of vogue, with National Historic guidelines advocating that new buildings represent the best of their age, rather than being copies of buildings from a different time. In some cases, buildings on Main Street succeeded (The Cafe Terigo clock square, for example) and in others, the new-style architecture just didnt fit in. Our current Historic guidelines still reflect that aversion to copy-cat architecture, but newly renovated buildings are expressing a WesternminingMain Street flavor that blends wonderfully well (the Gamekeeper's Grille Restaurant, for example). Just as the commercial guidelines have finally found a happy compromise compro-mise on Main Street that protects the validity of truly old buildings while not demanding that new structures struc-tures be chrome-and-glass, so, perhaps, per-haps, it is now time to re-examine our strict "residential-only" stipulations stipula-tions on partially commercial streets of Old Town. The recent charrette pointed out some obvious discrepancies and (Ah-ha!) possible solutions to the sure-to-recur Burnis Watts dilemma. Why not allow those who own residences resi-dences on Park Avenue the opportunity oppor-tunity to utilize them as low-impact commercial venues? The argument that many of those homes provide "affordable" housing may have merit, but now when that use is preventing the renovation and ultimately, the protection of the structures. Park City's historic grants are an excellent beginning to seeing that owners are helped financially in restoring valuable old homes, but maybe it's time to go a bit further, unless, of course, we do want the city to purchase them all. Incidentally, it will be a surprise to everyone should the city decide to turn the Watts home into a single-family single-family residence or affordable housing. hous-ing. Most likely, it will be some form of "commercial" application. Protecting our historic structures is possibly the one thing that everyone every-one in Park City can agree upon. If the visual ambience is truly important, impor-tant, and if the goal is that aU historic homes eventually are restored, perhaps per-haps it's time to consider that more owners would be willing to pour thousands of dollars into their property prop-erty if there were hope of recouping some of their investment. And, wouldn't it be great if the public could enjoy seeing these wonderful won-derful old homes, inside and out, just as will surely happen with the Watts home? Ann MacQuoid, Park City, is an associate broker with Lewis, Wolcott & Dornbush Real Estate. She is past president of the Park City Board of Realtors, 1996 Realtor of the Year, former Main Street shop owner and public relations specialist. Readers with questions can send their letters to Ann MacQuoid, P.O. Box 2060, Park City, UT 84060. Local convention properties report the following groups are meeting in Park City the week of October 26-November 1, 1997. Information is provided by the Park City ChamberBureau. 18 Groups Number Covey Leadership 35 Social Science Research 30 Utah Dept. of Human Services 87 Operation Lifesaver 60 Bonneville Travel 25 American Physiological Society 400 The Lions Club District Meeting 100 Five State Beauty Supply 150 USU Professional Continuing Ed. & Outreach 150 Utah Ass'n. of Student Loan Administration 50 Weber State University 75 Utah Chiropractic Physicians 400 E.M.S.I. 25 Quintiles 17 Salt Lake Rotary 30 Polo 30 Emergency Management 30 USU Extension Services 31 TOTAL 1,725 THIS IS A 100 INCREASE COMPARED TO THE SAME WEEK LAST YEAR. Program Rate Points Down Caps Index Bank One 30yrFix 7.500 0 5 15yrFix 7.000 0 5 1 yrARM 6.250 0 10 26 T-Bill Chase Manhattan Mortgage 30yrFix 7.375 0 5 15 yr Fix . 7.000 0 5 1 yrARM 5.750 0 5 26 T-Bill Countrywide Funding 30yrFix 7.500 0 10 15 yr Fix 7.125 0 5 1 yrARM 5.625 0 10 26 T-Bill Crossland Mortgage 30yrFix 7.625 0 5 15yrFix 7.250 0 10 31 ARM 5.875 0 , 10 16 Libor First Colony Mortgage 30yrFix 7.625 0 5 15yrFix 7.125 0 10 1 yrARM 5.375 0 10 26 T-Bill Key Bank of Utah 30yrFix 7.750 0 5 30 yr Jumbo 8.000 0 - 5 5 yr Balloon 7.500 0 10 North American Mortgage 30yrFix 7.500 0 5 15yr Fix 7.125 0 5 1 yrARM 6.625 0 . 10 26 T-Bill Triad Financial 30yrFix 7.625 0 5 1 Syr Fix 7.375 0 5 1 yrARM 6.375 0 5 26 T-Bill Washington Mutual 30yrFix 7.750 0 5 15yrFix 7.500 0 5 1 yr FHA 6.500 0 10 15 T-Bill Zions Mortgage 30yrFix 7.500 0 5 15 yr Fix 7.125 0 5 1 yrARM 5.875 0 10 26 T-Bill The Utah Mortgage Pulse includes up-to-date information on home loan rates charged by Salt Lake City area lenders. The information was accurate on Monday, October 20, but is subject to change without notice. Closing points: One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount. Most lenders also require private pri-vate mortgage insurance with down payments of less than 20 percent. Also, most lenders charge loan processing fees up to $300, credit and appraisal fees up to $400, origination fees of 1 along with other closing costs. Index: T-Bill Yield on 1 yr T-Bill, COFI Cost of Funds Index, 11th D 11th District Cost of Funds, LIBOR London InterBank Offered Rate. Source: Mountain Express Mortgage (801) 647-3700 lira IfflaiMffim &faf) aft (Ktfflina (Ifffe 0 1 15th X 1VT1VTT THY AI ll IUaL CR HALLOWEEN PARTY & FUNDRAISER to support our Community Youth Programs Saturday, October 25, 7:00 p.m. at steeps A private club for the benefit of its members at the Fkk City Resort Center (Sorry young friends but this event is for those 21 years of age or older) Live music and dancing to The Detonators. Large silent auction, raffle, costume contest Halloween treats and lots of spooky fun. An for $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Tickets available at: The Norwegian School of Mature Life 1972 Sidewinder Drive Park City, Utah or call the jfi office at (800)649-5322 Jt i& Woffstoc:97 "Celehratinfl the return of the wolf to ypllovostone National Park" November 8, 1997 Silver Lake Lodge, Deer Valley 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. "Reunion" " The Pack Is Back " - A unique film of the Yellowstone Wolves Mike Phillips, Director of the Turner Endangered species fund Doug Smith, Yellowstone Leader Meet a real wild wolf Lots of neat door prizes . Presentation of the first Molly Hanna Beattie Scholarship Meet the experts from the Defenders of Wildlife, Yellowstone Gray Wolf Group, International Wolf Center, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Vital Ground Foundation and more Lots of scrumptious food and drink Committee: Sunny 6 Dick Rienhold Barbara Gaddis Curt Hawkins Ted Wilson Marilyn Dick Wallin Jerry Howells Pat Crandall Rena Quails Lynda Snow Judy Malouf Byron and Debbie Barkley Joan Gallegos Carolyn Brannan Jim 6C Brenda Barber John 8C Jeri Walton Phone the Park City Gallery for tickets & information- 649-4514 Checks or cash only, or call 272-2981 Tickets are limited $75.00 per ticket Sponsored by: Defenders of Wildlife, Yellowstone Park Foundation andWolfstock Foundation. POOR |