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Show A-6 The Park Record Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, December 30, 2017-January 2, 2018 Continued from A-5 Summit County top 5 County and city staffers assured residents the program would be evaluated over the winter before it is expanded. An additional grant in partnership with the Utah Transit Authority is expected to fund the second phase of the program to add six more stations, with the hopes of the program eventually providing up to 250 bikes. Phase 2 is scheduled to be launched in the summer of 2018. Happily ever after starts here. Our new outdoor wedding venue at Hyatt Centric Park City means an entire experience curated just for your celebration. We are absolute experts at managing every detail from luxurious guest accommodations, to a magical ceremony and your ideal reception. Our breathtaking backdrop is your canvas to create the wedding you’ve always dreamed of, right here in the beautiful surroundings of Park City. Happily ever after starts here, let’s design the wedding of your dreams. 3551 N. ESCALA CT, PARK CITY, UT 84098 + 1 435 940 1234 Located within the Canyons Village area of Park City Mountain Resort 3. Basin Planning Commission approves hotel project at former Colby School Property The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission approved on Dec. 12 a hotel project at the former Colby School site, east of S.R. 224 in the Snyderville Basin. Planning Commissioners approved an application for a 15room hotel, 5,000-square foot restaurant, and yoga and fitness studios. The conditional-use permit application was submitted to Summit County’s Planning Department more than two years ago. Dozens of nearby neighbors regularly attended the meetings and multiple hearings that were held on the project. The approved project represents a significantly scaled-back version of what was originally proposed: development of the existing property and more than 8 acres of nearby lots, as well as 40 small individual hotel-room cabins described as “eco cabins.” The project would have covered more than 13 acres. Residents in the three neighborhoods surrounding the former property have strongly opposed the project since its inception, citing concerns about the project’s potential impact on noise, traffic and lighting. The Colby School is surrounded by the Park West Village, Brookside Estates and Two Creeks Ranch neighborhoods. Two applications were filed with the Planning and Building Department to appeal the Planning Commission’s decision on Dec. 22. The County Council will now review the project and make a final decision. The matter will likely be revisited sometime in January. 2. Jeremy Ranch residents approve noise barrier along Interstate 80 Jeremy Ranch residents overwhelmingly approved construction of a noise barrier to mitigate traffic sounds along Interstate 80 in December. The noise barrier will be the first of its kind in Summit County and will include panels ranging between 7 and 17 feet on top of a variable-height berm. A Utah Department of Transportation noise study completed in the spring recommended construction an 18foot concrete wall to mitigate traffic noises near Jeremy Ranch in anticipation of a new westbound climbing lane on Interstate 80. Nearly 30 property owners adjacent to where the proposed noise wall would be built were allowed to vote on the project and overwhelmingly approved its construction. Only two votes were cast against it. The agency expects to move forward with construction in the spring of 2018. The affected property owners have said the traffic noise is a health issue for their families and it will be a critical addition to the neighborhood. “I’m thrilled, of course, and my neighbors are too,” said Cherie Hooten in the Dec. 27 edition of The Park Record. She lives near the second hole of the Jeremy Ranch Golf and Country Club and voted in favor of the barrier. “The 93 percent support tells me that we have a problem and, like I’ve said before, the federal government knows we have a problem and they are trying to help us. We truly appreciate that.” The project has been controversial since it was first announced, with several other property owners in Jeremy Ranch and the Snyderville Basin opposing its construction. A citizens group, Citizens Against the Wall, formed shortly after the project was revealed to the public. The group has consistently opposed the noise barrier, claiming UDOT did not adhere to state and federal guidelines for noise mitigation. Members of Citizens Against the Wall said the noise barrier would be detrimental to the Basin’s viewshed, negatively impacting visitors and residents alike. Members said they plan to take legal action against UDOT to prevent the wall’s construction. 1. Summit County Council agrees to impose property tax increase Summit County Councilors in early December approved a contentious property tax increase despite some residents’ pleas to the contrary. The 27 percent property tax revenue increase for the municipal and general funds equates to about a 5.5 to 7 percent hike on the average tax bill for primary homeowners. Secondary homeowner and commercial business owners are taxed at a different rate. County Council members and county staffers said the tax hike was required to avoid drastic budget cuts to services such as libraries, public safety and health services. “I think we will put at risk our ability to take a leadership role and advance issues if we have to make these cuts,” Fisher, the county manager, said in the Sept. 23 edition of The Park Record. “There are also some insularly risks that are harder to quantify like, ‘What does this do to our relationships with community partners and municipalities?’ The deductions I have suggested will put those things at risk. The Council began discussing the probability of an increase in spring and began Truth in Taxation in September. The municipal services fund was last raised in 2013, but the general services fund had not been raised in nearly 30 years. “We don’t want to raise it either and we have debated it for over a year,” Council Chair Chris Robinson said in the Dec. 16 edition of The Park Record. “But a budget was served up that had 15 percent increases for those two funds that account for about 12 percent of your property tax bill. That was done in order to maintain strategic goals and levels of service that we, as a Council, have deemed appropriate.” Property owners on both the east and west ends of the county adamantly opposed the increases, citing the hardship it could create for those on a fixed income and increases that are occurring for other services. The new rate will be included on the Nov 18, 2018, property tax notices and will be due on Nov. 30, 2018. 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