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Show C-1 B-1 SWANER ECOCENTER EXHIBIT SPINS A WEB BUSINESS, A-7 RESTAURANT GUIDE Check out our restaurant guide on page B-6. Learn more at parkrecordonline.com/restaurants MINERS DRIVE PAST THE COMPETITION COLUMNS, A-18 Park Record. FOUNDATION PUTS $170,000 INTO NONPROFITS TOM CLYDE HAS NO BEEF WITH COWS AT MCPOLIN FARM The PA R K C I T Y, U TA H W W W. PA R K R E C O R D . C O M Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, September 15-18, 2018 Serving Summit County since 1880 A challenge at Newpark is rejected | Vol. 138 | No. 64 50¢ Filled with pride Treasure agreement ripped as indulgent Critic worries $64 million acquisition will have impacts on Park City’s affordability JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO The Summit County Council rejected an appeal on Wednesday that challenged the design of a condominium project in Newpark. The County Council’s decision allows the developer to apply for a building permit. Developer allowed to seek building permit for condominiums ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON The Park Record The Summit County Council unanimously agreed on Wednesday to uphold the approval of a contentious condominium project in Newpark, allowing the developers to move forward with the building’s proposed design and construction. After a brief discussion in closed session, County Council members chose to reject an appeal challenging County Manager Tom Fisher’s decision to grant the final plat and site plan for the seven-unit building. Chief Deputy Attorney Dave Thomas said the County Council was allowed to deliberate in closed session because of a judicial exception to the Open and Public Meetings Act. The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission forwarded Fisher a positive recommendation for the project in February. “This is a hard one and the hardest ones are always the ones that are the most controversial in the community,” said County Council member Roger Armstrong. “It’s one that, I think, we wish was not going to happen the way it happened.” Developers Ryan and Matthew Crandall are building the seven-unit, four-story building on the last undeveloped parcel in Newpark. The residential building is going to be located in the space south of Maxwell’s East Coast Eatery, adjacent to the amphitheater. Gary Crandall, their father, currently owns all of the property south of the Newpark Hotel, including the amphitheater, obelisk and surrounding property. Members of Preserve the Newpark Plaza, LLC, filed the appeal on June 28. Preserve the Newpark Plaza, LLC, represents different property owners within Newpark, including a homeowners association. The appeal claimed the building, particularly its height and lack of commercial space, violated Newpark’s development agreement. But, County Council members contended the development agreement did not specifically prohibit residential units from being located Please see Challenge, A-2 3 sections • 40 pages Business ................................. A-7 Classifieds .............................. C-8 Columns ............................... A-18 Crossword .............................. C-4 Editorial................................ A-19 Events Calendar ..................... C-6 Legals ................................... C-11 Letters to the Editor ............. A-19 Restaurant Guide.................. A-17 Scene ...................................... C-1 Scoreboard ............................. B-5 Sports ..................................... B-1 Weather .................................. B-2 TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Autumn Aloft volunteers stabilize the basket of a hot air balloon on the driving range of the Park Meadows Country Club Friday morning during a media event. The early morning lift-off attempt was unsuccessful due to wind conditions but previewed the annual festival, set to be held Saturday and Sunday at the North 40 fields, with the balloons launching at approximately 8:30 a.m. Parents fight in court after teen drug deaths Father files countersuit after an accusation of negligence in fatalities CAROLYN WEBBER ALDER The Park Record The father of one of two 13-year-old Park City friends who died of drug overdoses in 2016 has filed a countersuit after the other teen’s parents sued him for neg- ligence in their son’s death. Robert Ainsworth, the father of Ryan Ainsworth, who died after ingesting the synthetic opioid U-47700, or pink, in September of 2016, filed the countersuit Wednesday in 3rd District Court in Summit County. The lawsuit claims the parents of Grant Seaver, who overdosed on U-47700 two days prior, should have known Ryan Ainsworth was “similarly at risk of overdose,” given the “close association” between the two teens. The Please see Parents, A-12 A critic of City Hall’s planned acquisition of Treasure in a conservation deal on Thursday questioned the $64 million agreement in remarks to Mayor Andy Beerman and the Park City Council, asking whether the purchase is the best use of taxpayer money. Mark Stemler’s comments were some of the most extensive, and pointed, public statements to date in opposition to a $48 million City Hall ballot measure that would provide the bulk of the funding for the acquisition of Treasure as well as provide a contribution of up to $3 million for an unrelated conservation agreement in Thaynes Canyon known as Snow Ranch Pasture. Stemler is an Old Town resident and covered a range of topics in his testimony to the elected officials. The mayor and City Council on Thursday took input about the planned acquisition but were not scheduled to make decisions. The elected officials did not respond in any detail. Stemler indicated he opposes the Treasure development proposal even as he questions the ballot measure that would fund an agreement to block the project. “Can we afford it? Let’s assume we can afford it. I don’t think it’s a question of affordability. If we so choose, we’re a wealthy community, sure, we can afford it. The question I ask: should we afford it?” Stemler said. He said he supported earlier City Hall conservation deals like those involving the McPolin Farm and Bonanza Flat. Stemler, though, mentioned people have labeled the Treasure land an “iconic hill” when, he argued, other hillsides in Park City were seen similarly in the past and have since been built upon. “When I came here in 1980, April Mountain was an iconic hill. Deer Valley was an iconic hill . . . we can live with development,” he said. Stemler worried about the $64 million price tag, which would be, by a wide margin, the most expensive conservation acquisition in the history of City Hall’s lauded open space program. He said the dollar figure is “excessive and indulgent” and predicted there will be additional conservation deals that will interest City Hall later. He asked, “Don’t we have something better to do with our money than this?” “It’s so expensive. It’s crazy. We could use our money more effectively. ... Everyone says these, oh these, are the last two great pieces. Forget that nonsense. That’s not going to happen. There’s going to be other projects that we could buy down the density,” he also said. Stemler, meanwhile, addressed the affordability of Park City in the context of the ballot measure should it be successful. City Hall is pressing the overarching ideal of social equity in the community, something that involves the cost of living. Stemler said the tax increase if the ballot measure is successful will lead to higher expenses, such as rent increases and higher priced goods as property owners recoup the higher taxes they pay. “It goes contrary to the diversification that you guys are trying to do here,” Stemler said, adding, “If you want those people to be able to afford to live here, we have to keep things more affordable. Reducing taxes is a big part of that.” Stemler argued there are different priorities in the community that could be funded, mentioning a range of possibilities like transportation upgrades. “We have other needs. Perhaps we want to put a gondola up to Deer Valley, perhaps we want to put tunnels under our roads. Or, perhaps, if our goal really is to make town more affordable, we don’t blow this much money,” he said. He also wondered about a deal that he would consider to be more reasonable, perhaps one that would involve limited development on the Treasure land. He contended the Treasure partnership would provide more time for negotiations with City Hall about a reworked agreement. Stemler also noted the City Hall budget maneuvers as officials considered options to reduce the dollar figure attached to the ballot measure. He wondered why municipal staff reductions were not made as part of the maneuvers. County Council opponents focus on growth Development quickly addressed as write-in candidate emerges ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON The Park Record As Summit County continues to grow, how that development will be handled and where it should be loCorrection An article in the Sept. 12-14 edition of The Park Record titled “Basin man, a blogger, seeks elected office” incorrectly identified County Council candidate Josh Mann as a Republican. He is not affiliated with a political party. cated remains a hot-button issue for elected officials. There are millions of square feet of commercial space already approved and waiting to be built in the Snyderville Basin and in the Canyons Village at Park City Mountain Resort. Additionally, as many as 1,300 homes are slated for the Silver Creek Village Center, with other projects in the Basin expected to create more. Over-development and the shortage of deed-restricted housing is an ongoing issue for the community, causing many to plead with the elected officials to address it. Summit County Council incumbent Glenn Wright and his challenger, Josh Mann, are taking different approaches on how to manage that future development. Wright, a Democrat who is hoping Please see Politicians, A-2 CHRIS SAMUELS/PARK RECORD COURTESY OF JOSH MANN Summit County Council incumbent Glenn Wright, left, and his challenger, Josh Mann, are vying for the open seat on the County Council. Both candidates are taking different approaches to how the county should handle growth and development. VISITOR GUIDE Climb into the weekend at Kimball Junction The Swaner EcoCenter at Kimball Junction offers climbing on Saturdays and Sundays from 1-3 p.m. The climbing wall is open to most ages. The cost is $5 per climber or free for Swaner EcoCenter members. More: swanerecocenter@usu.edu or 435-649-1767. |