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Show SCORECARD t > Bogey The Summit County Commission, in an apparent fit of stupidity, has joined forces with the Utah Association of Counties to fight the designation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument in federal court, No sane person can explain this fight. Although the Association of Counties blames the monument for robbing Utah school children of billions of dollars, it will actually bring money to Utah in tourism. Beyond that, the most recent study shows that coal reserves within the monument are too poor in quality to be marketable, But even if that coal was marketable, Utah’s children would lose only $3 million over the next 30 years. WHAT bo HEY UCE TO KEEP THAT UP THERE? The fight against the monument is noth- ing more than the Sagebrush Rebellion gone berserk, as has, apparenily, the Summit County Commission. q © Birdie ho lic The new Cat the north end of church going { tt t the old EDITORIAL up on Unfortunately, not everyone building New building on the extension of Main Street in Park City is much too large. It is simply out of scale with the old mining town. Unfortunately, when Park City did institute only Old eight base a height ordinance, it was applicable to residential lots in Town. A development of up fo stories is now planned at the of the Park City ski area. Yikes! @ > Double Bogey Despite what the Park Record newspaper in Park City says about open space being embraced at every level of government, Utah’s Speaker of the House and a majority of the Republican Legislature are against it. Beyond the fact that most Utah legisla- tors see some sort of communist plot in open space, Speaker Me! Brown recently came out against planning, period. in an interview with The Salt PAGE 2 « JUNE 1997 lake Tribune, Brown said that planning was discouraged because it deprived people of their property rights. As such, the provide municipal additional tools for dastardly things Believe it. | The Big Double-Cross, Park City-style Flat at the top of the canyon and would WW in Park City these days has the design sense of the Catholics. . Osguthorpe Farm just outside Park Cily is ... well, it’s beautiful. I's design shows not only good architectural taste but is also the proper scale for the area. Legislature will not governments with planning or such as open space. all the righteous indignation blowing around Park City these days, youd think someone was about to fire up a hazardous waste incinerator just south of town up Daly Canyon. But what’s really swirling around Park City is just about as toxic: It’s the poison air of misinformation. . While the city council postures and the local newspaper attacks United Park City Mines for proposing to develop its private lands in Daly Canyon, the crux of the matter is more than a little difficult to locate. What the public may not be aware of- develop some 750 units of condos, and houses in Daly, itself. ning commissioners realized is that if the mine. company developed Bonanza Flat, adjacent projects would follow for a development of up to 1,000 units. Not only would Daly Canyon would Bonanza Flat. The notion that the mine company’s no thanks to the council or the local news plan to build houses, condos and lodges be restricted on its Daly Canyon land, located adjacent to the now-urbanized Deer Valley, seems rather inequitable. But that is exactly media - is that Park City officials cut a what a group, Citizens Allied for Responsible behind-the-scenes deal with the mine company for the development of its Flagstaff Growth - known as CARG - wants. What CARG, the Park Record newspaper and the city council can’t seem to digest is this: Because Daly Canyon lies outside the present Park City boundaries, the mine company can and will develop it with or without Park City’s approval. If the mine company does not agree to be annexed, it can develop its Flagstaff project completely outside of Park City’s influence. That means that Park City would still bear the impacts of Daly Canyon development but would not get the tax dollars that go with it. That realization is what finally launched City Manager Toby Ross and Planning Commission Chairman Fred Jones, along with Planning Commissioner Bruce Erickson, to cut a deal with United Park City Mines behind the scenes. This was the project in Daly Canyon, a deal the city council has now reneged on. And that’s something that should be at the center of the public debate. Historically, United Park City Mines has allowed everyone to use Daly Canyon as though it were a public park, rather than private land. Unfortunately, that generosity has now come back to bite the mine company: many Parkites want the canyon to remain as open space, ‘as though it is National Forest land. While a public park in Daly Canyon would be nice, it’s no longer practical in corporate and capitalistic America. Unless, of course, Park City wants to purchase the land for open space - an idea about as likely as the Jamaican Bobsled Team taking the gold in 2002. lodges What the city manager and the plan- deal: The mine company would leave 1,500 acres as permanent open space in Bonanza be developed but so The behind-the-scenes deal would reduce the potential for development by half, while beautiful The the plan and The unaware Now, preserving some of the most open space around. Planning Commission approved to thé’shock and horror of CARG Park Record, who seem still to be of how the whole thing shakes out. however, the city council has gone back on the approval, playing to what it believes is popular opinion. But mine company President Hank Rothwell has called the city’s bluff. He isn’t going to stand for the double-cross. He knows he can develop outside Park City and at this point he may do it just to spite the city council. If he does, Park City can say goodbye to taxes to mitigate impacts. And we can say goodbye to Bonanza Flat open space. Of course, all of this could have been avoided if three years ago the Park City government had dealt openly and honestly with Rothwell and the mine company. But at this point, United Park City Mines has no reason to trust the municipality. On that account, the entire community may suffer. @ |