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Show A-2 Wed/Thurs/Fri, February 19-21, 2020 The Park Record The Park Record. Serving Summit County since 1880 The Park Record, Park City’s No. 1 source for local news, opinion and advertising, is available for home delivery in Summit, Wasatch, Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties. Single copies are also available at 116 locations throughout Park City, Heber City, Summit County and Salt Lake City. Coalville referendum will be on June ballot Residents may reverse Wohali approval, but developer has ‘Plan B’ ALEXANDER CRAMER The Park Record it is now up to Coalville to arrange for the measure to be put on the ballot. Public comment has been overwhelmingly opposed to the proposed 700-unit, golf-course-centered development in the nearly two years since the City Council voted to effectively double the size of the city’s boundaries by annexing 1,700 acres where the project would sit. The Coalville Planning Commission was scheduled to have a work session Tuesday night on a second proposal from the developer that shows what they would seek to build if the results of the referendum overturns their original plan. The new plan calls for 125 homes and 303 nightly rental units, as opposed to the 570 homes and 130 nightly rentals in the plan that was approved by the City Council in December. Notably, the development would become a gated community, something developers backed away from in the original approval process. And while most of the amenities from the original plan remain in the alternative, including 27 holes of golf, miles of trails, a spa and a lodge, the public would not have access to those facilities, which developers had touted as a perk of the original plan. The backup plan — or Plan B, as developer Jim Boyden called it — includes 445 fewer single-family homes than the original proposal, and Boyden has said that the exclusivity and seclusion of a gated community are critical to offsetting the reduction in density that the success- ful passage of a referendum would entail. The developer, Wohali Partners LLC, believes it already have the major approvals necessary to build the backup plan. Don Sargent, a planning consultant for the city, said the proposed 303 nightly rentals would be standalone cabins or cottages built to support the golf courses. He added that there isn’t much in the development code regulating this type of structure, so it is unclear whether, and how many, nightly rentals would be allowed. Boyden said the number of nightly rental units is derived from the number of memberships the developers believe are necessary to support the golf courses. Coalville Mayor Trever Johnson has questioned whether the city’s residents understand the scope of what would be allowed if the December approval is overturned. Boyden characterized Plan B as essentially the first phase of the original project, meaning the first five to six years of development — construction of about 100 homes — would be roughly the same between the two. If the referendum overturns the approved development, Wohali would be prevented from building on the western portion of its land, Boyden said, which he characterized as being miles away from Coalville’s Main Street. Wohali has claimed that, at full build out — which is anticipated to take 25 to 30 years — there would be nearly $10 million of increased tax revenue annually from the mostly secondary residences. That would be closer to $3 million if the approval is overturned, according to the developer’s estimates. Boyden said there will be multiple opportunities for public input in the run-up to the vote, and his goal is to try to make sure Coalville citizens know what’s in both plans. Wood, the referendum organizer, has said her goal has been to inform the public and fight for a project that is a better fit for the community. She has said the project threatens the city’s identity, but also that there were benefits to the city in the original proposal, including new water infrastructure the developer estimated would cost millions to build. “The public needs to be fully aware of all the differences between the two proposals so they can vote informed,” Wood wrote in an email to the Park Record last month. “Our efforts have been to bring the choice to the people.” The approval of the original plan, along with a zoning change that made it possible, are on hold pending the outcome of the referendum. If organizers had failed to gather enough signatures, the zoning change would have taken effect after the Feb. 24 deadline. Now it appears the delay will last until at least June unless the referendum sponsors decide to abandon the effort. To report a missing paper, please call 801–204–6100. Same-day redelivery is possible if you call during the following hours: * Weekdays: 6:30–8 a.m. * Saturday: 7–8 a.m. * Sunday: 7–10:30 a.m. Coalville residents will be able to vote on a massive new development on the city’s west side after referendum organizers collected more than enough signatures to put the matter on the ballot in June. A vote overturning the project’s December approval, however, likely wouldn’t stop development on the land. The developers were set to present an alternative plan Tuesday that includes more than 100 homes and that officials have indicated is allowed without a change to the zoning. Lynn Wood, a referendum organizer, said referendum advocates submitted nearly 100 more signatures than were required and did so two weeks before the deadline. Wood said the Summit County Clerk’s Office validated 305 of the signatures, exceeding the 241-signature threshold and paving the way for a midsummer vote on the controversial Wohali development. County Clerk Kent Jones confirmed that the petition had met the signature threshold and said that To request a vacation hold or change of address, please call 435–649–9014 or email: circulation@parkrecord.com State lawmakers weigh rural grant program SUBSCRIPTION RATES In Summit County (home delivery): $56 per year (includes Sunday editions of The Salt Lake Tribune) Outside Summit County (home delivery available in Wasatch, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber and Utah counties; all other addresses will be mailed via the U.S. Postal Service): $80 per year To subscribe please call 435–649– 9014 or visit www.parkrecord.com and click the Subscribe link in the Reader Tools section of the toolbar at the bottom of the page. THE NEWSROOM To contact the newsroom, please call 435–649–9014 or email editor@parkrecord.com County residents could receive up to $1M for economic development For display advertising, please call a sales representative at 435–649– 9014 or email val@parkrecord.com ALEXANDER CRAMER To place a classified ad, please call 435–649–9014 or email classads@parkrecord.com A proposed program aimed at rural economic development could put as much as $1 million annually into the hands of Summit County grant recipients. S.B. 95 would establish the Rural County Grant Program, which would offer an annual $200,000 block grant to all but six of the state’s counties, and another $800,000 annually in grant opportunities. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, characterized it as a change in philosophy to a “bottom-up” approach that he said would put money in the hands of rural entrepreneurs faster. Its $10 million price tag represents a cost savings to the state, according to the bill, as it does away with more than $14.5 million in state funding that was used for the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative. For questions about your bill, please call 435–649–9014 or email accounts@parkrecord.com The Park Record online is available at www.parkrecord.com and contains all of the news and feature stories in the latest edition plus breaking news updates. The Record’s website also hosts interactive entertainment, restaurant and lodging listings and multimedia features. Contents of The Park Record are Copyrighted 2015, Wasatch Mountain News Media Co. All rights reserved. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the managing editor or publisher. The Park Record (USPS 378-730) (ISSN 0745-9483) is published twice weekly by Wasatch Mountain News Media Co., 1670 Bonanza Drive, Park City, UT 84060. Periodicals postage paid at Salt Lake City, Utah, 84199-9655 and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Park Record, P.O. Box 3688, Park City, UT84060. Entered as second-class matter, May 25, 1977, at the Post Office in Park City, Utah, 84060 under the Act of March 3, 1897. Subscription rates are: $56 within Summit county, $80 outside of Summit County, Utah. Subscriptions are transferable: $5 cancellation fee. Phone: 435–649–9014 Fax: 435–649–4942 Email: circulation@parkrecord.com Published every Wednesday and Saturday The Park Record Continued from A-1 Tax concept backed Continued from A-1 Crosswalks enforced a two-week period. The accidents drew widespread publicity at a time when Park City was jammed with ski-season and Sundance Film Festival crowds. In the most serious of the accidents, It also phases out enterprise zone grants, which have been used in Summit County, including in the recent expansion of East Side adventure-trailer manufacturer Escapod. An enterprise zone is an official designation created by a municipality in which businesses can earn tax credits by creating well-paying jobs - especially related to agriculture - or investing in and renovating vacant buildings. Jeff Jones, Summit County’s economic development director, called the bill a prudent approach, and lauded changes to the bill that would phase out the enterprise zones over three years to allow a smoother transition. Rep. Logan Wilde, R-Croydon, whose district covers a wide swath of rural land, including in Summit County, said he supports the bill. “I think it’s a great idea,” Wilde said. “I think a lot of times a lot of that money is spent down on the Wasatch Front and not much has been spent elsewhere. It’s a good opportunity for this to be spent elsewhere.” The bill passed out of the Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee last week and as of Tuesday morning was ready for its sec- ond reading in the Senate. If it were to become law, each county in Utah that is classified as third-class or smaller would be eligible for $200,000 annually if it creates a community economic development advisory board. Counties would then have access to a second pool of money that would award grants up to $800,000. Counties would be subject to a matching requirement that is more significant for larger counties. Third-class counties, like Summit County, would have to match 40% of the grants, while sixth-class counties, like Daggett County, would have to match 10%. First- and second-class counties, like Salt Lake and Utah counties, are excluded. Sandall said the programs that this bill would replace, including the enterprise zones and the Rural Fast Track program, represented a top-down approach that put hurdles in the way of development. He recalled an entrepreneur in Box Elder County that sought a $50,000 rural fast track grant for a piece of equipment. The grant, Sandall said, took too long to come through. The bill lists the program’s goals as business recruitment, development and expansion; workforce training and de- velopment; and infrastructure and capital facilities improvements for business development. Sandall added that economic development should be about job creation. He said a review of the enterprise zone grants showed that between 2016 and 2018, the program had created 252 jobs with $25 million in expenditures. He characterized the enterprise zone grants as a “one-size-fits all, post-production” program that doesn’t work in all cases. “This is a bottom-up approach to economic development that we haven’t seen in the past,” Sandall said. The USTAR program originated in 2006 as a mechanism to invest in and commercialize technology developed at Utah universities but was largely scrapped in 2019 by a bill sponsored by Sandall and Rep. Tim Quinn, who represents Park City. Jones cautions that there are many steps the county would have to accomplish before accessing the new funding, including creating the advisory board, updating the county’s economic development strategies, establishing a ranking system and budgeting money to match the funds. Any idea of additional property taxes would represent a radical change in the funding strategy. The numbers regarding additional property taxes identified in the question at the second part of the Park City Future Summit were significantly higher than those attached to earlier City Hall ballot measures, such as those that funded a series of conservation deals. The property-tax increase voters ap- proved in 2018 to provide most of the funding for the $64 million acquisition of the Treasure acreage on a hillside overlooking Old Town in a conservation deal was for the owner of an $800,000 residence classified as a primary home priced well below even the $250 annual level outlined in the question, as an example. It was, by a wide margin, the most expensive of City Hall’s conservation acquisitions. People at the Park City Future Summit, meanwhile, answered another housing-related question that inquired about “how supportive” someone was to living close to affordable housing. The most popular answer was next door, at 58%. Another 28% said either on their street or in their neighborhood while 11% said “elsewhere in Park City,” leaving approximately 3% saying “not at all.” a California man died from his injuries after a driver hit him while he was walking on Empire Avenue close to Park City Mountain Resort. The man was 43. The police arrested a 23-year-old man on suspicion of failing to remain at an accident scene that involved a death. In one of the other cases, a driver hit a pedestrian as the person was walking across Park Avenue close to Holiday Village. The Utah Highway Patrol later said the victim was in better shape than had been anticipated, but details were not available. The other auto-pedestrian accident, at the intersection of Park Av- enue and Saddle View Way, involved a driver hitting a pedestrian at slow speed. The victim suffered minor injuries, the police said. The Police Department in response to a Park Record inquiry provided a written outline of measures taken by officers to protect pedestrians or those taken by City Hall to more broadly address pedestrian safety. They include: • dedicating a police officer to work with a security firm for a larger presence on Main Street as well as enforcement of the drop-and-load zones along the street. • crafting a plan to address pedestri- an safety for overflow parking on Deer Valley Drive. • periodic enforcement operations at crosswalks, including those along Kearns Boulevard, Park Avenue and Bonanza Drive. The operations continued over the busy Presidents Day weekend. Some of the others measures highlighted by the Police Department include the construction of a pedestrian-bicyclist tunnel underneath Kearns Boulevard outside Park City High School and the planned extension of a staircase toward the City Hall-owned Treasure open space overlooking Old Town. 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