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Show QTY City Planning Director Urges Time Share Moratorium Planning Director Bill Ligely is urging the adoption of an ordinance now in effect in Palm Springs, Cal. calling for a four month moratorium on condominium or residential time share sales. Ligety says he will ask ; Planning Commissioners Wednesday to recommend the adoption of the ordinance to the City Council. "Existing and potential problems with time share developments warrant the moratorium to give the city time to dratt its own ordinance governing the multiple ownership projects," said Ligety. The planner adds the moratorium, if adopted, will only effect new time share projects and developers of those already approved will be allowed to continue to sell individual units to many separate owners. The time share concept was pioneered by Sweetwater Development Co. and involves the sale of permanent vacation housing on a weekly basis. Buyers pay a high price for a week during peak tourist months and less for off season slots. They may purchase one or more weeks use of the units which they legally own along with other buyers for life. A time share week is an asset which can be sold or traded as the owner may desire. Theoretically, one condominium can be owned by as many as : 52 separate buyers. Since Park Ciiy currently has no legislation covering the multiple ownership projects, Ligety fears single family homes in residential neighborhoods could be sold on a time sharing basis. Apparently spme single family homes have been either sold or offered for sale to multiple owners already. "Without an ordinance," said Ligety, "Time shares are not prevented in residential zones and units can be converted or sold without us even hearing about it." Ligety has no complaints about time share projects in high density or commercial zones but feels they could have an "adverse impact" in residential areas. "Rather than one neighbor, families could be faced with 52," adds the City Planner, "That could destroy the character of a neighborhood and even eventually force people to move out." The planner admits nightly rentals are a conditional use in all residential zones creating the possibility fo 365 individual. families inhabiting a single family house during the course of a year. He adds however there is usually only one owner of nightly rental housing whom neighbors can turn to in case problems arise. Also, conditional uses must be approved by the Planning Commission and , neighbors have an opprotunity to add input. In addressing an ordinance, Ligety contends the city must first come up with a workable definition of a time share unit. "How many separate owners constitute a time share project?" he asks, "Is it two, four, or fifty?" Since many individuals are partners in Park City property and vacation homes they must decide at what point the partnerships become a time share venture and under what constraints that practice will be allowed to continue. Once the term has been defined, Ligety feels the city must determine where and in what zones time share units will be allowed to be sold. Again the planner concludes they should not be allowed in all parts of the city. Finally, Ligety maintains the new ordinance should also address the marketing practices of time share sales operations. Both city officials and the Chamber of Commerce have received many complaints, particularly durng the recent ski season, of "high pressure" sales tactics and disagreeable marketing techniques employed by time share operations in Park City. Currently there are two principal time share sales firms operating in Park City. Sweetwater Condoshare and Resortex. Earlier this year both groups were prevented by court order from soliciting riders for their free shuttle buses. The firms used the buses to distribute coupons redeemable for free gifts after listening to a sales presentation. The Palm Springs ordinance' proposed for adoption calls the four month moratorium necessary to give the city time to; "determine the compatibiilty of this concept with the city's existing residential zoning classification to insure the protection of the public's health, safety and welfare", also to "study the relationship between the 'time share' tourist type use and the City's occupancy tax needs"; and finally "to consider possible restrictive legislation to prevent high pressure sales tactics and other impositions on the public". Ligety concludes the palm Springs ordinance represents an attempt by that city to solve a problem also faced by Park City. He feels the ordinance and its companion moratorium is applicable and needed at this time. |