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Show Snow Creek gets conditional approval from city staff by Rick Brough The city planning staff last week recommended Master Plan approval of the Snow Creek hotel project, with conditions. Among other provisions, the staff stipulated that the height variance given to the hotel (a maximum of 60 feet) is a trade-off for the project giving a convention center to the Park City community. The planning commission was scheduled to hold a decision meeting on Wednesday night, Oct. 24. The Snow Creek complex, located north of the Utah Highway 224Kearns Boulevard intersection, has a proposed 12-stbry hotelconvention" center as "its centerpiece. The plan would also include an office complex and a commercial "theme village" supporting both the offices and' hotef. The staff's report came after a planning commission work session last Wednesday, Oct. 17 The staff, in its recommendations issued last week, said any hieght variance requested would be tied to Land Code review and "the provision of a large convention facility which operates for the benefit of the community at large." The height, above legal limit, would be 35 feet in the majority of the structure, staff said, but would reach 60 feet above the limit at one point to accommodate a restaurant and equipment storage space. The hotel, said staff, should not exceed elevation 6,930 feet. That is five feet below the height of thfc,, saddle in back of the hotel. Furthermore, no habitable room should break the ridgeline over 11 feet," as" viewed from the snow CreekKearns Boulevard boundary line.- . However, developer Merle Tourney Tou-rney said he doesn't have to be told to build the proposed 20,000-foot convention center. At last week's work session, Tourney said the center was proposed a year ago, and would probably be built before the hotel. The staff report also said the height increase is being granted in return for the addition of usable open space. About 68 percent of the development site now is open space. If calculations include the portion of the Snow Creek property zoned ROS, the open space is 75 percent of the site. Staff recommendations seemed to conflict with developers in the areas of commercial space and parking. Staff's report said developers are planning an amount of commercial square footage that exceeds the legal limit (that is, 10 percent of the total gross floor area. ) The footage of the hotel-and-office complex comes to 380,000 square feet. Snow Creek to A13 CaDmntnimiiiiedl f rgpinm Snow Creek from A1 feet, for a commercial limit of 38,000. However when the City counts the support commercial footage (30.0001 plus a planned restaurant (15,000 it reaches a total of 45.000 square feet of commercial. The staff report said at least 50 percent of parking must be underground. under-ground. However, the project provides for 47 percent, and Tourney was adamant last week that he would not provide any more. "At a cost of $10,000 to $12,000 a space, I can't do it. Are other places asked for 50 percent underground parking"? I don't think it 's fair." Planning Commission Chairman Cal Cowher noted that the difference between 50 percent parking underground and 47 percent was only 18 stalls. The staff said the amount of total parking required by Land Management Manage-ment Code could be reduced, given that parking will have overlapping uses and availability. But it said required minimum parking will be 625 spaces. The report said its recommendation recommenda-tion applied only to Phase I of Snow Creek the' hotel, ' office and commercial com-mercial theme' village." The rest of the developable property comes to 12.4 acres. . : H. , On Oct.' 17, senior planner John Kskclin reported the developers wrre not prepared to show plans for this land, because they did not know future economic conditions. However, the staff report said Snow Creek should be required to show plans for this "undesignated area" when it makes a conditional-use conditional-use application for Phase I. The staff also recommended that a public hearing be held when the hotel plan is submitted for conditional condi-tional use approval. At the Oct. 17 meeting, resident Marianne Cone asked for a public hearing on the Master Plan approval. Cow her said he would not do that, because such a hearing usually is not held. "I won't single this project out," he said. Eskelin said the public could comment on any project that is on the planning commission agenda (except the consent agenda). The Snow Creek project received more endorsement from citizens who showed up on Oct. 17. Banker Joe Porter said the hotel would help to attract business that will stop the seasonal slumps in Park City's economy. However resident Joan Thompson said the city should be careful about . granting the height variance, be- cause that might set a precedent for . future building. |