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Show Commercial and open space issues delay planners on Snow Creek Hotel by Rick Brough The Snow Creek hotel project is far from ready for a Master Plan approval, according to a Park City Planning Commission decision on - Sept. 12.. The panel unanimously voted to table the item. But before making that decision, they had to struggle through a misunderstanding with developers of the project and their own staff. The agenda for the meeting mistakenly indicated a decision session would be held to grant concept approval for snow Creek. So both the commission and developers were taken aback when they were presented with a 14-page staff report including 2X pages of issues to be satisfied before approval. Said Commissioner Dean Berrett, "I don't think it should be before us with these pages of 'subject-tos' that have some very basic items." Carol Calder added, "I'm not the least bit comfortable making a decision and I am prepared to deny it." Meanwhile, architect Bruce Call said he was hoping to receive concept approval, with the other issues to be resolved later. Instead, developers said, the stall report brought up issues they thought had been resolved. For instance, said Snow Creek partner Mac MacQuoid, the staff asked to see the boundaries of the two zones (RDM and RCS ) in the parcel. That was shown in a map furnished to the planners, he said. Senior planner John Eskelin said Snow Creek was first expected to be a decision item. Then staff review found there were still a large number of issues unresolved. They planned to bring up the item as discussion, Eskelin said, but the correction was not made to the agenda. At press time, a Snow Creek woik session was scheduled for Wednesday, Wednes-day, Sept. 19. The proposed 400-room, five-star hotel is to be built at the Junction of Highways 224 and Kearns Boulevard. In further discussion, commissioners commission-ers questioned why a "Support commercial" section is detached from the hotel. Staff recommended that commercial should be located in the hotel. Commissioner Brad Olch wondered how hotel visitors will shop in winter weather. "Are you going to have the concierge pay a uellboy lo get you aspum'.'" MacQuoid said hotel-lobby commercial com-mercial is becoming archaic, and many resort hotels today have their commercial outside. Putting it inside the hotel would add to the building's mass, he pointed out. And if the commercial is detached, it can also cater to the flow of customers from the Snow Creek office complex to be built nearby. The commercial would be a "theme village" taking up no more than 10 percent of the building space. No individual shop would be more than 2000 square teet. Commission Chairman Cal Cowher asked for specific information on what uses and shops are planned. (MacQuoid told the Record that information has been prepared. ) Architect Call said the building would have 13 stories, sloping up Boot Hill behind the Mt. Air Cafe commercial area. From the front door to the hotel's highest point, he said, the elevation w ould be 140 feet. Eskelin told the Record the height of Boot Hill is 140 feet, at the lower knoll, and 160 feet at the upper knoll. Staff is concerned about the mass, he said. And developers have reduced the hotel mass from their first proposal by about 10 or 15 percent. A disagreement also arose over how much of the site should be counted as open space. By code, at least 60 percent must be open. Eskelin contended the area zoned ROS should not be counted. When the area was annexed by the city in spring of 1982, a bargain was made then: Snow Creek owners would get an RDM (Residential Development Medium Density) if the rest of the land was Residential Open Space (ROS ). In other words, the city has already made a trade-off to acquire that open space. But MacQuoid said the annexation stipulated the ROS could be counted as part of the required open space. With the ROS counted, the site woulu have about 75 percent open space, said Eskelin. He said developers have made other revisions to improve the project. More parking has been moved underground. Also an access onto Kearns Boulevard was moved further away from the junction to relieve traffic congestion. |