Park City leaders on Thursday night did not deliver a sled full of holiday gifts to Main Street, deciding to delay a decision on a broad package of improvements that taken together would alter the complexion of the commercial core.The Park City Council was slated to possibly vote on the Main Street Area Plan at the final meeting of the year but instead opted for more time to consider the dramatic set of conceptual improvements outlined in the plan. It appears Mayor Nann Worel and the City Council will return to the discussions in January. City Hall staffers in the meantime intend to research some of the possibilities, such as a gondola connection to Deer Valley Resort and a reimagining of the land where the Main Street post office is currently located.Park City officials and Main Street businesses want to ensure the shopping, dining and entertainment strip remains competitive with outlying commercial destinations. The Main Street Area Plan is designed to increase the attractiveness of the district with numerous upgrades. Some of the significant ones include new public spaces, hotels, a town square, a redone Brew Pub lot and workforce housing. Many of the improvements would attempt to enhance the Main Street experience, while others would be meant to increase the customer base via lodging options and residences.The City Council is considering the overall Main Street Area Plan rather than any individual project. The projects themselves would be required to be reviewed later through the City Hall permitting process. The public at that point would have the chance to weigh aspects of a project like the design, the traffic that would be generated, and the parking blueprints.The Main Street Area Plan has drawn wide-ranging opinions, and the meeting on Thursday highlighted a deep divide in the community about the package of potential improvements. Businesses are generally supportive of the concepts, while there is a split in the wider community.The mayor and City Council received approximately one hour of testimony during a lengthy meeting. Supporters of the plan covered topics like the possibility enhancements could attract more families to Main Street and there are commercial options like grocery stores missing in the Main Street core. Critics claimed the improvements would not boost the quality of life of Parkites and wondered about the views of Main Street should the work proceed.Monty Coates, a Main Street businessperson, spoke on behalf of the Historic Park City Alliance business group and encouraged the elected officials to move ahead with the planning and work in the Main Street core.“There’s so much investment in large-scale projects going on around us. We are excited to see the public spaces in the historic district get some needed attention,” he said.Coates described the possible projects as concepts as of now with the opportunity for additional input to help shape any individual proposal.“It’s our belief that a vibrant historic business district is essential to the Park City economy. It’s a unique community asset and it’s the heart of Park City,” he said. Old Town resident John Stafsholt, though, was among the critics, saying the plan “undermines all of our planning and zoning protections and the goal of council and staff is to enforce our planning and zoning protections that we have in place.”“There’s zero quality-of-life improvement for locals. There’s increased congestion,” he said.Stafsholt also broached the possibility of dramatic changes to the post office and the Marsac Building as part of the Main Street efforts.“The two most iconic historic buildings are City Hall and the post office. Both are potentially being repurposed in this plan. They’re at least looking at that. Both are used daily by locals. I was in the post office probably four days this week and in City Hall twice this week personally,” he said.The elected officials in their comments explained that each individual possibility in the Main Street Area Plan would need to be vetted before proceeding. City Councilor Tana Toly wanted to ensure the availability of parking during any construction related to the projects while Ryan Dickey, another member of the City Council, described the plan as preserving the history of Main Street.The post Park City officials, hearing splintered testimony, delay decision about future of Main Street appeared first on Park Record.