The Summit County Council has selected two new members to serve on the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission following the resignations of Christopher Conabee and Thomas Cooke late last year.County councilors interviewed 10 applicants on Wednesday and unanimously voted to appoint Tim Jeffrey and Spencer Young. Their terms will expire in 2028 and 2026, respectively.Jeffrey is a Lower Pinebrook resident and social studies teacher at Treasure Mountain Junior High School. He told the County Council he’s lived in Summit County for almost 30 years.“That’s one of the reasons I applied is because I’ve been here so long. I thought it was probably time I gave a little bit back to the community,” Jeffrey said.Social studies teacher Tim Jeffrey will serve on the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission until 2028. Credit: Screenshot of Summit County Council meetingHe said his skills as a teacher, such as the ability to listen to and communicate with students, parents and administrators, would be a strong asset for the Planning Commission. Moreover, Jeffrey said his interests and focus on human geography have given him a strong background in urban planning.“There’s a misconception out there that in geography, all we talk about is capitals and countries and rivers and stuff. Human geography is much different, especially on the AP level. It’s a college level class,” Jeffrey explained. “We talk about culture. We talk about agriculture. We talk about everything. I tell people, ‘You take a look at our table of contents. You’d be amazed at what’s in there.’ We talk about urban planning quite a bit as well.”Jeffrey, who often jokes with his students about having been an urban planner in a past life, said the growth and development in Summit County over the past 10 years fueled his interest in joining the Planning Commission.“It’s always been in the back of my mind, but the last couple years have pushed me a little bit quicker into this,” he said.County Councilor Megan McKenna asked Jeffrey specifically about his vision for Kimball Junction, an area of the Snyderville Basin that has raised traffic flow concerns as commercial development continues to increase throughout the entryway corridor.“If you look at a satellite image of that area, it’s basically all pavement. It’s all parking lots,” Jeffrey responded. “There’s no connection between the different pods, if you will, out in Kimball Junction. You can’t walk, safely anyway, from one area to the other. The first thing I would fix, if I were on that committee, would be to make it more walkable.”He also said he would want to connect the two sides of Kimball Junction, either through a pedestrian bridge, tunnel or other infrastructure, as well as increase access to public transportation.County Council Chair Tonja Hanson wanted to know Jeffrey’s opinion of recent development in Summit County, especially as a longtime resident of the area. Jeffrey said he believes there have been mistakes made, referring again to Kimball Junction.“We don’t look five or 10 years down the road and say, ‘OK, there’s going to be an adjacent development to that current one we’re approving.’ How are they going to be connected? That’s one of those problems in Kimball Junction,” he explained. “I think we’ve gotten away a little bit from our mountain town feel. I think our architecture is a little too modern for my taste.”Jeffrey added there have also been good developments, specifically pointing out the county’s affordable housing initiatives.Young, meanwhile, is a Jeremy Ranch resident and University of Utah alum, where he studied journalism and political science. Although he has only lived in Summit County for eight years, his family has been connected to the area for decades, and Young already has experience serving the county as a member of the Board of Adjustment.“I see [Summit County] as one of the best places to live in the country, and I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather live or raise my family,” he said during his interview.Financial advisor Spencer Young was chosen to fill one of the vacant seats on the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission. Credit: Screenshot of Summit County Council meetingFor 10 years, Young worked as a congressional staffer in Washington, D.C., and learned how to collaborate with different stakeholders, a skill set he believed would help the county and Planning Commission navigate growth and the challenges that come along with it.“I was there in 2008 during the financial crisis. That experience was also an inspiration for me personally,” Young said. “After I left Congress and we came back here, I became a financial advisor. I’m currently working for Ameriprise Financial. I think my private sector experience has been a big complement to my policy experience, my government experience.”Young said he believes his understanding of both the public and private sector, as well as his ability to work with and understand stakeholders in difficult situations, would be a benefit to the Planning Commission. He emphasized the importance of having different perspectives on commissions that make decisions for the community.“I think that’s a big question, for example, for approaching the Kimball Junction neighborhood. Are we going to be inclusive with all those stakeholders and all those different folks?” Young said. “I think that’s an important question for the commission and listening to everybody and bringing everybody together.”County Councilor Roger Armstrong asked Young about the need to balance growth, like commercial development and the rising cost of homeownership, with affordable housing and keeping the county “manageable” for residents.“That’s one of the biggest challenges and one of the biggest questions that the area faces, that the commission will face. … But I think when you look at Dakota Pacific and the plans there, and I know there are still some obstacles, I think that approach where you’re always setting aside at least a portion of housing, affordable, I think that’s the best way to do it,” Young responded.Hanson wanted to know Young’s vision for the future of the Snyderville Basin and, similar to Jeffrey, Young wanted to invest in a walkable version of Kimball Junction. He also commented on pollution in the Salt Lake Valley, saying it was important to him to keep Summit County free of smog and to increase environmentally-friendly methods of transportation.“I’ve ridden my bike all around the multi-use trails, around Park City, around the Basin, and I think those can be improved as well. Some of those are pretty rough,” Young added. “Whatever we can do to get bikes off the road and on a multi-use trail, I think that’s better for everybody and will really encourage fewer cars on the road.”Young said his pipe dream would be a multi-use trail from Summit County into Salt Lake City and the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.“That could be a game changer long term,” he said. “Whenever I see someone on a road bike on I-80 going down the canyon, I think, ‘Gosh, there’s a lot of people who would love to do that ride, but they’re not going to do it on the shoulder.’ If there was some sort of way to do it, a multi-use trail, that could really change perceptions when it comes to needing a car to get from the valley to Summit County.”The County Council unanimously appointed Jeffrey and Young. Jeffrey’s term will expire on Feb. 28, 2028, and Young’s term will expire on Feb. 28, 2026.The post Two new commissioners chosen for Snyderville Basin Planning appeared first on Park Record.