The Park City Planning Commission heard scattered support on Wednesday for a development proposal in Bonanza Park involving the Park City municipal government, even as opponents continued to press issues they have seen as problematic since the start of the talks. The panel received approximately 35 minutes of testimony, mostly criticism of the concept. The support, though, was noteworthy, with so much of the input over the course of the review in opposition. The proposal includes a large amount of housing set aside as income-restricted units, and the supporters on Wednesday cited that aspect of the project. Martha Macomber, who lives in Park Meadows, backed the proposal, describing the project as a boost for Park City. “Sometimes we just have to be clever and say, ‘Yes.’ Yes to things that are imperfect but maybe will allow our community to be vital, more vital,” she said. Macomber described herself as “a financially secure 62 year old who left her doodle at home and came here on her e-bike.” She said she would prefer there a cross-section of people living in Park City. She also noted the organized opposition to the concept, which prefers the land to become a park. “I really don’t want to live in a town with more of me. I want to live in a town with people of all ages and abilities,” she said. “When I hear some of the wording around opposition to this project, I finally came around to realizing that I was hearing code, to me. When I hear ‘more park,’ I hear more of me, more of us. And when I hear ‘less city,’ I hear less of ‘them.’ Please know that there are many residents of Park City who come from interesting places and applaud the Planning Commission and the council’s work to retain as much vitality as we can. It takes a concerted effort.” A statement was read to the Planning Commission on behalf of Peter Tomai, the board president for the Mountainlands Community Housing Trust. Tomai’s statement in support of the proposal touched on the changing demographics of Park City. “Bonanza Park is a generational opportunity to build the community necessary to sustain Park City. Park City is rapidly becoming a hollow retirement community lacking sufficient, full-time working population that sustains and energizes the community, attends the schools, does the work and supports a diversity of activity and commerce,” Tomai’s statement said. The statement said the proposal would create an “ideal workforce neighborhood” that is in a central location close to bus lines. The land is within walking distance to employers, schools, services and recreational opportunities, the statement said. “This 5-acre parcel stands to be the anchor of a desperately needed, locally focused neighborhood that would accommodate and attract the full-time working population we need to sustain the very soul of Park City,” it continued. The opposition outweighed the support, though, following a trend that has stretched through the Planning Commission hearings. Critics of the proposal raised topics like the traffic they believe a development would generate and the amount of land inside the project that would remain undeveloped. The criticism was similar to previous input received by the Planning Commission. Katherine Fagin sought independent, third-party evaluations of the assumptions made in the proposal. She wanted information about what she called “realistic traffic impacts,” the open space calculations, potential modifications to Bonanza Drive and whether the bulk of the income-restricted housing would be available to people who live in Park City. She also spoke about the architectural details and whether they would be compatible with surrounding development. “I’m worried about this sort of fortress-like frontage of buildings that’s both on Bonanza and on Kearns,” she said. The municipal government is partnering with Brinshore Development, LLC, based in the Chicago area, on the proposal. The approximately 5 acres, stretching inward from the southwest corner of the intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive, is under municipal ownership. The proposal includes: 88 units of income-restricted rentals. 18 rentals without income restrictions. More than 30,000 square feet for a variety of tenants, such as retailers, restaurants, cafes and art spaces for not-for-profit organizations. A childcare location. 2 acres of open space. The Planning Commission addressed topics like parking and the height of the buildings proposed. The panel is expected to return to the talks at a meeting on Sept. 9. The height has been a sticking point throughout the talks. The development team on Wednesday outlined the possibility of height reductions. The underlying zoning on the land has a maximum height of 35 feet, with an allowance for five additional feet for roofs that are gabled. Five of the buildings could be brought down to a height of 35 feet while one building would remain as four stories, according to a slide shown at the meeting. The municipal government on Friday addressed the height issue, saying in a statement: “The applicant continues to revise building heights in response to commissioner feedback. Because of the slope and topography of the site, the applicant noted that their final building heights will vary in how they relate to grade and the applicant continues to evaluate that height. We anticipate further discussion on this during the Sept. 9 work session.” The post Park City planning panel hears scattered support for Bonanza Park development  appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less