Category Archives: THINC in the News

Park City residents were told they would have a final opportunity for public comment at Wednesday’s Planning Commission meeting on the Treasure Hill conditional use application. As it turned out, residents will still have one more chance, but no one is happy about it. KPCW’s Melissa Allison tells us why.

http://kpcw.org/post/park-city-residents-arms-about-one-week-continuance-treasure-hill

The Park City Planning Commission discussions about Treasure, which have stretched for more than a decade with several starts and stops over the years, appear to be fast approaching a finale.

The panel on Wednesday held a lengthy meeting about Treasure and, toward the end of the evening, briefly addressed the timeline. It appears there could be three more meetings with Treasure on the agenda, and a vote could be scheduled at the third one. It will be perhaps the most significant development vote by the panel since the 1990s era decisions regarding the project that was eventually built as Empire Pass.

The Planning Commission indicated it would discuss Treasure at a meeting on Nov. 29, followed by a special work session centered on Treasure on Dec. 6. The Planning Commission would then be expected to cast a vote at a Dec. 13 meeting. The timeline, which is tentative, leaves less than a month before the landmark vote would be cast.

The discussions date to 2004 and have stretched through numerous Planning Commission rosters. A vote on Dec. 13 would ensure Park City Councilor-elect Steve Joyce, who is a member of the Planning Commission, is one of the panelists to decide Treasure. The City Council has kept the current lineup of the Planning Commission intact to ensure there are not changes in the membership amid the Treasure discussions.

For the rest of this article please click on the link below:

http://www.parkrecord.com/news/park-city-planning-panel-sets-tentative-date-for-treasure-vote/

Park City Planning Commission Chairman Adam Strachan discusses last night’s meeting on Treasure Hill.

See link below.  Interview with Adam starts at 15:30.

http://kpcw.org/post/local-news-hour-november-9-2017

The excavation planned as an initial step in the construction of the Treasure development proposal would stretch longer than a football field backward from the property line, prompting more criticism from project opponents concerned about a wide range of Treasure issues.

The excavation would run as many as 409 feet from the property line to the back of the project land, according to the Park City Planning Department. It would be as deep as 135 feet without counting additional depth needed for the foundation work, the department said. The excavation of Treasure would be one of the largest in Park City and has drawn additional attention recently as project opponents worry about the impact on the hillside.

The Treasure partnership, consisting of the Sweeney family and a firm known as Park City II, LLC, wants to secure an approval for nearly 1 million square feet of development on a hillside overlooking Old Town along the route of the Town Lift. The Park City Planning Commission is scheduled to continue its discussions on Wednesday and is expected to address the excavation again.

Pat Sweeney, who represents his family in the talks, said the partnership intends to keep the excavated material on the Treasure land itself, in a location known as Creole Gulch, or on nearby land identified long ago by the Sweeney family and Park City Mountain Resort. A “modest amount” of excavated material would also be brought to the King’s Crown run at PCMR, he said.

For the rest of this article please click on the link below:

http://www.parkrecord.com/news/park-city-developers-dig-would-obliterate-hillside-opposition-says/

The Park City Planning Commission on Wednesday addressed what appears to be the inevitable scenario of the Treasure partnership in coming weeks formally requesting a vote on the controversial development proposal, a move that would force the panel into an action regardless of whether members are ready for one.
State law allows a developer to trigger a 45-day period in which a planning commission must render a decision on an application. It is a rarely used section of the law that longtime observers of Park City planning and zoning issues say has not been invoked in a matter before City Hall in decades, at least.
The Planning Commission indicated it is aware of the prospects of the Treasure side making a request shortly and wants to prepare for the possibility. The panel at a meeting about Treasure on Wednesday talked about options, but it did not make decisions regarding how it would operate during a 45-day window that would culminate with a momentous vote.

For the rest of this article please go to the link below:

http://www.parkrecord.com/news/park-city/park-city-readies-for-the-inevitable-a-forced-treasure-vote/

The Treasure development partnership on Wednesday indicated it is refining the details of the project in response to broad concerns by the Park City Planning Commission and people who live close to the site, an unexpected move after consistent statements by the partnership that it desired a vote on the proposal as it is designed now.

The partnership informed the Planning Commission of the refinements during a meeting that was otherwise largely uneventful. It was the second consecutive Planning Commission meeting about the project that the Treasure side made a surprise statement, following a March declaration that the partnership, consisting of the Sweeney family and a firm called Park City II, LLC, intends to force a vote by the panel in the fall.

The Treasure representatives did not provide details about the refinements as they spoke to the Planning Commission. In an interview after the meeting, Pat Sweeney, who represents his family in the Treasure discussions, said the alterations to the project have not been finalized. He said, though, the refinements could drop the overall square footage of Treasure “a modest amount.”

For the rest of this article please click on the link below:

http://www.parkrecord.com/news/park-city/treasure-unexpectedly-says-it-will-refine-project/

The Treasure partnership on Saturday afternoon will be counting cars at some high-traffic intersections in Park City on what is anticipated to be one of the busiest days of the ski season, a crucial step as the discussions continue about the disputed project.

The traffic study that is planned on Saturday will provide numbers as the partnership continues its discussions with the Park City Planning Commission about the project. The Treasure partnership, consisting of the Sweeney family and a firm known as Park City II, LLC, is seeking an approval for approximately 1 million square feet of development on a hillside overlooking Old Town along the route of the Town Lift. It is a highly controversial proposal with the opposition citing deep-rooted concerns about traffic as one of the key problems with Treasure.

The study is planned on the Saturday of the three-day Presidents Day weekend. The weekend is usually one of the busiest of the year as vacationers take advantage of a holiday during the heart of the ski season. The Saturday of the three-day weekend is usually especially busy.

Treasure consultants will gather the numbers from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m., as traffic is leaving Park City Mountain Resort. Data will be compiled from eight intersections and, possibly, several cross streets. The intersection counts will be taken at three locations along Lowell Avenue and three locations along Empire Avenue as well as two nearby corners. Lowell Avenue and Empire Avenue are seen as the primary routes to Treasure, and much of the opposition to the project comes from people who live on those streets or have property there.

For the rest of this article click on the link below:

http://www.parkrecord.com/news/park-city/treasure-developers-plan-to-count-cars-on-busy-park-city-ski-day/

Many people in Old Town, particularly along Lowell Avenue and Empire Avenue, are already dismayed with the idea to build the Treasure project on a hillside overlooking Old Town close to the route of the Town Lift.

Another developer in early February publicized plans for a significant project nearby, a concept that, it seems, will draw extra attention based on its proximity to the much larger Treasure. Though they are separate projects, Treasure and an eventual CRH Partners, LLC proposal will likely be seen by critics as related nonetheless as they outline the concerns about each. Members of the Park City Planning Commission, which are amid a review of Treasure and are expected to begin discussing the CRH Partners, LLC project in coming months, could also raise questions about the combined impacts, such as the traffic the two projects will be expected to generate.

It is an unusual situation in recent years involving two sizable development proposals in such close proximity. Drivers headed to the two projects, as an example, would be expected to heavily use Lowell Avenue.

“I would expect that we both get the same banter, the same traffic concerns . . . as expressed by the neighbors and other people in Park City,” acknowledged Pat Sweeney, who represents his family in the Treasure discussions.

For the rest of this article please click on the link below:

http://www.parkrecord.com/news/park-city/treasure-talks-further-complicated-as-nearby-developer-emerges/

It’s the first planning commission meeting of the month which means Treasure is on the Agenda to talk more about mass, design and impact. KPCW’s Melissa Allison brings us the story.

http://kpcw.org/post/planning-commission-and-treasure-hill-meet-wednesday

The Treasure development partnership on Wednesday received another round of criticism, continuing what has been broad opposition to the disputed hillside project and leaving the partnership with, it seems, little support on the Park City Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission is likely months away from casting a vote on Treasure, but the meeting on Wednesday again highlighted deep-rooted concerns by panelists as well as people who live on nearby streets. The Planning Commission since the summer has held monthly discussions and hearings about Treasure, signaling repeatedly they have concerns about issues like the project design and the square-footage numbers. The panel continues to address those issues and will likely have additional trouble once they move onto other topics like the traffic Treasure is anticipated to draw.

The meeting on Wednesday, held at the Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library, drew a smaller crowd than other Planning Commission meetings that dealt with Treasure. The crowd appeared to be largely in opposition to the project, as has been the case at previous meetings.

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