Council Approves New Bonanza Park Neighborhood Plan

Post Date:07/15/2024 3:30 PM

News Release – For Immediate Release 

Clayton Scrivner, Communications Manager
801-597-8108
July 15, 2024 

Park City Council Approves New Plan for Bonanza Park Neighborhood 

Park City, UT — At Thursday's regular meeting, the Park City Council approved the Bonanza Park Small Area Plan, unanimously agreeing with the Planning Commission that the proposed plan for the centrally located 200-acre neighborhood was the right vision for future growth and investment.  

Essentially the geographic center of town, Bonanza Park, bordered by Park Avenue, Kearns Boulevard, Deer Valley Drive, and portions of Snow Creek, now has a guiding plan that calls for a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood with gathering spaces for locals, more affordable housing opportunities, and increased bike and pedestrian connections.  

The Council’s final approval comes after robust community input and hours of public deliberation by residents, a Community Advisory Group, and Planning Commissioners. 

“Thank you to the volunteer Advisory Group and the many others that brought their interest, engagement, and vision to help us create an environment to move Bonanza Park forward,” said Park City Planning Director Rebecca Ward. “There will be more opportunities to engage as we pivot to the specific Land Management Code amendments necessary to meet the goals of this exciting new plan.” 

Key elements of the Small Area Plan also include preserving Frontage Protection Zones along entry corridors, maintaining a consistent underlying zone height of 35 feet with an additional story in exchange for community benefits, and allowing qualified residential projects by right rather than requiring Conditional Use Permits. The Plan aims to guide future growth and development by complementing Park City’s surrounding business districts and residential areas. The area’s evolution is an important component of this future land use framework, as many locals visit the district today for food, entertainment, and more.  

“One of the reasons I believe there was unanimous Commission and City Council support is the tremendous public engagement we obtained from the community to create a common set of rules to promote a more vibrant and user-friendly community,” said Planning Commission Chair Sarah Hall, who also encouraged residents to stay engaged “as the process moves to the implementation phase.” 

The full plan is available online here. 

 


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Regenerative agriculture

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Soils can potentially trap a large amount of carbon away from the atmosphere. One method of driving more carbon into soils is through regenerative agriculture.

For example, in the summer of 2018 Park City decided to initiate regenerative agriculture on the iconic piece of land at McPolin Barn. This piece of land had remained relatively undisturbed since it was set aside under easement in 1991. The lack of disturbance on the land led to the grasses that grow and die each year to thatch together, never properly decomposing into the soil.

In partnership with Bill White Farms, a local non-profit organization, cattle were reintroduced to the former dairy. Rather than allowing them to spread out and graze on their favorite species, the cattle were herded together which forced them to eat down the grasses and weeds indiscriminately. The disturbance by the cows hooves, as well as what comes out of their tail ends, helped to mix dead matter with the soil and facilitate the decomposition process. This accelerated decomposition is key in releasing nutrients, thus creating a healthy environment for microbiota to trap more carbon away from the atmosphere and build up the health of our soils. The healthy soils are also more able to retain water, and allow for better growth of native species instead of noxious weeds.