Open Space Acquisition

Overview

Park City has preserved almost 10,000 acres of open space through acquisition or the planning process. The community has overwhelmingly supported, by a margin of more than 73% approval, five general obligation bonds in the amount of $110M.

 

Previous Open Space Bonds Totaling ($65M) and voting approval %

  • 1998 ($10M)…passed 78%
  • 2002 ($10M)…passed 83%
  • 2006 ($20M)…passed 82% 
  • 2016 ($25M)…passed 79%
  • 2018 ($45M)…passed 77%

Most recent open space funding is from Additional Resort Sales Tax (ARST)City Council budgeted $15M for 5 years starting in FY2014

 

City Council traditionally apointed a Citizens Open Space Advisory Committee (COSAC) after each bond approval. COSAC’s role was to provide timely open space acquisition recommendations to City Council. The most recent COSAC presided over two bonds, which specifically identified the properties for acquisition (Bonanza Flat, Armstrong Snow Ranch Pastures and Treasure Hill). Once each bond was exhausted, the Committee was disbanded. Each Committee adopted a prioritized list of properties City Council might consider.

 

Acquisation of Open Space is most often subject to a properties, ownership or development pressure and less so the priority placed on it by the Committee. Without budgeted funds for acquisition, it is difficult for Council to be nimble if an opportunity arises. (buy down density, purchase a conservation easement)

 

 

Total Open Space properties in acres:

Total Approximate Acres for Discussions

Acres

City Open Space

4680

Easements/Deed Restrictions PCMR/Deer Valley/Osguthorpe/Warren Claims

(density has been stripped from it)

5241

Totals

9921
  • Round Valley is approximately 2100 acres

 

How do we acquire Open Space?

  • Buy it or buy conservation easement that removes density.
  • Planning process requires developers provide per code or a development agreement.

 

How are open spaces preserved and protected?

  • City acquired open space is protected by the bond language itself.
  • City often times utilizes the services of qualified land trusts, such as Summit Land Conservancy and Utah Open Lands, to hold 3rd party preservation easements.

Who maintains the open space?

  • Open space maintenance, such as weed mitigation, trail construction and maintenance is either directly maintained by the City and/or through City contracts with private entities or other non-profit organizations like the Mountain Trails Foundation