According to an article in The Park Record on April 11th , the developer of North Silver Lake in Deer Valley has secured a second 12- month period to proceed with the long-delayed project, overcoming another challenge by a critic that lives in the vicinity of the site.
The Park City Council, in a unanimous vote last week, rejected an appeal of a lower panel's decision to extend the project's timeline. Lisa Wilson, the project's most persistent opponent, had appealed a Park City Planning Commission decision giving the developer more time to proceed.
The Planning Commission in January granted the developer, a Los Angeles-based firm known as Regent Properties, the additional 12 months for construction. That period lasts until July 21, 2013. The City Council in its vote sided with the Planning Commission's decision.
It is the second one-year extension for the project after one was granted lasting through mid-2012. Regent Properties has said it wants to develop North Silver Lake once there is more certainty in the economy.
City Hall rules do not allow the developer to receive another extension of the permit for the overall project. If the project does not proceed by the mid-2013 deadline, the developer would be required to wind its way through City Hall's extensive permitting process again to regain an approval.
"We felt we needed at least another year for the climate, the economic climate, to clarify itself," Richard Lichtenstein, who represents the developer, said after the City Council vote.
Lichtenstein said it appears the economy is ticking upward, but the developers are hoping for more indicators showing that is the case. He said construction is expected to restart in the spring of 2013.
The North Silver Lake development won its initial approval in mid-2009. The Planning Commission at the time agreed to a 54-unit project, encompassing a mix of condominiums and houses. The land is situated close to the Evergreen and Bellemont neighborhoods.
Ground was broken, but the progress was halted as the economy faltered. The site was later refilled with dirt and the grounds were replanted with grass and 27 trees.
Wilson opposed the development throughout the discussions. She was not in attendance at the City Council meeting when the appeal was heard last week. Wilson has consistently wanted the City Council to conduct a wider review of the project during the appeal process. The elected officials, though, restricted the appeal to the timeline instead of looking at the overall development approval. Wilson has made a series of arguments against the overall approval, challenging calculations that determined how much open space would be left, as an example.
The City Council did not spend significant time deliberating before approving the extension.
Bob Dillon, an attorney who represents people who live nearby the site, spoke during the meeting, saying North Silver Lake is too big of a project. He said the construction timeline, sometimes called phasing, will be closely monitored.
Article from The Park Record April 11, 2012 by Jay Hamburger
