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The Park City Council Says, "New Ordinances, Please"

utah.gov
The Park City Council is looking at changing local ordinances to address vacant storefronts on Main St.

The Park City economic development manager Jonathan Weidenhamer told city council Thursday that he’s working with city manager Diane Foster to address the issue of vacant storefronts on Main St. 

“I’ve had a bunch of folks wondering when I’m gonna come back and have a talk about the vacancy on Main St. deal – kind of the tenant mix conversation," Weidenhamer said. "It’s been a while since we’ve followed up. Spoke with Diane yesterday – we think we can probably get back the very end of Sept., early Oct. on that.”

He said the staff’s top priorities are the vacant storefronts on Main St., an ordinance to address chain stores that may want to set up shop on the historic street and how to keep local businesses in business as  building rents continue to increase.

“We’ve been working with a bunch of departments," Weidenhamer said. "Building, planning, legal, budget, myself on some things and a bunch of research. So, just wanted to give you guys a heads-up. I guess if I am hearing it from the business community, you probably are as well”

Council member Nann Worel told KPCW the council looks forward to hearing Weidenhamer’s report and recommendations for new ordinances.

“Council feels an urgency because we want it to be in effect before Sundance,” Worel said.

The reason the city wants to address the issues before the Sundance Film Festival comes to town is that there are buildings, like the Claim Jumper, that only open during Sundance - make a large profit – and then close their doors for the rest of the year, creating dark store fronts and interrupting main street’s vibrancy.

Some council members voiced their concerns about not having enough time to implement new ordinances before Jan.  Weidenhamer told council that he was confident that they did, in fact, have enough time to make some changes that could make a difference.