Park City Council votes to annex 1,200 acres in Quinn’s Junction

A map of the annexation zone. Photo: Park City Municipal Corporation

PARK CITY, Utah — The Park City Council voted to annex 1,200 acres in southeast Quinn’s Junction at their meeting on Thursday.

“We’re incredibly excited to be at this point,” Park City Manager Matt Dias said. “It’s a major, major milestone.”

The land includes the Richardson Flat property, which has long been envisioned to become part of Park City. It is development-restricted for future open space and recreation facilities.

It also includes the city-owned Clark Ranch property, with a majority of the acreage slated for a conservation easement as protected public recreational open space.

Park City’s ability to annex Richardson Flat was negotiated as part of the 1999 Flagstaff Development Agreement, which restricts future use (outside of the 30-acre parking lot) to golf, equestrianism, or other public recreational facilities.

Trails are planned for Clark Ranch in an effort to improve regional connectivity. The city council previously directed the housing department to look into possibly implementing affordable housing at the site. Any uses outside of open space would require planning commission and city council review.

The annexation was protested by four parties, including the Town of Hideout and the Hideout Community Advancement and Development (HCAD) LLC.

Hideout, the small city on the banks of Jordanelle, previously tried to annex adjacent land into its municipality. A lawyer representing Hideout said at the meeting that the town’s annexation of the land has not been voided. “Even though it may be someday, it’s not true right now,” he said.

“Our recommendation is to consider this now,” Park City Attorney Margaret Plane said, dismissing the claims. “There are no procedural or legal barriers — and in fact, those have been requested and denied by the courts — prohibiting you from going forward tonight.”

A boundary commission formed by Summit County rejected all of the annexation protests, stating that they did not have the standing. HCAD appealed their decision, which has since been dismissed by the Third District Court.