Appeal panel delays decision on Prince mansion sensitive land boundary dispute

The Prince property at 220 King Rd. sits high on the steep slope of Treasure Hill. Photo: TownLift

PARK CITY, Utah – Park City’s Appeal Panel said Monday they needed more time to review the Planning Department’s findings of fact before final action could be taken to uphold the Planning Commission’s June 26 determination that the Sensitive Lands Overlay boundary does not bisect billionaire Matthew Prince’s property.

A letter submitted to planning director Rebecca Ward by Justin Keyes, the lawyer representing neighbors opposed to the Prince’s project, argued that the Planning Department’s findings did not accurately reflect important aspects of the Planning Commission’s decision.

Appeal panel chair Adam Strachan said he would be signing the approval of the Planning Commission’s decision, and the letter raised concerns. He proposed a one-week continuance to review. The findings will either be adopted or another Appeal Panel meeting will be held on Monday, 7/22.

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Park City attorney Mark Harrington suggested the panel review the final minutes of the video from the June 26 Planning Commission meeting and decision, which included the motion and the vote that determined the SLO boundary did not bisect 220 King Road.

“In my view, watching only the motion and vote would deprive them of the context of the Commission’s discussion,” Eric Hermann wrote to TownLift in an email.

During the June 26 meeting, complex legalese was discussed related to whether or not the SLO boundary cut across Prince’s lot. If it was determined that it did bisect the land, the Planning Commission said, the future of the project may be called into question.

The development that Prince’s property lies in is governed by a document called the Sweeney MPD, which Prince’s attorneys argued has vested rights, making it exempt from the current municipal code. In theory, this would end the matter, but Commissioner Suesser, who was the only member of the Commission to say that the Prince property was inside the SLO at the June 26 meeting, spoke up and highlighted an area of the code that could call the whole project back into question.

“The Sweeney MPD states, there are no vested rights that exempt the property from future zoning changes. The ordinance approving the SLO states that applications are not exempt from the SLO, even if the MPD governing the application was approved prior to the creation of the SLO. Moving the building pad into the SLO is inconsistent with the Sweeney MPD, and that inconsistency means the project is not protected by any vested rights from the date of the Sweeney MPD, and this application requires a sensitive land overlay determination,” Suesser said.

During the June 26 meeting, residents spoke out against the Prince project, raising concerns about constructing the large home on steep terrain.

“The dangers of the excavation needs to be discussed. The dangers of a slide need to be discussed. The dangers of countless massive trucks trying to go off King Road are just unimaginable. That all needs to be discussed. The process has been rushed,” Park City resident Rich Wyman said.