The state Legislature is presently considering a bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Lehi, that would significantly and negatively impact Park City and Summit County. SB231 would authorize the construction of a large development on the outskirts of Park City that many who reside in the area — unlike Sen. Madsen — strongly oppose.
Park City and Summit County are able to send disproportionately large property taxes and tourist sales taxes to the state by emphasizing mountain scenery over industry and expansion. SB231 would erode the quality of life of Summit's citizens and diminish the county's ability to send taxes to state coffers.
These impacts are described in detail in a recent editorial in The Park Record. With the Record's permission, here are relevant excerpts:
"One of the main tenets of the conservative wing of the Republican Party is the need to curb big government, but it appears Utah Sen. Mark Madsen (R- Lehi) didn't get the memo. Since taking office in 2004 the attorney/developer has been hell-bent on expanding state control over local jurisdictions.
Madsen was one of the original authors of the Military Installation Development Authority Act, which gave a small group of appointed officials the right to supersede local zoning and planning codes to build military projects. That is the group that wanted to build a 1.25 million-square-foot commercial development in Summit County to support a hotel for the military in Wasatch County. And technically, thanks to the power vested in MIDA by Madsen's bill, it still can, even though the Park City and Summit County councils and the majority of the business leaders in the county flat-out oppose it.
This year he is sponsoring a bill to establish a "Film Enterprise Zone" on a parcel of land owned by the Quinn's Junction Partnership.
Madsen's proposed bill is vague, making it difficult for local elected officials to respond to it. But the senator already knows how Park City and Summit County feel about having a major development along the S.R. 248 entry corridor. They oppose it.
That is why the Quinn's Junction Partnership came to Madsen for help in circumventing local planning and zoning boards. Mind you, the landowners didn't bother with Summit County's or Park City's representatives or senators, who know better than to pull rank on their own constituents. Instead, they went to the senator from District 13, to whom they have been making campaign contributions.
SB231 is specifically intended to force the councils to approve the landowners' plan to build a movie studio just east of Park City. But the city and the county can't articulate their opposition until the bill is written, and even though the legislative session is almost over, Madsen seems to be biding his time before entering the bill's specifics.
Before he does, I would like Madsen to consider the following: During his most recent election campaign he listed 13 principles as the core of his platform, among them that, "Governments derive their authority from the consent of the governed; government should not advantage one individual or group at the expense of another;" and finally that, "When the power of government exceeds the power of the individuals governed, it is tyranny."
If the purpose of SB231 is to use state law to force a community to approve a project for a specific landowner, well, doesn't that violate each of those principles?
Before voting, state legislators would be well advised to consider the negative impacts of SB231.
Trey Campbell is a small business owner who resides in Park City.