The Park City Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a proposal to expand and move the outdoor pools at the Municipal Athletic and Recreation Center closer together.
The commissioners voted 6-0 in favor of a request by the city for a conditional use permit to allow the work.
Park City Recreation Director Ken Fisher noted the department’s mission statement is “Enriching the lives in our community through exceptional people, programs and facilities.”
“With this pool project, we’re looking to create an exceptional aquatics facility for the community so that we continue to offer those exceptional programs,” Fisher told the commissioners.
The Park City MARC’s lap pool, which was built in 1990, is 3,200 square feet and has six lanes. Its recreation pool is 2,600 square feet and was built in 2003. The facility, at 1200 Little Kate Road, was remodeled in 2011.
A conditions analysis conducted in June 2022 identified deficiencies in the pools and critical upgrades that are needed, according to a planning staff report. The pools are separated by landscaping and located on different elevations several yards apart, which creates staffing and safety concerns, the report says.
“The City Council has prioritized pool replacements for the current budget cycle to maintain current pool usage and avoid high maintenance costs with the existing pools,” the report says.
The proposal, developed by PC MARC staff with VCBO Architecture, calls for a new lap pool of the same 3,200 square footage and a 5,000-square-foot multi-use pool that would accommodate learn-to-swim programs, water aerobics, recreation and additional lap swimming. In addition, the multi-use pool would have a second zone for toddlers and a third zone with a catch pool for a slide.
Also approved as part of the conditional use permit was the addition of 712 square feet of mechanical space for the pool equipment, 210 square feet of lifeguard space to replace a 10-by-16-foot shed and 318 square feet for a seasonal shade pavilion.
The conditional use permit requires construction to be a minimum of 15 feet from the property line.
Dane Taylor, president of the Park City Racquet Club Homeowners Association, told the commissioners there is some concern in the community, which is adjacent to the MARC, about the setback requirement.
And in an email to The Park Record, Taylor said he personally supports the improvements but some residents who live in units close to the pools and courts are concerned about a possible noise increase.
“We want to be good neighbors but also appreciate the sounds of summer, birds chirping etc, excluding screaming kids and pickleball noise,” Taylor said in the email.
In his presentation earlier in the meeting, Fisher had said noise would be mitigated with natural landscape, adding he was unaware of MARC ever getting a complaint about noise from the pools.
The proposed hours of operation are mid-April to October from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the lap pool and Memorial Day through Labor Day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the recreation pool.
“Our pools are beyond their life expectancy and as the only public outdoor pools in Park City, it is imperative to replace these with modern design and efficiencies for the community benefit,” the permit request says. “Our community loves their pools, and they are passionate about the sentiment that it should remain the centerpiece of social connection, learning, and community engagement.”
Visit https://engageparkcity.org/rec-design-concepts to view project designs and take a survey to give input about the concepts.