Letters to the editor
Village Parking: A Slippery Slope
Kathy Cage’s letter to the editor in the Sheet, May 28, “Spare the Taxpayer” admonishes the Town Council for allocating general fund dollars to construct a parking lot in The Village.
“The financial burden to correct the parking problem for The Village commercial core should rest on the owners of that commercial property, not the Town government…We the taxpayers shouldn’t be paying to correct a problem a private development created for itself.”
As background: The vote to approve the 2002 Intrawest Development Agreement (DA) was four “Yes” to one “No.” I was the “No” vote. Why? Because listed as a “Public Benefit” was the irrevocable offer to dedicate a one acre parcel to the Town (the Hillside Site), which the Town shall use for any public purpose. “This dedication shall satisfy the Developer’s duty or obligation to provide commercial parking for any or all commercial uses within The Village at Mammoth.”
How would exempting a developer from his commercial parking requirements in exchange for an acre on the side of a cliff be a public benefit? It was estimated in 2002 that constructing a four story garage with 330 parking spaces, at $30,000 per space, would cost $9,900,000, give or take a million.
