Plans for a multi-use park in Holladay approved

It may look like scrub brush now, but the property surrounding Tuscany Restaurant and along Cottonwood Creek finally has a plan – and it is approved. The Holladay City Council approved plans on Dec. 1 to eventually develop Knudsen Park, the eight-acre stretch of land west of the I-215 freeway at 6200 South.

Councilmember Lynn Pace gave a brief background of the history and ownership of the land, describing the master plan process as “a vision statement as to what the future will be.”

“It gives a blueprint for moving forward as funds become available to do so,” Pace said. “This has been something pending since the time of the city’s existence, and it is time to move forward.”

Before the vote, councilmember Jim Palmer said that before city leaders created the open space master plan, a consultant was hired to survey every household in the city.

“An astounding 85 percent of the residents that responded supported the open space plan,” Palmer said. “This is the last open space to be preserved in the city, and I am pleased to see this move forward.”

The only dissenting vote on the plan was from councilmember Barry Topham, who said the plan was a “pie in the sky thing” for the city that has no financing for any such park. Topham said Holladay City, that he characterized in “financial distress,” should use the space for additional restaurants or office buildings, to immediately start generating tax revenue and add three large homes on the lots west of Holladay Boulevard.

“This is an ideal place for commercial development located right by an off-ramp of I-215,” Topham said. “For these reasons, I don’t think this plan in appropriate for the city. The park will take millions to develop, and money each year to maintain, and I don’t think there will be significant use of it.”