Brooke Hontz, the newly appointed member of the Park City Planning Commission, expects sometime during her term the person seeking an approval from the panel will be someone she knows well: her husband.
Hontz, who took her seat on the Planning Commission last week, is married to Jonathan Weidenhamer, who holds a high-profile job at City Hall directing the local government’s economic-development efforts.
In an interview, Hontz said she anticipates Weidenhamer will eventually appear in front of the Planning Commission on behalf of City Hall. The local government sometimes must seek approval from the panel for municipal projects, and Hontz said it is “inevitable” that her husband will be involved.
She said she spoke to Park City Attorney Mark Harrington after her appointment about the scenario. Hontz said she expects she will need to remove herself from the talks in some cases and in other instances disclose her relationship to Weidenhamer but remain a part of the discussions.
“I don’t think either of us are concerned because we’re being proactive,” Hontz said.
Weidenhamer said his department does not have applications pending with the Planning Commission. He said there is a possibility he will need to seek a Planning Commission approval to build a small park envisioned in Swede Alley, at the bottom of the Marsac Building steps. It is unclear when those talks will be held.
“Moving forward in the future, any issues would be reviewed in advance in consultation with the City Attorney for compliance with all applicable ethics provisions. Brooke and I are both committed to preventing even the appearance of a conflict,” Weidenhamer said in an e-mail in response to a Park Record question.
City Hall has handled other marriages within the government without significant controversy. Park City Councilwoman Candy Erickson is married to Bruce Erickson, who served on the Planning Commission while she was in office, as an example.
Hontz replaces Rory Murphy on the Planning Commission. He did not submit his name for reappointment. The Park City Council reappointed Charlie Wintzer and Dick Peek.
Hontz joins the Planning Commission as it continues grappling with growth, but there has been limited interest from regular Parkites in most of the applications that are under review. The Sweeney family’s bid to build the Treasure development on the slopes of Park City Mountain Resort close to Old Town has drawn the most attention.
Hontz, who lives in Old Town, is a member of City Hall’s open-space committee and she once unsuccessfully campaigned for the City Council. She works in the private sector and has a background in resort design. She has a consulting firm.
In her application for the Planning Commission, she said important issues include protecting the environment through “green planning techniques that work where feasible.” She lists environmentally friendly building techniques and securing open space as among the methods that could be used.
Hontz also discusses in the application her interest in transit planning “for the traffic and transit we have, and what the community would like to see in the future.”