The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission has still not made a decision about a controversial development proposal near Pinebrook.

On Tuesday, commissioners continued looking into concerns opponents have raised about the Discovery project. Many people are against the plan even though it would create work force housing in the Snyderville Basin.

Neighbors filled the auditorium at the Sheldon Richins Building Tuesday night. Most spoke against Discovery. The proposal for 162 units includes 81 single-family homes, 69 townhouses and 12 duplexes near Kilby Road.

Glen Lent, the developer, said he wants to rezone nearly 70 acres south of Interstate 80 between Pinebrook and Summit Park.

Lent asked the Planning Commission for a decision Tuesday night. He sounded frustrated blaming opposition to the project on NIMBY-ism. NIMBY is an acronym that stands for “Not In My Backyard.”

“I’ve done everything I can as a developer to try and facilitate the needs that the Planning Commission has told me that they want,” Lent said. “This is really a case of NIMBY My hope is that you as a commission will see the bigger picture.”

The application is being processed under a set of guidelines meant to encourage affordable housing by allowing higher densities for builders who construct work force units. Some of the homes could be reserved for those who earn less than 80 percent of the Snyderville Basin’s area median income, which is about $93,000 per year.

Lent said county planners have indicated to him that 162 units would be doable within the confines of the development code.

Several market-rate units are needed for a developer to subsidize lower-priced work force housing, Lent explained.

“Work force housing requires density,” he said. “Less work force units per project means more projects.”

He said he has worked on Discovery for several years and members of the Planning Commission only recently said the proposal is too large. He was told in January that 88 units would be more suitable for the land.

“Had I thought my density would be 88 units I never would have proceeded with preliminary planning,” Lent said. “This isn’t just a game here. I’ve played the game. I’ve played by the rules. I don’t want the rules to change.”

Members of the Planning Commission were concerned about how the development would impact wildlife in the Basin. But state wildlife officials signed off on the proposal stating that the area is already heavily developed.

“It’s very small compared to the rest of the developments that are there,” Lent said.

The houses would be built away from creeks and wetlands, he added.

Commissioners were also concerned about the new traffic affecting roads. Summit County engineers replied that cars would flow easily once the project was completed.

There is expensive real estate in the Park City area and county officials said work force housing is needed so people who work in the Snyderville Basin can afford to live there.

But Timberline resident Amy Abbott disagreed.

“Work force housing is totally not needed,” Abbott told the Basin Planning Commission. “These houses, even the work force housing, are bigger than my house.”

According to Summit Park resident Don Jacobs, “this property is not suitable for this type of high-density development.”

Still, not everyone who spoke on Tuesday was against the proposal.

Guy Sanderson, a teacher in the Park City School District, said work force housing is needed so educators can live in the Park City area.

“We lose a lot of good school teachers because they cannot afford to buy a home in this market,” Sanderson said. “This is a good project. Let’s do it.”

The Planning Commission may continue reviewing the development application in March.