Residents packed council chambers to share their opinions on Deer Valley’s plans to construct a ski village with hotels, dining, and condos on the Snow Park parking lot.
The project is contingent on the council giving a portion of Deer Valley Drive to the resort, which would allow it to build where cars currently drive.
Deer Valley leaders argued Thursday that in exchange for the section of the road, it will offer a variety of public benefits, including new amenities at the base, expand child care services, and build a new 1-acre park by the ponds. Deer Valley said it would also pay to replace aging public utilities in the area, so the city won’t have to.
It also said it plans to move forward with a new affordable housing development for more than 200 resort workers on Bonanza Drive in between Iron Horse Park Apartments and the Rail Trail.
An organized group of local residents opposed to Deer Valley’s proposal, called “Protect The Loop,” showed up in numbers Thursday. Wes Richards, a resident of the Oaks, claimed they represent the views of 18 Deer Valley area HOAs.
Old Town resident Angela Moschetta presented an alternative plan which would maintain the Deer Valley Drive loop by moving the road underground in between Royal Street and the base drop-off area. Moschetta said peak skier traffic is the community’s primary concern.
The opposition group poked holes in Deer Valley’s plan, saying aprés options at the new village will be too expensive for locals, and called for more shuttle service to the resort from nearby neighborhoods that don’t have public transit access.
“Our plan proposes terminating all big buses at the Old Town Transit Center and relying on green jackets to transition resort guests to micro vehicles with ski carriers,” Deer Valley resident Scott Greenberg said. “Fixed route circulators would service express transit center to resort drop-off and also run laps around the loop to more efficiently service existing bus stops. Fixed routes would also service Silver Lake and Empire.”
Solamere HOA President Chuck Haggerty, who is unaffiliated with "Protect The Loop," said the road vacation would end up being a huge liability for the city.
“This is something that the city doesn’t need to do, and the taxpayers don’t need to do,” Haggerty said. “In exchange for the vacation of the road, Alterra is willing to give up Doe Pass Road and a 1-acre piece of swamp land for a park… it’s the sleeves out of their vest. They’re exchanging that for 2.5 acres of probably some of the most valuable land in the state of Utah.”
There were members of the public in support of Deer Valley’s proposal, including Ski Utah President and CEO Nathan Rafferty, and Park City Chamber CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff.
Former Park City Mayor Brad Olch also was in favor of the project.
“Sometimes you just have to take a strong position,” Olch said. “We spent $5 million to buy the Osguthorpe Dairy, people were ready to string me up.”
The Osguthorpe Dairy is now commonly known as the McPolin Barn. Olch also cited the purchase of the Carl Winters school building, which is now the Park City Library, and granting aerial rights for the Town Lift, as controversial decisions that ultimately proved successful.
Several people, both for and against the project, said the Richardson Flat parking lot should be used more often. Outgoing planning commissioner John Kenworthy, speaking as a resident, said Deer Valley should shuttle skiers from Richardson Flat to the Jordanelle Gondola along U.S. 40, which doesn’t require driving into Park City.
Deer Valley is in negotiations with Mayflower ski resort along U.S. 40 regarding parking and lift access, according to a traffic study. Mayflower is scheduled to open in the 2024 ski season.
Councilmember Ryan Dickey called the public hearing the most productive of any he’s experienced since being on the council.
Mayor Nann Worel, along with two councilmembers, are now prepared to directly negotiate with Deer Valley to find a fair trade for the road vacation.
“Once those discussions are complete, then we will come back in a public meeting and present what we’ve come up with again for public input on that,” Worel said.
After the council makes a decision on the road, the full Deer Valley project will return to the Park City Planning Commission for review.
