Deer Valley would provide Park City Municipal $15 million in new funding for transportation infrastructure and affordable housing, under a deal presented at the Park City Council meeting Thursday.
In exchange, the city would grant the resort a right-of-way vacation on Deer Valley Drive. That would mark a major step forward for Deer Valley’s development plans, which involves building a new ski village with hotels and restaurants on the base area parking lot.
As part of the deal, Deer Valley would also agree to a 15-20% reduction in day skier parking. A traffic study conducted on behalf of the resort found that daily car trips would increase by 34% (more than 3,500 trips) with the development.
The resort announced an expansion earlier this year that doubledterrain and included a new base with 1,200 parking spots in Wasatch County across from the Jordanelle Reservoir, an area previously envisioned for the new Mayflower ski resort. When the expansion is complete, a gondola would connect the new base area to Snow Park, through Silver Lake and Park Peak. Deer Valley previously announced its intention to turn the Silver Lake lift into a gondola that would run after resort operating hours.
While the plan received some praise at Thursday’s meeting, several members of the public balked at the deal.
Ed Parigian, who will join the Park City Council in January, questioned details of how the $15 million would be spent.
Bill Newman, president of the Pinnacle HOA (located along Deer Valley Drive), said the road vacation does not meet state law, which requires “good cause” and assurance that the public will not be “materially injured.”
Deliberations about the project have stretched on for over two years. An organized group of neighbors, called Protect The Loop, has proposed an alternative plan that involves undergrounding Deer Valley Drive.
“Given yesterday’s significant news of the Olympic Games will most likely return to Utah in 2034, it is essential that we use this next decade and these types of opportunities as a springboard to where we want Park City to be in 2034 and beyond,” Park City Mayor Nann Worel said.
The city has planned two more public hearings on the project on Dec. 5 and 14. Worel emphasized at Thursday’s meeting that she wants the council to take action on the proposal before the end of the year.
If the road vacation is approved, development plans for the new base village would head to the Park City Planning Commission.
