The Park City Council unanimously approved Deer Valley’s request to vacate the right-of-way on over two acres of private land adjacent to the Snow Park base.
Utah law says vacating a public street, in this case a portion of Deer Valley Drive, requires “good cause.”
A non-binding letter of intent approved by the council Thursday outlines what the city and ski resort negotiated to meet that threshold.
Commitments from Deer Valley include $15 million for a parking and transit facility, a 20% reduction in day skier parking, and a gondola network connecting Snow Park to the resort’s new base along U.S. 40 in Wasatch County.
During a public hearing council heard from over 30 people, including Park City resident and two-time Olympian Ted Ligety, who is also Deer Valley’s Global Athlete Ambassador.
“This town has changed so much over the 39 years I’ve lived here, and I’m sure there’s many people who’d like to put that genie back in the bottle, but the fact is things are evolving, and a lot of those evolutions are fantastic,” Ligety said. “It’s what’s needed to continue to be a world class destination, and part of that evolution is the 2034 Winter Games, which it’s ten years away, it’s not actually that far away.”
Former Park City mayors, and current business leaders and residents also expressed support for the project.
However, the proposed development has long been controversial. A group called Protect The Loop, which claims it represents the views of over 1,100 of Deer Valley neighbors, has been opposed to the city giving up the road from the start. The group presented an alternative plan that involved moving Deer Valley Drive underground.
A spokesperson for Protect The Loop presented a change.org petition urging council to vote against it.
The online petition was launched Thursday and has been signed by nearly 700 people as of Friday afternoon. The spokesperson said the signatories include local residents and employees of the city and Deer Valley.
“We are not the enemy,” the spokesperson said. “We are not the ones afraid, we are your constituents. We have asked for reasonable alternatives. We deserve the support of our elected officials in negotiating better terms, or refusing the ones on the table.”
For months Park City Mayor Nann Worel and two liaisons from the city council negotiated with Deer Valley officials to find a fair exchange for giving up the road.
On Thursday Eric Lee, legal counsel for four Deer Valley HOAs, accused liaisons Ryan Dickey and Max Doilney of pre-judging the partnership agreement in a way that disqualified them from voting.
The two council members dismissed that accusation.
“The idea that either of the liaisons had a predetermined outcome prior to starting this unfathomable, we would not go into any negotiation with that in mind,” Doilney said. “Frankly, it’s a little bit offensive.”
Councilmember Becca Gerber said the persistent criticism of Deer Valley’s project at previous public hearings gave the city leverage.
“Every time we had a public hearing, and our community showed up and said - ‘we are worried about the traffic, we are worried about the impacts, this is going to have a drastic impact on our life’ - that strengthened the city’s ability to negotiate for more in our community.”
Thursday’s vote pushes Deer Valley’s master plan development to the Park City Planning Commission for review. The road vacation decision is contingent on the approval of the full project and the partnership agreement. It also includes a two-year sunset clause if no action occurs.
Deer Valley is planning to host a public open house about the village development on Jan. 10 at the Snow Park Lodge.
