The Park City Council approved a non-binding agreement with Deer Valley Resort Thursday, signaling what a future official contract between the two parties could look like.
Deer Valley is pledging $15 million to the city, specifically for a parking and transportation facility near state Route 248. Park City will match with its own $15 million. A committee made up of city and resort officials will control the funds. A provision in the letter of intent says additional parties can join with a minimum contribution of $5 million.
Park City Councilmember Ryan Dickey, who helped negotiate the agreement, said they could potentially get more funding.
“One thing you can do with $30 million is lock arms with Deer Valley and go to the state, go to the federal government, go to other private sector partners, and turn that into an even bigger pot of money with an Olympics coming down the road in 10 years,” Dickey said. “Do some really big things for transportation infrastructure that we struggle to do.”
Deer Valley also agreed to a 20% reduction in day skier parking compared to peak conditions today, which is roughly 1,700 spaces. Dickey said day skier parking will be limited to 1,360 spaces as part of the new development.
“These are the parking spots that a ski resort does not want to give up,” he said. “This is passholders. This is folks coming to buy expensive day lift tickets. This is a hard won concession and fundamentally different from the parking reductions that have been offered in the past, because it addresses that cars that all come in at the same time in the morning, and all leave at the same time in the afternoon, and that is what we heard over and over from residents is the problem.”
The remaining 611 parking spaces would be designated for hotel, residential, and commercial uses, and prohibited for day skier parking.
Dickey touted another win for the city - Deer Valley’s plan to construct a new gondola connecting Snow Park to its new base in the area formerly known as Mayflower.
“A contiguous gondola network that goes from the U.S. 40 side at Mayflower all the way back to Deer Valley, that someone can ride in a pair of tennis shoes, whether that’s an employee or a non-skiing guest. A bunch of folks that today would be driving into Snow Park, can take that gondola for transportation.”
While Thursday’s vote marks a step forward for the city and ski resort, the agreement is unofficial. Deer Valley’s full ski village development must still be approved by the city planning commission. And the city council has to finalize the partnership contract with the resort.
