At a Park City Planning Commission meeting Wednesday, Deer Valley Vice President of Resort Planning Hannah Tyler said the project offers the chance to redefine the area.
“Snow Park Village is going to offer amenities for both locals and our destination guests, ensuring that the space is vibrant throughout the year,” Tyler said.
The resort has made revisions to the design of the village in recent months, including moving the proposed transit center and drop-off area closer to Snow Park Lodge.
Under Deer Valley’s plan, all parking will be moved underground, making way for a new ski beach set to be surrounded with hotels, bars and restaurants.
Deer Valley Project Director Jen Pasquier told the commission their goal is to create a vibrant walking area for the winter, summer and shoulder seasons.
“We’ve taken a lot of inspiration from European alpine villages in terms of scale, pedestrian friendliness,” Pasquier said. “We’re burying the car. So with that comes incredible opportunity to give this space back to our community and to create a really, really, really active space.”
Proposed construction includes 115 hotel rooms, 83 condos, nearly 2,000 parking spots and 30,000 square feet of space for retail stores, restaurants and bars.
Planning commissioners had minimal comments about the project at Wednesday’s meeting.
Deer Valley hosted around 300 residents for an open house about the development at Snow Park Lodge Thursday.
Deer Valley Drive resident Jim Bauer told KPCW that the only constant is change.
“I think it’s happening,” Bauer said. “I mean, whether you’re happy with the process, everything changes in Park City.”
Bauer described watching traffic problems during a Deer Valley concert earlier this month.
“The whole system collapsed, I can sit there and watch it,” he said. “If we had an emergency… it’s such a sensitive system.”
Bauer said he’d like to see Park City limit the traffic impacts of the development for the benefit of all residents.
Tyler with Deer Valley said the resort is working to address emergency access at Thursday’s meeting. She said the new bus lanes that will wrap around the Snow Park loop will allow for emergency vehicle travel, along with other routes.
In the future the Deer Valley Dr. “Y” intersection next to the Deer Valley Cafe will be getting a traffic signal. Tyler said that's to meet existing engineering standards and is not the result of the development.
The next meeting on the project, which will include a public hearing, is scheduled for Oct. 9. The planning commission has wiped its agenda on Oct. 30 to hold a special meeting solely dedicated to Snow Park Village.
Deer Valley is hoping to get a vote on the first phase of the project in December to begin construction next spring.
