In a brief meeting Wednesday, Park City Planning Commissioners provided some initial feedback to Deer Valley officials about the ski resort’s plan to build a new village complete with hotel rooms and restaurants on the existing Snow Park parking lots.
Deer Valley wants the commission to approve the transformational project in two phases. First up for review is a three-story underground parking garage with nearly 2,000 spaces. The ski resort’s application for the second phase, which includes residential units and commercial space, could come later this year, according to a staff report.
On Wednesday planning commissioner Laura Suesser said not knowing the exact plans for the buildings above the parking garage during the first approval process may provide some difficulties.
“Getting to an approval point for the parking garage without knowing what the uses are, is, I think, going to be an ongoing struggle,” Suesser said.
Suesser asked for Deer Valley to return to the next meeting with more details about building occupancies and other traffic data.
The ski resort said it is considering several measures to curtail single-occupancy drivers coming to the redeveloped base area, which is expected to generate over 800 new daily trips to Snow Park. Such measures include paid parking, parking reservations and potential hotel shuttles.
Commissioner John Frontero, along with other members, said expanding shuttle service should be a priority.
“Maybe you have a pilot program for a year or two, and you have six shuttles that move through town in the early morning and in the evening,” Frontero said. “The goal is to reduce single-occupancy vehicles, and so I think you have a lot of tools that are available. And I believe you’ll need to use all the tools available. And I think the shuttles, I see that as an excellent tool to be able to move locals around.”
According to data shared at Wednesday’s meeting, nearly 60% of guests get to Deer Valley today by driving alone. Around 13% use public transit and 15% carpool.
The commission also asked resort officials to return with more information about ski school drop-off and the proposed traffic changes for the Deer Valley Drive loop.
The project is set for a special commission meeting Oct. 30. The Snow Park Village proposal will be the sole focus of the discussion..
According to a timeline from city officials, a vote on the parking garage could occur as soon as December.
