Park City government officials recently approved two Deer Valley requests that mark major steps for the resort to begin constructing Snow Park Village on the existing base area parking lots.
On Wednesday the city’s planning commission approved several plat amendments for the project that includes a new base village with underground parking, hotels and commercial space.
A plat is a map or plan of an area that outlines the proposed site for construction, building boundaries and other details.
The approval of the Snow Park Village plats are contingent on the sale of less than half an acre of property between Deer Valley and the nearby Powder Run Condominiums homeowners association. Deer Valley plans to use the land for its new ski school drop-off.
The president of the local HOA, Kim Tessitore, said negotiations are ongoing during Wednesday’s meeting.
“To date, this land has not yet been conveyed to Deer Valley,” Tessitore said. “While discussions between Deer Valley and Powder Run have been generally favorable, and Powder Run anticipates a closing to take place within the next couple of months, the sale of the common area land is subject to continued negotiations, and ultimately, as required by Utah law and our governing documents, a favorable vote by Powder Run’s members.”
Along with the planning approvals, the Park City Council also approved Deer Valley’s request to form three public infrastructure districts, or PIDs, for Snow Park Village.
A PID can issue bonds that are repaid through property taxes or assessments on the properties within the project area, which in this case, is the base area parking lots.
Deer Valley’s attorney told the council that the PIDs will allow the ski resort to obtain more advantageous financing for its development.
The resort’s attorney, Wade Budge, also said Deer Valley no longer plans to pursue a separate funding tool called a community reinvestment agency, or CRA.
CRAs are funded by tax increment financing, which is additional property tax revenue that comes from increases in property values.
In November Deer Valley proposed a CRA involving taxes from Park City, Summit County, the Park City School District and other agencies to fund Snow Park Village. The resort later pulled the CRA proposal amid public outcry denouncing the idea.
Snow Park Village will take five years to complete. The base area will lose hundreds of parking spots over the course of construction.
Budge previously said he expects skiers to naturally migrate to the new East Village base in Wasatch County because of the disruptions.
Deer Valley previously said it expects to break ground on Snow Park Village in May.
"We're still working towards all of our standard approvals with the planning commission and the building department," resort spokesperson Emily Summers told KPCW. "We do not anticipate any major impacts to summer operations in the Snow Park area this year. Any activity will be carefully managed to preserve parking and the high-quality guest experience Deer Valley is known for."
Deer Valley Resort and Park City Municipal are financial supporters of KPCW.
