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Summit County's Chris Robinson Is New Chair Of Central Wasatch Commission

Summit County

Summit County Council Member Chris Robinson is the new chairman of the Central Wasatch Commission---the intergovernmental group that is working on transportation and land preservation issues for the Wasatch Front range.

The CWC’s mission has been affected by news that four ski resorts are backing away from some land swaps with the federal government.    Robinson says he can understand their position.   

Last month, news headlines in Salt Lake announced that the Solitude, Brighton, Snowbird and Alta resorts were declining some planned land swaps that would have set aside some of their mountainside terrain, to be preserved, in exchange for public lands near their bases.

That would have occurred under the planned National Conservation and Recreation Area Act.   

Robinson talked about the land-value exchanges being contemplated under the swaps.       

“The reason that they’re backing away is that they think there’s like a 100-to-1 value ratio.  So, for instance, if you have 100 acres of hillside land, and you have one acre at the base, and the acre at the base is worth 100 times, and the hillside land’s worth $1500.  So the currency’s so out of whack, that it makes making the exchange undesirable.  If Snowbird has 2000 acres, and it’s worth, say, $300,000, and they give that up and they get two acres at the base—whoop de do!.   Why bother?  And that’s kind of, it’s like that currency doesn’t stretch very far.”

He said a major factor here is how much the resorts want to control their base areas.      

“In many cases, it’s land that the Forest Service owns, on which they have a lease, and they already have building.  And they just want to unify the title.   So are there other ways to resolve that?   Is exchange the only way?    And the broader question is, how important are the exchanges to the resorts, and to the viability of the legislation.  Those are the issues.   It doesn’t surprise me; if the exchange ratios are so out of whack, why would they do it?  That doesn’t surprise me.  I wouldn’t do em either.”

Chris Robinson, the new chair of the Central Wasatch Commission.

Known for getting all the facts right, as well as his distinctive sign-off, Rick covered Summit County meetings and issues for 35 years on KPCW. He now heads the Friday Film Review team.
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