Vail Resorts asked to delay its Sunrise Gondola presentation until the commission's Jan. 9 meeting.
“This just occurred probably an hour and a half ago, is when we received notice,” Planning Commission Chair Bruce Carmichael said Dec. 12. “So this is late-breaking.”
That meant the agenda hadn’t been updated, and several residents in attendance stood and left.
Jan. 9 is now the earliest the planning commission could vote on the proposal.
Park City Mountain didn’t give a specific reason for the delay.
“We appreciate the support of our community and look forward to making this important investment in the guest experience,” resort spokesperson Sara Huey told KPCW.
Community Development Director Pat Putt will ultimately approve or deny the new gondola, but he’s asked the planning commission to give him a recommendation first.
The proposed 10-person gondola would replace the Sunrise Lift near the Pendry Plaza at Canyons Village. It would offer a third way up the mountain besides the Red Pine Gondola and Orange Bubble Express, dropping off at the Red Pine Lodge.
Vail needs a “low impact permit" to build, which means any would-be negative impacts of the gondola need to be mitigated.
The staff report says the resort has planned the necessary mitigations, including putting the main motor at the the top of the gondola to minimize noise.
Planning commissioners will review the code and the project themselves to confirm that’s the case. The community development director’s ultimate decision is administrative, which means as long as the resort is complying with code, it can build the new gondola.
So far, Vail has secured the permission of all the landowners in the lift corridor, support of the Canyons Village Management Association for its redesigned gondola plaza and other letters of support.
