The Summit County Council denied a Talisker Corporation affiliate’s request for a “public infrastructure district” last December.
At the time, some councilmembers expressed concerns since a letter from Utah’s state auditor had advised caution with PIDs.
But after Utah lawmakers passed a bill to make sure PIDs don’t pose a liability to cities or counties, Talisker returned to the county council and won its support March 11.
Councilmember Tonja Hanson said facilitating a new hotel at Canyons Village will help Summit County compete with Deer Valley Resort’s East Village in Wasatch County.
“People have heard me say this publicly before: I'm concerned of what's going on at Deer Valley East and the impacts that's having on our county, on our [transient room tax], those types of things,” she said.
One condition of the approval is for Talisker to cover the cost of transportation infrastructure. The council will require the developer to set aside $1 million raised by the PID for a bus rapid transit station for the county’s bus service.
PIDs work by issuing bonds — like other government entities — and typically repay them with property taxes. But they only tax themselves, not other property owners in the county or city they’re within.
According to Summit County’s civil attorneys and public finance banker Sam Elder, the Utah Legislature has taken pains to say that PIDs are not “part of” county or city governments.
Elder told the council part of House Bill 507 passed this year addresses that.
“It also expressly states that the financial obligations, including audit and accounting, are solely the burden of the PID not of the creating entity,” he said.
The Utah state auditor previously suggested that PIDs should be understood as part of the city or county that creates them. But Summit County’s top civil attorney Dave Thomas has repeatedly told the council the auditor was wrong.
When the council resumed PID discussions in February, Councilmember Roger Armstrong said he still wasn’t convinced, citing concerns about accelerating growth. He was absent March 11 when his colleagues voted 4-0 to approve the Canyons PID.
The district’s boundaries will include land above the golf course, north of the Orange Bubble Express lift, currently reserved for a hotel and conference center. It could also pay for the expansion of High Mountain Road between the Red Pine and Sunrise gondolas.
Last month, Talisker affiliate attorney Laurel Simpson and Elder estimated Canyons has built about 40% or 55% of the buildings it is entitled to build.
Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW.
