One of the most hotly contested expansion plans in Utah has been the Snow Park base area at Deer Valley.
This new base village would contain shops, restaurants, hotels, a transit hub, and an underground parking garage. A major part of this new base village is a gondola. The gondola, which would start at Snow Park, would connect to the Park Peak and the base area of Deer Valley’s new expansion.
Park City and Deer Valley were at odds over a few issues, mostly regarding traffic. However, an agreement was made between the two sides last week. Deer Valley will be giving Park City Municipal $15 million, which will go towards transportation and affordable housing. In addition to the new Snow Park base area, Deer Valley has agreed to a reduction of 15-20% of parking spaces compared to what they currently have there. This move, along with the planned increased transit services, would reduce traffic around town. In return, Park City Municipal has given a road vacation to Deer Valley Drive, which will be redesigned. According to Mason County, a road vacation is when “property owners [i.e. Deer Valley] can have the public’s interest in road rights of way removed.” This agreement will need to be approved by the City Council.
The core of the debate is Deer Valley Drive, which is the road that winds around the Snow Park base area. There are fears that this new road would make it more difficult to get around, and would thus increase traffic.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the road vacation is facing a lot of resistance from locals who live around the proposed village. Bill Newman, who’s the President of Pinnacle HOA, which is situated right next to Deer Valley Drive, believes that this vacation doesn’t abide by Utah state law. At last night’s meeting about the plans, locals continued to voice their disapproval of the plans.
If the road vacation ends up being approved, the Snow Park base village plan will head to the Park City Planning Commission. If approved, Deer Valley aims to do the groundbreaking ceremony next year. The completion of the project would be in 2029 or 2030.
Image Credits: Deer Valley Resort
