by Two Sisters Collective
Deer Valley Resort on Wednesday night secured an approval for the first phase of a major development at Snow Park, a critical step as the resort prepares to turn the location into a full-service base area after it essentially has served for decades as a place where many skiers begin and end their days.
The Park City Planning Commission cast a unanimous vote in favor of the infrastructure that is needed for the overall project. The vote followed months of talks between Deer Valley, the Planning Commission and people with interests in lower Deer Valley. The approval includes a parking garage with up to 1,971 spaces, an underground transit center close to Snow Park Lodge and various improvements to roads and utilities. The garage will provide the Snow Park parking with the lots there now slated to be the location of the development.
The Planning Commission received six minutes of public testimony prior to the vote touching on issues like parking, heights and the traffic pattern. Some of the panelists expressed worry that issues, including certain parking questions, will not be addressed until the talks about a second phase of development.
The approval on Wednesday was among the Planning Commission’s most notable votes in recent years. The first phase of the Snow Park project will involve infrastructure rather than the residential and commercial square footage that will be considered later, but the approval was necessary for Deer Valley to continue to press ahead with the other elements of the development.
There are development rights attached to the land where the Snow Park parking lots are located dating to the original 1970s-era approvals for the creation of Deer Valley. The resort, though, needed to win additional approvals before a project could proceed.
“I think it’s part of the original vision of what Deer Valley wanted to be, which was to have the world-class base area at Snow Park. And so this is something that was contemplated back in 1979 when the resort was formed. … We’re making progress to start to realize that vision,” Todd Bennett, the president and chief operating officer at Deer Valley, said in an interview after the vote.
Bennett also noted the founders of Deer Valley, the late Edgar and Polly Stern, as he spoke about the Snow Park plans. He did not know the couple but described the concept for the base as something they would have supported.
“I think they’d be really proud that we’re doing it the right way. That we’re engaging with the community, that we’re engaging with the city staff, the Planning Commission, the City Council. And we’re making sure this will be a world-class project,” Bennett said.
Deer Valley does not expect significant impacts to the operations of Snow Park this summer. Those are anticipated in subsequent years as alterations to the parking availability and road network are anticipated as a result of the work.
The Planning Commission prior to the vote spent extensive time reviewing a set of conditions attached to the approval. The conditions address a wide range of issues like transportation and parking, essentially outlining how the project will proceed. Read more HERE
