The Park City Planning Commission on Wednesday continued to discuss a development proposal at the Snow Park base area at Deer Valley Resort, addressing transportation-related issues and appearing to make only limited progress.
Deer Valley holds longstanding rights to develop the parking lots outside Snow Park Lodge but must secure another approval from the Planning Commission before work could commence. The resort wants to remake the base area with a project involving a hotel, other lodging options, commercial spaces, dining and entertainment.
Transportation is one of the key issues for the Planning Commission. Panelists and people who live or have properties in the area of Snow Park want to guard against traffic headed to and from the development overwhelming the roads around the land. The parking plans, closely related to transportation, are also key with Deer Valley intending to build large garages to account for spots lost as the lots are developed.
City Hall staffers have found “in general the proposed plan meets the City’s transit first philosophy with increased public transit amenities, improved transportation level of service, and different mode accommodation,” according to a municipal report drafted in anticipation of the meeting on Wednesday. The report notes the proposal “provides a dedicated bus lane to and from the resort and provides a new transit hub for up to six buses and can accommodate electric bus charging, bus driver amenities.”
The Planning Commission received input on Wednesday from the Solamere neighborhood. Testimony during the meeting, which was held virtually as City Hall continues to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, brought up topics like the possibility of experimenting with traffic-fighting measures before they are finalized as part of the project and a concern about drivers headed to the project leaving their vehicles in nearby neighborhoods. Another speaker offered an idea of a shuttle for nearby residents as a way to reduce parking issues at the resort itself.
One of the members of the Planning Commission, Christin Van Dine, questioned whether the project’s parking plans, which include the introduction of a paid-parking system, would push drivers elsewhere. If that is the case, there would be concerns about parking in the neighborhood. The Deer Valley transportation plan, though, is designed to reduce the number of trips in vehicles.
A timeline for a Planning Commission vote is not clear, but the discussions about a large project like the one at Snow Park can sometimes take months or longer before the panel is ready to make a decision.
The talks about a project at Deer Valley are unfolding at the same time as the difficult Planning Commission discussions about a major development proposal at the base area of Park City Mountain Resort. The two projects, if approved as envisioned, would remake the entries to the community’s two mountain resorts.