A Third District Court judge on Monday sided with the Park City government in a high-profile dispute centered on proposed Park City Mountain lift upgrades, delivering a ruling from the bench after a lengthy hearing at Silver Summit in a case that pitted the resort against the municipal government and critics of the improvements the resort sought.
The judge, Richard Mrazik, essentially backed the Park City Planning Commission in that panel’s earlier overturning of a staff-level approval at City Hall of the lift upgrades. Once the Planning Commission overturned the staff-level approval, Park City Mountain brought the case to the Third District Court. The Silverlode Express and Eagle lifts would have been upgraded under the resort’s plan.
“Park City Municipal respects the court’s thorough review of the case and today’s decision. Though disagreements in our community can be contentious at times, our system is designed to resolve these matters deliberately as is the case today. We appreciate the court recognized the diligence of our Planning Commission, whose complex work often goes underappreciated,” City Hall said in a prepared statement.
Park City Mountain spokesperson Sara Huey also released a prepared statement on Monday, saying, “We appreciate the district court’s time and consideration of our appeal. We continue to be disappointed in the Park City Planning Commission’s decision to revoke the permit for these lift upgrades, but remain committed to investing in the guest experience at Park City Mountain.”
The critics of the proposed improvements also released a prepared statement. It said: “We are pleased the court upholds the conclusions of Park City’s Planning Commission and affirms the right of a permitting authority to verify a ski resort’s operation in accordance with code and law. Visitors, employees, and surrounding communities depend on transparency and disclosure to assure safety and function at all Vail Resorts properties. We hope Vail Resorts and Park City Mountain accept Judge Mrazik’s ruling and also accept the invitation extended by Park City Municipal in 2022 to apply for new permits in accordance with code and capacity considerations.”
Much of the intrigue unfolded in 2022 as the sides girded for the Planning Commission process and then the appeal to the district court. There were widespread community concerns about the way the 2021-22 ski season was managed at Park City Mountain, with numerous Parkites expressing discontent with lift lines, traffic and the overall crowding.
The resort saw the proposed upgrades as an important step to address the flow of the crowds on the slopes.
The critics of the proposed lift upgrades, however, worried that the work could exacerbate issues at Park City Mountain. They claimed the upgraded lifts would lead to skier-snowboarder numbers at the resort that would exceed a metric known as the comfortable carrying capacity. There were also concerns about Park City Mountain’s plan to address parking needs related to the upgrades.
The resort unsuccessfully attempted to counter that the upgrades would not bring more people to the slopes, saying there is no such thing as tourism driven by lifts.
The debate drew the attention of people who closely follow Park City politics or monitor the resort industry, as well as rank-and-file Parkites interested in the fate of the upgrades. The resort industry in Park City has typically encountered little resistance to the annual packages of improvements over the decades.
Park City Mountain itself in 2015 won broad backing for the approval of the gondola that would link the Park City and Canyons Village sides of what had been two separate resorts. There were only limited concerns from the public or the panels in Park City and the Snyderville Basin that cast votes in favor of the connection.
But there has increasingly been a wariness in the community regarding the resort industry since Colorado-based Vail Resorts acquired Park City Mountain in 2014 and the Alterra Mountain Company acquisition of Deer Valley Resort three years later.
Some Parkites see the community as having suffered with crowds, traffic and what they consider to be a diminished experience on the slopes with the corporatization of the ski industry, particularly at Park City Mountain. The problems during the 2021-22 ski season, including long lines and parking issues, seemed to embolden Parkites worried about the industry in the time before the key discussions about the lift upgrades sought by Park City Mountain.
The hearing on Monday covered a series of issues, including the comfortable carrying capacity, the administrative City Hall approval process, parking and whether decisions made during the process were arbitrary and capricious or based on evidence.
The judge, as an example, said there was reasonable support for questions regarding parking issues related to the proposed upgrades.