The Park City Planning Commission on Wednesday continued its review of Deer Valley Resort’s plan to build a major development at its Snow Park base.
The commissioners discussed proposed conditions that the resort must meet to get approval for the first phase of Snow Park Village. Those conditions involve parking, updated traffic management plans, transit improvements, pedestrian and bicycle connectivity, construction mitigation, utility improvements and infrastructure for future development, among others.
The vision for the project calls for lodging, residences, commercial space, a ski beach, an underground transit center next to Snow Park Lodge and transportation infrastructure, including a gondola that would run to Silver Lake Village and Park Peak. A three-level partially underground parking structure with 1,971 parking spaces would replace surface lots.
The development is forecast to cost almost $1.6 billion. The resort is proposing a five-year timeline to construct Snow Park while continuing ski operations.
Under the resort’s plan, the first phase would include the parking garage, transit center, utilities and infrastructure. The second phase would be the vertical development — construction of a hotel, residences, an event center and retail space.
Parking for guests and employees is a major concern of the commission. Commissioner Laura Suesser said she would like specific incentives for carpooling.
Commissioner John Frontero asked for more details about a proposed employee parking plan.
“I’m still not certain what exactly the plan is for getting the current employees and the new employees that are going to be generated from Snow Park to work every day,” he said.
According to the resort, the vast majority of its 3,000 workers are not driving into work.
The resort is open to the idea of having a reservation system when it is needed, Todd Bennett, Deer Valley president and chief operating officer, said.
“We want the flexibility to use that reservation system when it addresses the problem or problems that we’re trying to deal with,” he said, adding there are plenty of times when the system would be of great value.
“We don’t want people coming into Deer Valley if there are no parking spaces,” Bennett said.
Deer Valley’s proposal includes a Transportation Demand Management program to enhance measures to decrease the number of vehicles trips, increase alternate modes of transportation such as carpooling and reduce the proportion of traffic on the road during peak travel periods.
Park City and Deer Valley have a public-private partnership centering on the transportation and housing aspects of the project. The municipal government and the resort will each contribute $15 million as part of the arrangement.
Another Planning Commission meeting is scheduled Feb. 26 for further discussion of the first phase that could include a review of an updated construction mitigation and phasing plan. Commissioners could potentially take final action or continue the review.
Also on Wednesday, the Planning Commission reviewed updated technical reports addressing impacts on wildlife habitat and open space from Lift 7, which Deer Valley has proposed to build on Park Peak. The reports include proposed efforts to mitigate these impacts and protect environmentally sensitive land.
Lift 7, which would be Deer Valley’s first six-passenger lift, will run for 0.56 of a mile and serve beginner terrain at the resort’s upper elevations. The project proposal also calls for 4.6 miles of new ski runs.
The commissioners approved the amended reports, which did not make major changes to the project. The project’s Phase II application — which includes a bottom terminal and lift storage building, a pumphouse and possible realignment of one ski run — will be scheduled for review by the commission later this year.