A newly appointed member of the Park City Planning Commission will recuse himself from the upcoming discussions about lift upgrades sought by Park City Mountain, citing a longtime association with the resort.
Adam Strachan is an attorney who has for decades defended Park City Mountain and other clients in the ski industry. Strachan represents Park City Mountain in personal-injury cases but not in other capacities. The package of lift improvements is one of the high-profile applications currently under consideration by the Planning Commission.
Strachan consulted with attorneys from the municipal government shortly after his appointment and opted to recuse himself afterward. He will leave the room during discussions about the upgrades as a result of the recusal.
“It was my decision at the end of the day,” he said in an interview, adding, “Even the possibility of an appearance of a conflict, I want to steer clear of.”
Strachan said he could have instead disclosed the relationship with Park City Mountain, remained involved in the talks as a member of the Planning Commission and eventually cast a vote. He said, though, he saw the better course of action as recusing himself.
Strachan, as a private citizen, in 2022 spoke in support of the lift upgrades at Park City Mountain during a previous process that was unsuccessful for the resort. His comments at that time were made to the Planning Commission. He praised Park City Mountain for what he said was “over-mitigating” key topics like parking.
Strachan is serving on the Planning Commission for a second time after spending nearly a decade on the panel before retiring in early 2018. Mayor Ryan Dickey appointed him in late March to fill a midterm vacancy. The term ends in July of 2028. Strachan said he recused himself on at least one Park City Mountain application during his previous tenure.
Park City Mountain is seeking to replace three lifts. It is bidding to build a six-passenger lift as a replacement for two existing ones — Eagle and Eaglet. The resort also wants to put in an eight-passenger lift as an upgrade to the Silverlode Express, which currently carries six passengers.
The Planning Commission in March began its talks about the improvements, but more extensive discussions are expected at subsequent meetings. The meeting last month was held shortly before Strachan’s appointment. There were comments that issues like transportation and parking, which are oftentimes difficult topics at the Planning Commission level, would, expectedly, be addressed during the review.
The Planning Commission, on May 13, is slated to return to the talks. It would be the first meeting that would involve a recusal by Strachan. The Planning Commission at the May 13 meeting is scheduled to hold hearings, discuss the improvements and possibly continue the matters to a meeting two weeks later. Up-or-down votes could be taken at the May 27 meeting, according to the agenda for the May 13 meeting.
Park City Mountain describes the upgrades as a step toward modernizing the resort’s infrastructure and improving the guest experience with better circulation and a reduction of congestion on the slopes. An earlier round of talks about the upgrades followed a different municipal route and became entangled in procedural matters. Park City Mountain was unsuccessful in the earlier effort, leading to the current discussions with the Planning Commission.