Park City/Deer Valley Proposed Public-Private Partnership Summary

Post Date:12/01/2023

Park City/Deer Valley Proposed Public-Private Partnership Summary

11/30/2023

Park City and Deer Valley are proposing a long-term public-private partnership to help advance community interests regarding the Snow Park Village redevelopment and requested right of way vacation.

The proposal is not final and has not been approved by the City Council. The Council’s agreement to vacate the right of way would be contingent upon the Planning Commission approving the MPD.

The primary elements of the partnership under consideration are the following:

  1. Deer Valley will pay $15 million towards the creation of a regionally significant transportation and parking facility. These funds may also be used for affordable housing in connection with that facility. A Management Committee will provide stewardship and fund oversight.
    • As partners, the City and Deer Valley commit to secure additional public and private partners to maximize the level of investment and scale of benefit.
  2. Deer Valley will return to the Park City Planning Commission to seek approval of an updated Master Plan Development (MPD) application and final Subdivision Plat(s) that include, but are not limited to, the following transportation and parking mitigation measures:
    • Integration of Deer Valley’s lift infrastructure with U.S. Highway 40 to distribute resort access more efficiently across the mountain, thereby reducing crowding at key entry points and diverting some of the traffic and parking away from Park City.
      • Deer Valley will create a network of gondolas to connect the Mayflower base area to Snow Park Village.
      • To support the expanded gondola network, Deer Valley will seek to expand maintenance facilities at Silver Lake.
      • Deer Valley will also expand restaurant/skier services at Silver Lake.
  3. Deer Valley will build required affordable housing (at least 67.1 Affordable Unit Equivalents) within Park City limits and with immediate proximity to public transit.
  4. Establishment of a Public Infrastructure District (PID) to enable Deer Valley to invest in public infrastructure at the project site following MPD approval— including roads, intersections, crosswalks, transit, parking structure, utilities and public pathways.
  5. Park City will vacate the requested right of way on Deer Valley Drive in accordance with the terms and conditions above upon approval of the MPD by the Planning Commission.
    • A reduction in day skier parking by 20% compared to existing conditions. The hotel, residential, dining, retail, and entertainment parking spaces will be prohibited for day skier parking. Deer Valley will also implement a paid parking plan to distribute arrivals and departures more efficiently.
    • A new public transit center at Deer Valley. Plans for the new transit center will be reviewed by the Planning Commission in conjunction with the updated MPD application and final traffic circulation plan.
    • Ensure access to Doe Pass Road for emergency, utility, and public vehicles, with maintenance responsibilities retained by Deer Valley.
    • Construction mitigation plans will maintain public access to Deer Valley Drive and minimize off-site hauling and construction traffic. 

The community has shared many important comments and suggestions regarding the traffic circulation in the project area, including microtransit, ski-school drop-off, shared-mixed-use-lane, bike and pedestrian lanes, traffic signals, walkability, traffic studies, and more. Deer Valley and City staff have been workshopping and studying many of these concepts, and additional work and review will be conducted through the Planning Commission process in the context of the MPD.


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Biochar

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Although wildfires are a healthy part of many ecosystems in the Intermountain West, the risk from catastrophic wildfires continues to increase in communities like Park City. Years of fire suppression, coupled with a hotter and drier climate and the continued development of subdivisions close to forestlands, presents the difficult challenge of trying to protect communities while also managing fire in a way that does not exacerbate climate change.

In 2019, Park City was among eight communities to recently receive a Leader in Community Resilience Program award from the National League of Cities (NLC). The award will support the city’s work in developing a biochar program to reduce excess forest fire fuels such as brush and wood debris, and return that carbon to Park City's soils.

Biochar is a charcoal-like material that can be used in carbon sequestration efforts. It is made by burning the excess forest fuels in an oxygen-free environment. Biochar is rich in carbon and in this case, will be collected from defensible spaces, that is the natural or landscaped area around a structure that is maintained and designed to reduce fire danger. Park City held a public demonstration in May 2019 to teach the public about how biochar is made, where it can be used on the landscape, and how it can reduce fire danger locally.

The forests surrounding most structures in the community contain a lot of poor-quality lumber that has the potential to be turned into biochar. This biochar, in turn, can be applied to farm fields and open spaces.

Get in touch to learn more!