First Vail Resorts got into a fight with Vail’s town council. Now it’s tangling with Park City’s planning commission.
The Park City Planning Commission on Wednesday night sided with a group of locals who are fighting Vail Resorts’ plan to upgrade three chairlifts at the largest ski area in the U.S.
Danny Moloshok/AP Photo
The rollercoaster ride continues for Vail Resorts. On the heels of reporting record season pass sales, skier traffic and revenue, the largest resort operator in North America again is grappling with a local community impacted by crowds.
For the second time in two months locals in one of the company’s resort communities — this time it’s Park City in Utah — have stymied the company’s plans for upgrades and improvements.
The Park City Planning Commission on Wednesday night sided with a group of locals who are fighting Vail Resorts’ plan to upgrade three chairlifts at the largest ski area in the U.S. Park City staff recommended the city’s planning commission approve the lift upgrade plan, which proposed replacing two lifts with high-speed six-packs and upgrading an existing six-pack to the company’s first-ever eight-pack.
A group of locals appealed the staff decision, arguing that the city’s planning commission should have weighed in on the decision because it increased capacity on the ski area without a more thorough plan for improved parking.
The city’s planning commission rejected the lift upgrade plan on Wednesday night following a heated public meeting. Last month the Vail town council voted to condemn property where the company had won approval from a previous council to build affordable housing. The Vail council argues the parcel is critical for bighorn sheep and development there would decimate a herd native to the valley.
Support Local Journalism
Rick Bowmer/AP Photo
Read more via The Colorado Sun.