After court loss, Park City Mountain resubmits lift upgrade plans

Whistler Blackcomb Fitsimmons Express 8-person lift originally intended for Park City Mountain. Photo: Matt Sylvestre

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City Mountain has submitted new applications to replace two key chairlifts, bringing a long-running and closely watched debate over skier capacity, traffic and growth at one of Utah’s largest ski resorts back into the public eye.

Park City officials confirmed this week that the resort, owned by Vail Resorts, has filed Conditional Use Permit applications for the proposed replacement of the Silverlode Express and Eagle chairlifts. Unlike earlier attempts, the projects will now proceed through the city’s full public review process.

The resort’s earlier attempt to approve the lifts relied on an administrative permit issued by the city’s former planning director. That approval was appealed to the Planning Commission, which overturned it, sending the dispute into a series of legal challenges that ultimately reached the courts.

The filings come months after the Utah Court of Appeals upheld Park City’s decision to revoke an administrative permit that would have allowed the lift upgrades to bypass public hearings. While that ruling was issued in September, the newly submitted applications mark the first formal step toward reviving the projects.

City staff have not yet released a review timeline, but the applications are expected to go before the Planning Commission in the coming months.

Lift upgrades and capacity concerns

The proposed projects include replacing the six-passenger Silverlode Express with an eight-passenger detachable lift in Thaynes Canyon and replacing the aging Eagle and Eaglet lifts near the Mountain Village base with a six-passenger detachable chair.

Park City Mountain has said the upgrades are intended to reduce lift lines, improve circulation and modernize infrastructure, not to increase overall skier visitation.

“These replacements are about making the ski day better — shorter lift lines, smoother circulation, and easier access to the terrain and experiences we all love,” the resort says on its website.

Mayor Ryan Dickey underscored the importance of the resort as a community partner in light of the new applications.

“We appreciate their continued desire to invest in the on-mountain experience to benefit both locals and visitors,” Dickey said. “As with any proposal, the City will carefully review the details through our established process and land management code.”

Opponents argue the upgrades could increase the resort’s “Comfortable Carrying Capacity,” or CCC — a planning metric defined in the resort’s 1998 Development Agreement as the number of skiers the mountain can handle on its 10th busiest day.

Concerns about CCC and parking impacts were central to the earlier dispute, which began in 2022 when city planners initially approved the projects administratively. That approval was overturned by the Planning Commission after residents appealed, citing unanswered questions about capacity calculations and parking mitigation.

Court rulings loom large

In its ruling last fall, the Utah Court of Appeals found there was substantial evidence supporting the Planning Commission’s decision and said approvals could not be granted when CCC figures were unverified or inconsistent.

The court also noted that Park City Mountain’s own filings acknowledged potential parking impacts, undercutting claims that the upgrades would not generate additional demand.

Angela Moschetta, one of four residents who challenged the original permits, said the new applications represent a turning point — but one that will require close scrutiny.

“We supported bringing these projects into the full permit process years ago and continue to support that approach now,” Moschetta said in a joint statement issued by the appellants.

She said the community should remain attentive as the applications move forward.

“Two court rulings have established clear precedent for how Vail Resorts must proceed in Park City, and those rulings must be respected,” the statement said. “If the resort cannot demonstrate full compliance with the Development Agreement as it exists today, permit applications should not advance.”

Resort says investment is needed

Vail Resorts has said it remains committed to investing in Park City Mountain, noting more than $144 million in improvements since 2015, including the recently completed 10-passenger Sunrise Gondola in Canyons Village.

In a recent letter to the editor published in The Park Record, Park City Mountain Vice President and COO Deirdra Walsh said lift line congestion remains one of the most common complaints from guests and community members.

“Investments in lift infrastructure are critical to your experience,” Walsh wrote, adding that similar lift upgrades across Vail Resorts properties have reduced wait times year after year.

Walsh said the company plans to continue public engagement and is hosting an open house on Feb. 4 to discuss the proposed projects.

What happens next

City officials have not said whether the new applications will require a fresh review of the resort’s capacity calculations or amendments to the existing Development Agreement.

Moschetta said if Vail Resorts believes the decades-old agreement no longer reflects current conditions, the appropriate next step would be a transparent public process to amend it.

“Proceeding out of sequence only creates legal risk and uncertainty for everyone involved,” she said.

As the applications move forward, the debate is expected to draw significant public attention, with implications that extend beyond Park City.

“This applies well beyond one resort,” Moschetta said previously. “Capacity enforcement is now court-confirmed. The question is whether it will be used to defend quality of life for residents and the on-mountain experience for skiers.”