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SNOWBIRD — Another heated issue was up for discussion Tuesday night — a proposed expansion of Snowbird into American Fork Canyon.
“It is one of the ideas that we’ve had that we would like to improve access,” said Bob Bonar, president and CEO of Snowbird. “It’s an idea for consideration. We don’t have a proposal. We don’t have a line on a map.”
Owners have talked about the expansion for years. It would involve a land swap, could mean additional bike lands, or an integrated shuttle system. Ownership insists such an expansion wouldn’t conflict with any current uses of American Fork Canyon.
Residents and American Fork city leaders seemed happy with Tuesday’s meeting.
“I think this was democracy in action,” American Fork city councilman Brad Frost said. “We had a developer and then we had people that have real interest in preserving it as it is.”
The land swap is part of the larger Mountain Accord project that involves Salt Lake, Summit, and Wasatch counties.
A grass-roots organization on Facebook called Protect and Preserve American Fork Canyon opposes the proposed changes.
In an emailed statement, the group said:
“There are dozens of Utah County mayors who have not been asked to participate [in proposal discussions], yet if Snowbird builds a 5 mile gondola and then Cedar Hills puts in a hotel in the mouth of the canyon, the small town community feelings will become more like Park City.”
There is a vote planned for July 15 to make a recommendation for what should be done up the canyon. There will be another meeting on Tuesday, June 23rd, at 8:45 a.m. at Utah County Administration Building in Provo.
The attached YouTube video shows the entirety of the discussion held on June 16. The presentation begins around the 42 minute mark.
Contributing: Angie H. Treasure
Snowbird Ski Resort
