Sandy to annex Snowbird Ski Resort?
Sandy could take Snowbird under its wing.
Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, has introduced a bill that would allow the Little Cottonwood Canyon ski resort to bolt from unincorporated Salt Lake County and become part of Sandy.
Although Snowbird is miles away from Sandy and doesn't touch a common boundary, SB244 would allow the resort to annex into its not-so-near neighbor since their borders are separated only by federal lands.
It's a tempting prospect for Snowbird. It's not that the resort has found itself at odds with the county over future development. It's that taxes are getting too high.
"What we are trying to do is find an effective, cost-efficient government for our area," Snowbird General Manager Bob Bonar said Tuesday. "We have a responsibility to do that. It is not about better ordinances or different zoning."
The legislative push comes just weeks before Snowbird -- and the rest of unincorporated Salt Lake County -- will be asked to pay more for police protection to shore up the county's recession-bruised budget. The resort's annual police tab could reach $124,000.
Bonar said that looming fee played a part in his decision to pursue a closer relationship with Sandy.
"There are serious questions about Mayor [Peter] Corroon's approach to assess an extraordinary fee to businesses and other entities that are in the county that aren't within cities," Bramble said, arguing he would also look to the Legislature for help if he lived in one of those impacted communities.
Corroon sits on the three-member law-enforcement district board (along with County Councilmen Michael Jensen and Jim Bradley) that imposed the police fee.
If the bill passes, Sandy stands ready to welcome Snowbird. The resort already is collaborating with the city on a marketing campaign aimed at out-of-town skiers.
Snowbird "really is part of our city now," Mayor Tom Dolan said. "We call ourselves the base camp for skiing in Little Cottonwood Canyon."
The county could lose big if Snowbird defects. The world-class resort stretches across 2,500 acres and includes 85 ski runs, nearly 900 hotel rooms and 15 restaurants.
While the county still is crunching the tax numbers, Corroon characterized Snowbird as an "important part of the tax base that we don't want to lose."
The Democratic mayor, who is running for governor, did not oppose the bill outright Tuesday -- he hasn't had a chance to review the text yet -- but said it raises concerns about how an annexed Snowbird would receive essential services such as police and fire protection.
Carl Fisher, executive director of Save Our Canyons, worries, too, about how future development might be handled in Little Cottonwood Canyon. While the county has ordinances touching on everything from stream bank setbacks to ridgeline development in the canyons, Sandy's rules aren't as defined.
"This is a new endeavor for them," Fisher said.
He fears the resort could sidestep some of the protections now in place for the canyon.
Dolan insists Sandy's restrictions on development are similar to the county's. However, he said, the city could create a special zone for the resort if necessary.
While the bill is targeted at Snowbird, it also could affect Solitude ski resort in neighboring Big Cottonwood Canyon. Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore confirmed Solitude has made "inquiries" about the possibility of being annexed into his city.
"Of course, we told [Solitude] we'd love to have them," Cullimore said. "It would lend more credibility to our slogan of being the city between the canyons -- and maybe the city up the canyon. It adds more diversity to the city and to its tax base."
Cullimore said Solitude wants a "closer working relationship" with a smaller, local government that, perhaps, has greater flexibility to address the resort's "unique needs."
Back in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Alta Mayor Tom Pollard said it might make more sense for his small town -- next to Snowbird -- to annex the resort. It's something that has been discussed, he said, but perhaps SB244 will push Alta to work more "aggressively."
Pollard questioned whether another government agency -- Sandy -- would complicate oversight of the long and narrow canyon. Already, Alta, the Utah Highway Patrol and Salt Lake County's Unified Police Department work together to keep the snowy canyon safe. But Pollard can see the benefit of annexation from Sandy's point of view.
"Snowbird generates a lot of sales tax," he said. "Snowbird's one of the last big malls in the county."
At this point, Snowbird officials say they aren't considering joining Alta.
Bonar said his backing of SB244 comes down to one thing: choice. If Snowbird wants to leave the county, he wants the ability to do so.
