Should ski resorts be able to develop any parcel of land they purchase or lease? The Town of Brighton is answering that question with a new ordinance (OAM2025-001431) which is currently being considered by the Town Council. The ordinance, if passed, would clarify and map ski resort boundaries, only permitting future resort growth within those margins. We sat down with Wasatch Backcountry Alliance and Winter Wildlands Alliance to chat about what's happening in Big Cottonwood Canyon:

More on the Ordinance

Save Our Canyons has been engaged with this process since it was first brought to the Town Planning Commission in July, 2025. After three Planning Commission Meetings, several rounds of consultation with the resorts, and hundreds of public comments, the Commission favorably recommended the ordinance to the Town Council, who will consider it in the November 11th meeting. As currently written, the ordinance and maps are a huge step forward for the Town of Brighton as they seek to align their code with the vision and goals set forth in the Town General Plan just three years ago. Goals in the general plan this ordinance align with include:

• Regulate responsible alteration and development of land that promotes safety for people, wildlife, water, and the natural landscape (LU1)
• Restore healthy and resilient trees and forests through land-use regulations (LU1-O2)
• Review ordinances for compatibility with preservation efforts (NR1-O2)
• Preserve open lands that are crucial for wildlife and reduce the potential for open lands to be developed for housing or urban growth (NR1-O4)

This strengthening of local land-use authority will help ensure residents have fair say in how the town grows, preventing a single entity from making changes that could impact the entire town without robust public support. We look forward to continuing our work with residents, wildland advocates, and recreationists to strengthen, support, and advance this ordinance.

The map recommended in the October Planning Commission Meeting

If passed as currently written, the ordinance would likely limit the ability of the resorts to develop their external landholdings without explicit permission from the Town Council to expand boundaries. This includes Solitude Mountain Resort's parcel on Old Stage Road, the location of the controversial parking lot proposal. It’s no secret that Big Cottonwood residents and visitors alike are in opposition to the proposed parking lot, which, as most recently drafted, would cut two 40-foot-deep gashes into the hillside, replace 14 acres of aspen trees with asphalt, pave an access road over protected watershed lands, add a new pedestrian and shuttle crossing across UT-190, and bring hundreds of additional cars into the canyon.

This proposal is a symptom of a much larger land-use and transportation issue that the proposed ordinance seeks to address. Though the ordinance likely impacts Solitude’s parking lot proposal, it is not simply a legislative patch to a planning issue, it is an attempt to better align the Town’s Land Use Code with the goals set forth in their general plan, while tempering local land-use authority.

For us at Save Our Canyons, this process has been a refreshing project. The Brighton community has done a very thorough job of understanding how to balance growth and economic development with the health of their community and the ecosystem that it relies on. In matching an ordinance with their town plan, they have created a tool where they will be able to more effectively manage the future of Brighton and Upper Big Cottonwood Canyon. Moreso, when the community works together and finds a shared vision, we realize that we have the power to make positive changes for both our livelihoods and the mountains.

For more questions, or to get more involved, please reach out to Save Our Canyons staff at .