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Show B-1 C-1 EDUCATION, A-11 BUILDING WILL HAVE MANY DIFFERENT PURPOSES The nation's fallen will be honored COLUMNS, A-18 TERI ORR GOES TO A SAN DIEGO TECH CONFERENCE Park Record. PARK CITY Serving Summit County since 1880 To add an event to our calendar, visit www.parkrecord.com/eventsubmissionform MARK THE DATES FOR RIVALRY GAMES THE 'DOG DAYS' HAVE ARRIVED IN PARK CITY The Share your event! , UTAH | WWW.PARKRECORD.COM Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, May 24-27, 2014 Vol. 134 | No. 32 50¢ Judge sides with Talisker Rulings could reshape area's ski industry Powdr Corp. CEO says a settlement is still needed By JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO Justin Martinez, a member of the Park City post of the American Legion, is a Coast Guard veteran. He participated in a Memorial Day ceremony in Park City last year, pictured. Ceremony planned on Memorial Day CHRISTOPHER REEVES/PARK RECORD Park City Mountain Resort remains embroiled in a lawsuit with Talisker Land Holdings, LLC, which owns the land underlying most of the resort's terrain. The resort has called for a negotiated settlement to the case. It is 'business as usual' around Park City as case continues Stock in Vail Resorts jumps after rulings, then levels out By JAY HAMBURGER By JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record The Park Record The message to people considering a ski vacation to Park City next winter: no need to worry about the lawsuit between Park City Mountain Resort and its landlord, Talisker Land Holdings, LLC. Soon after the judge in the case this week issued rulings that favored the landlord, people with a stake in Park City's vital tourism industry said in interviews the 2014-2015 ski season does not appear to be threatened. "Business as usual," said Bob Hughes, the general manager of Park City Peaks Hotel on S.R. 224. Hughes said bookings for next February are well ahead of the pace of bookings for February 2014 through the same time period. February is typically a bellwether month in the ski industry. He said the hotel tells prospective guests it is anticipating a "nice, long wintry" ski season. "We support the community. We're here as a business to drive tourism. Our goals haven't changed. Our mentality hasn't changed," Hughes said. Hughes, meanwhile, is a member of the board of directors of Ski Utah, the marketing arm of the state's ski industry. He said a board of directors meeting is scheduled next week to discuss the sales and marketing plan for the 2014-2015 ski season. He said it will be a "standard strategic plan" and there are not concerns about the next ski season based on the lawsuit. The stock price of Vail Resorts jumped on Wednesday after favorable rulings from a 3rd District Court judge in a lawsuit centered on Park City Mountain Resort's lease of Talisker Land Holdings, LLC land. Vail Resorts, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, added 4.7 percent by the closing bell. The stock closed at 69.50 on heavy volume -- 484,410 shares trading -- for Vail Resorts. The stock moved little on Wednesday until late in the trading session, when the rulings were publicized. The price spiked in the hour between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. EST. The stock climbed slightly higher on Thursday on heavy volume, closing at 69.77. It was up a smidgen again midway through the trading day on Friday. Vail Resorts leases and operates Canyons Resort under an agreement with Talisker Land Holdings, LLC. The deal could be expanded to include the disputed PCMR terrain depending on the outcome of the lawsuit. Judge Ryan Harris on Wednesday reaffirmed an earlier ruling that PCMR's lease of much of the terrain underlying the resort expired in 2011. He also ruled that PCMR was not denied a right of first refusal when Talisker Land Holdings, LLC reached an agreement with Vail Resorts to operate Canyons Resort. Analysts who follow Vail Resorts have shown interest in the prospects of the deal being expanded to the terrain at PCMR. Vail Resorts issued a statement Wednesday saying the company "is very pleased with the ruling today." By JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record A Memorial Day ceremony is scheduled on Monday in Park City to honor the nation's war dead, a solemn annual event that usually touches on the ideas of sacrifice and patriotism. The Park City post of the American Legion organized the event. It is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Park City Cemetery on Kearns Boulevard. The American Legion anticipates the ceremony will last one hour. Justin Martinez, the sergeantat-arms of the post and a captain in the Summit County Sheriff's Office, said Mayor Jack Thomas and the post commander, Kristian Smith are scheduled to offer remarks to the crowd. Thomas, who took office in January, will offer his first Memorial Day remarks as the mayor. There will also be an open microphone for people to remember fallen soldiers. "Memorial Day is very important to not forget those who have died for our country," Martinez said, adding that the country is as great as it is because of the service and "ultimate sacrifice" of the military. Martinez is a Coast Guard veteran who served as a helicopter crewman in the early 1990s. He said the ceremony has typically drawn between 75 and 100 people in recent years. Two members of the Sheriff's Office honor guard will perform, one playing the bagpipes and the other playing taps on a bugle. The Park City Cemetery is typically busy on Memorial Day with people visiting the graves of Please see Honor, A-2 Please see It's, A-2 Classifieds ........................... C-12 Columns .............................. A-18 Crossword ........................... C-4 Editorial............................... A-19 Education............................. A-11 Events Calendar .................. C-6 Legals .................................. C-15 Letters to the Editor ............ A-19 Movies................................. C-4 Restaurant Guide................. C-11 Scene .................................. C-1 Scoreboard ......................... B-5 Sports .................................. B-1 Weather ............................... B-2 A PUBLICATION Please see Judge, A-2 Developers discover power of opposition County Council rejects the Basin plan, forcing designs to be modified By AARON OSOWSKI The Park Record 3 sections • 44 pages The 3rd District Court judge presiding over the lawsuit between Park City Mountain Resort and its landlord, Talisker Land Holdings, LLC, on Wednesday sided with the landlord in a series of rulings that could reshape the area's ski industry. The 82-page decision, stamped by the court midmorning, was nearly a complete triumph for Talisker Land Holdings, LLC and Vail Resorts. Judge Ryan Harris sided with the landlord and the Colorado firm that operates Canyons Resort on the most important points in the case. Harris, critically, reaffirmed an earlier ruling that PCMR's lease of much of the terrain underlying the resort expired in 2011. He also ruled that PCMR was not denied a right of first refusal when Talisker Land Holdings, LLC reached an agreement with Vail Resorts to operate Canyons Resort. The deal could be expanded to include the disputed terrain at PCMR depending on the outcome of the case. He allowed PCMR to continue to pursue a claim for damages based on an allegation that Talisker Land Holdings, LLC could have informed the resort that the leases expired sooner than it actually did. PCMR says it spent millions of dollars on improvements in 2011 based on its understanding that the leases were renewed. Harris did not side with PCMR on the damages claim. He agreed that the resort could press the point in court, however. "The Court, at least as much as most members of the Summit County community, had certainly hoped that the parties to this litigation would have been able to find a way, at some point during the many months this case has been pending, to resolve the situation amicably for the good of everyone, including the community, and keep both resorts operating in something close to the usual manner. Unfortunately, such a resolution has not yet been reached, and in the absence of any such resolution, the litigation must go forward as expeditiously as possible," Harris wrote. The ruling had been highly anticipated since two hearings in April, but it was not clear when Harris would issue the decision. He had indicated it could be longer than the 60 days he normally takes, but the actual length of time was shorter than 60 days. PCMR paid $155,000 annually to lease approximately 3,700 acres of land, including most of the The atmosphere in the auditorium of the Sheldon Richins Building on Wednesday was tense and emotional during a public hearing regarding requested special exceptions to code for the 105-unit Discovery development. After nearly a three-hour hearing, the Summit County Council denied developers' requests to the applause of the audience. A project years in the making, the Discovery project was approved in 2011 under the Community Oriented Residential Enhancement (CORE) code, which has since been repealed. The CORE code promotes the clustering of development to preserve open space. Developers were requesting two special exceptions to the development code: increased road grades (as steep as 12 percent in some areas) and decreased setbacks of homes from property lines. According to Summit County planner Amir Caus, there were additional code violations with the Discovery design, such as development on slopes greater than 30 percent and building on expansive soils. Bruce Baird, the legal counsel for the developers, gave a lengthy presentation about the project along with Glen Lent, president of Alpine Development, LLC. Baird said that when the county created the CORE code in 2011, it did not update the corresponding design standards in its code to allow for clus- PHOTO COURTESY OF JOSH MANN Nearly 100 people attended Wednesday's hearing about the Distering. The decreased setbacks of homes from covery CORE development proposal. The developers wanted to be property lines are necessary to cluster de- allowed to build steeper roads and position homes in the project Please see Discovery, A-2 closer to property lines than Summit County normally permits. VISITOR GUIDE Memorial Day marked at the County Courthouse Summit County invites the public to a Memorial Day program at the County Courthouse on Monday at 11 a.m. A special invitation is extended to veterans living in or visiting Summit County. The county will unveil a monument that honors past, present and future veterans. More: 435336-3015, 435-336-3200 or nvernon@summitcounty.org. |
