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Utah mountain bikers may soon have new places to ride at canyon resorts

Save Our Canyons supports Salt Lake County clearing way for “terrain parks” that could help curb illegal trail building.

Salt Lake County is moving closer to defining mountain bike terrain parks that would be allowed in the offseason at the canyon resorts.

The move would list what type of bike features could be built in the newly established Mountain Resort Zone, a county planning area that includes Brighton, Solitude and Snowbird in the Big and Little Cottonwood canyons.

Council members would first hold a public hearing before voting on the matter, but the proposed definition has general support from bikers, the resorts and environmental groups. County planners are set to brief the council Tuesday about the language in the proposed definition.

Rolen Yoshinaga, the county's planning director, said the county is attempting to define terrain parks should any resort move to build one: "Is it a giant amusement or a recreational facility?"

"You could have a terrain park that is, let's say it's like a giant X Games thing with people flying off things," Yoshinaga said. "Or is it just a park that people can have fun riding up and down the hills and different terrain paths?"

The Mountainous Planning District planning commission approved a definition that would let resorts develop fixed trails and obstacles made of soil, wood and stone.

Kim Mayhew, general manager of Solitude, said while the resort didn't have active plans for a park, "it would be short-sighted to not have this option" for the future.

She envisioned a future park designed to help beginners learn how to navigate natural features they'll later encounter on bigger terrain.

The language would allow resorts to host events at terrain parks that use existing features, but they couldn't build new jumps and drops for any temporary events that attract more than 500 people. They could pave trails "in limited areas as needed for erosion control and rider safety."

The council is weighing the matter following an exhaustive overhaul of the regulations governing construction in the canyons and foothills.

Councilwoman Jenny Wilson asked during final approval of the Mountain Resort Zone (MRZ) to pull the terrain park question so county officials could spend more time reviewing what features would and wouldn't be allowed at resorts in the zone.

"There was just a lot of confusion about what a mountain biking park is," Wilson said Monday. Wilson said she didn't yet have a position on the new language, which would be added to the conditional use permitting section of the MRZ ordinance.

Carl Fisher, executive director at Save Our Canyons, said the conservation group supports the language moving forward because it could deter illegal single-track trails that riders are building in the canyons.

"We have been very supportive of putting higher-intensity mountain recreational uses like mountain bike terrain parks at resorts in hopes it curbs illegal trail building features from the rest of the forest environment," Fisher said.

The matter heads to the Committee of the Whole — where council members discuss proposals without a formal vote — Tuesday afternoon. The group is expected to schedule a public hearing before anything reaches a vote. But Yoshinaga said the county's actions could take place in time for resorts to begin building parks this year.

tanderson@sltrib.com

Twitter: @TaylorWAnderson