In a place where voters cast the highest percentage of ballots in favor of an Olympics referendum, it may be surprising there is an outbreak of the NIMBY syndrome.
And it appears to be catching.NIMBY - Not In My Back Yard - contagion has been going around one Summit County neighborhood and causing concern in another. Both are next door to sites being considered for a winter-sports park. Ski jumps and a bobsled/luge track would be constructed at the park.
Summit County officials have been studying four sites - the former Gorgoza ski resort across I-80 from Jeremy Ranch, Bear Hollow at Kimball Junction, Quarry Mountain across from ParkWest and Quinn's Junction on the backside of mountains that are part of Deer Valley resort.
The outcry from the residents has prompted county commissioners to favor the Bear Hollow site, which isn't located near any residential areas. However, key soil samples and other technical data still must be gathered from the site, said Cris Schulz, administrative assistant to the Summit County Commission.
County officials have until June 15 to prepare a bid for one or multiple sites for the winter-sports park. The Utah Sports Authority will announce its final selection of sites for a speed-skating oval, two practice ice rinks and sports park on July 9. Summit County is the only government that has announced its intention to bid for the sports park.
LeVay Lemon, a board member of the Pinebrook Homeowners Association, said the majority of 150 homeowner members in her neighborhood don't want the ski jumps and track of ice built to the west of their homes at the Gorgoza site. She said neighbors are concerned about crime and trash associated with concerts that might be held at an outdoor stadium constructed in conjunction with the park.
Lemon said the neighborhood is ready to challenge any decision to select the Gorgoza site, including court action. The group had earlier fought to keep the Ecker Hill site, east of the area, from consideration. Officials are no longer considering that site.
"We don't want it put in our front yard. We don't want it in our back yard," Lemon said.
The Quarry Mountain site has also raised concern among residents who wonder about the environmental impact of constructing an Olympic venue there. Two streams that cross the valley beneath a possible ski jump area particularly concern residents. Possibly, that the site would require an environmental impact statement for the wetlands area, Schulz said.
That could hold up construction that the United States Olympic Committee says must start this year.
Amanda Peterson, a resident on Old Ranch Road about three miles from Quarry Mountain, said neighbors want to make sure the fragile hillside and wildlife are not harmed by development.
"In my opinion it is a poor choice because of the fragile scenic and natural vistas," Peterson said.
At the same time, both Peterson and Lemon say that people where they live remain staunchly pro-Olympics, despite reservations about the venues and the environment. They just want them elsewhere, Schulz said.
Summit County will seek a balance among such concerns, she said.
"We plan to have the most environmentally sensitive Olympics that have ever been held," Schulz said.
Unlike the Calgary ski jump site for the 1988 Olympics, Summit County says it wants to see as little damage as possible done to the environment. That includes saving as many trees as possible. In addition, a gigantic concrete tower that is part of some jumps throughout the world would not be necessary on any of the Summit County sites.
Schulz said that along with political considerations created by residents, technical criteria will help the commission decide which sites it will propose to the Utah Sports Authority. For example, the Gorgoza site has 130 acres. The Sports Authority is requesting that the ski jumps and bobsled/luge run be built on no less than 150 acres.
Since December, the county has had six remote stations at the proposed sites that measure 102 variables including everything from soil temperature to wind direction and speeds to snow depth. The equipment, which beams data to a collecting station at Jeremy Ranch every few seconds, has shown some unfavorable wind patterns at the Quinn's Junction and Gorgoza sites. The Quinn's Junction site could also be affected by its location.
The Bear Hollow site is more sheltered from wind because of its location in a cut in the mountain terrain, Schulz said.
Soil sampling and negotiations with private landowners at all of the sites could still figure in the final decision, Schulz said.
About $30 million has been budgeted by the Utah Sports Authority for the construction of ski jumps and bobsled/luge run. If Summit County is selected, it has been told it would receive a $2 million state grant from the state Community Impact Board for construction of a ski jumps.
In addition, Schulz said that the winter sports park would be developed as a place for lodging, restaurants and the stadium as a site for events such as concerts and a rodeo.