Utah News Dispatch
Groups suing UDOT over Little Cottonwood gondola ask to consolidate lawsuits
The area that would be the site of a proposed gondola base station, button, is pictured at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon on Sunday, March 31, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
The legal challenge to the proposed gondola up Little Cottonwood Canyon continues, but attorneys for local governments and environmental groups are now asking the court to consolidate the lawsuits in an effort to save resources and expedite the process.
The Utah Department of Transportation, or UDOT, is currently facing three lawsuits stemming from its July decision to build the world’s longest gondola up Little Cottonwood Canyon, bringing skiers and snowboarders to Alta and Snowbird ski resorts.
The project is an attempt to curb the paralyzing traffic that can build at the bottom of the canyon, resulting in hourslong delays and impacting a handful of neighborhoods in Sandy and Cottonwood Heights. UDOT spent years analyzing different alternatives — but in the lawsuits, groups contend the department was not objective when selecting the gondola, didn’t consider impacts to the watershed and ecosystem in Little Cottonwood Canyon, and violated the federal decision-making standards for infrastructure projects.
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The community nonprofit Friends of Alta first sued UDOT on Dec. 4, arguing UDOT’s assessment was invalid because it failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, which requires government agencies to conduct an environmental assessment before making decisions on large projects.
The complaint claims the department’s scope was too narrow and failed to “adequately consider all reasonable alternatives to constructing and implementing a Gondola.”
A sign opposing a proposed gondola is hung at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon on Sunday, March 31, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
On Dec. 11, UDOT was hit with two more lawsuits — Salt Lake City, Sandy, and the Sandy and Salt Lake Metropolitan Water Districts also allege that the department ran afoul of NEPA. In addition to UDOT, their suit names the U.S. Forest Service and Federal Highway Administration, arguing the agencies violated the Wilderness Act of 1964 and the Transportation Act of 1966.
That same day, the environmental nonprofit Save Our Canyons filed a similar complaint, writing that UDOT and the Forest Service’s process was “flawed and arbitrary.”
All lawsuits were filed in federal court and have a similar end goal — deem the NEPA process flawed and illegitimate, and require UDOT to go back to the drawing board.
“The Lawsuits arise out of the same set of facts, involve the same or substantially similar parties, and present the same legal issues,” the groups’ motion reads.
Relying on three separate judges for similar cases risks prolonging the process or duplicating work. Attorneys also hope the consolidation will avoid conflicting rulings from different judges. They note UDOT does not oppose the motion.
The gondola is a key part of UDOT’s vision for Little Cottonwood Canyon, detailed in its record of decision in July. But the department is hoping to take a “phased approach,” first taking $150 million allocated by lawmakers in 2023 to increase busing up the canyon, implement parking restrictions and build tolling infrastructure.
The second phase is dependent on funding and would include widening Wasatch Boulevard at the bottom of the canyon, building snow sheds — structures designed to protect the road from avalanches — and parking improvements at trailheads.
The final stage is construction of the gondola, which is also dependent on funding. UDOT would construct a 2,500 car parking garage at the bottom of the canyon and the 8-mile gondola, designed to take 35 people up the canyon every two minutes. UDOT expects the entire project to cost taxpayers at least $729 million, although that does not include operation and maintenance costs — critics and independent analyses suggest the true cost could be over $1 billion.
But the lawsuits have brought the plan to a grinding halt, and UDOT officials on Friday reiterated that anything related to the July record of decision remains in limbo, even if the lawsuits are consolidated.
“After reviewing each legal challenge, we are pausing work with significant costs to reduce risk to taxpayer funds until the litigation is resolved,” said Devin Weder, UDOT’s Cottonwood Canyons Project Manager. “Our initial plan was to begin procuring buses and constructing the mobility hub this year, with the bus service operational by the Winter of 2025. This timeline is now delayed and we don’t have a new operational date at this time.”
The post Groups suing UDOT over Little Cottonwood gondola ask to consolidate lawsuits appeared first on Utah News Dispatch.
