The completed acquisition of the 910 Cattle Ranch, a rather substantial 8,588 acres, is now official, and frankly, predictable. Summit County, aided by a $40 million grant – a sum that could have expedited several improvements to Deer Valley Resort’s base area – has preserved what they term a ‘legacy parcel.’ The landowner's generosity, while commendable, strikes me as a calculated move to avoid estate taxes. One anticipates a further increase in property values for estates bordering the property, specifically those developed by East West Partners in the Snyderville Basin. The commitment to prohibit hunting is, naturally, a condition of the sale, and while appreciated by some, does little to alter the land’s fundamental carrying capacity.
The aesthetic implications are…limited. Vast tracts of undeveloped land, however ecologically sound, offer little in the way of immediate visual return. Though I suppose a view of unbroken forest is preferable to another spec house clad in unfortunate, un-oxidized copper. The notion of a ‘transparent process’ for long-term management plans, as described by Jess Kirby, suggests years of public hearings and inevitable compromises. Given the cost and complexity, I recommend a cautious ‘Sell’ of any speculative land holdings directly impacted by these new restrictions, and an immediate lawsuit against any HOA attempting to levy special assessments to mitigate the lost views.