Barely a month into ski season, the takeover of Mount Sunapee by Vail Resorts is practically complete. The ski resort behemoth is running lifts and services after a key state department approved a lease transfer for the ski area, which operates on state land.
But one final sticking point remains: whether Vail can expand its present footprint at the mountain into adjacent land — the “West Bowl expansion.” The Executive Council is set to take up the question today after months of delay.
The amendment to the new lease would allow Vail to expand on a 150-acre parcel that adjoins a 657-acre tract of land that also is undeveloped. The expansion arrangement would allow chairlifts, ski trails, a base lodge, parking lots and an array of other buildings, from stores to food establishments to ski schools.
But some area residents and environmental activists strongly oppose the expansion language, urging that the land — currently privately held — be preserved instead.
The amendment was first approved by the council in April 2016, but after Vail acquired the operating lease, it has since lapsed. After delays in the council prompted by a desire for public input, the language will come to a vote on Wednesday, the last meeting until the council changes hands next month.
Also up for a vote are two separate amendments to the lease — one to create an advisory commission to carry out oversight of the lease with the state’s Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, and the other blocking any transfers or changes to the lease without the explicit permission of the state.
The council is set to meet at 10 a.m. in the Executive Council chambers in the Statehouse.