In 2006, Sun Valley skier numbers went up while a mass-and-scale ordinance went down. A luxury car went missing, and a Wall Street Journal reporter went home disappointed and apparently confused.
And, now, as the chapter on 2006 in Sun Valley comes to a close, here is a look at the events that defined the past year:
- The first month of 2006 brought nearly 4 feet of snow, providing the foundation for one of Sun Valley's best seasons since 1994. Jack Sibbach, spokesman for Sun Valley Co., said that from the opening of the 2005-2006 season to the beginning of January, Bald and Dollar Mountains logged 104,293 skiers.
In April, the ski season ended with a bang, literally, as an afternoon electrical storm prematurely closed Bald Mountain's lifts. Over the winter an impressive 360 inches of snow fell on Baldy, and at closing there still were 100 inches of cover on the summit. Skier numbers topped out at 420,517—the seventh best in the resort's history.
- In the midst of a building moratorium in the city's Commercial Center, Sun Valley Co. saw its proposed nine-hole golf course on Trail Creek Road approved in what could only be described as a streamlined process. The matter was brought before the Planning and Zoning Commission in the beginning of April. By the end of April, the P&Z endorsed both Sun Valley Co.'s master plan application for the Gun Club property, outlining both residential use and the golf course, and the design review application of the Gun Club Nine golf course.
By the end of May, the City Council approved the P&Z's endorsement and by June ground was broken and landscaping for the new golf course had begun in earnest. The golf course is scheduled to be open by spring 2008.
Sun Valley Co. saw one vehicle in its fleet of luxury sport utility vehicles stolen from the resort in December 2005. Sun Valley Co. posted a $3,000 reward for information leading to the return of the $70,000 vehicle. The reward proved unnecessary, however, when in February 2006 a security guard at a casino in the Lake Tahoe, Calif., area noticed a Lexus LV470 that had not moved in weeks, said Sun Valley Police Lt. Mike Crawford. The SUV was returned to the resort in good condition.
"It was a stroke of luck that the vehicle isn't trashed," Crawford said.
- In the Feb. 3 edition of the Wall Street Journal, an article titled "Eclipse at Sun Valley," by Laura Landro, lambasted Sun Valley Resort. The author alleged the service was poor, the décor dull, and the dining less than exemplary.
The author went on to describe the resort's Tyrolean village as "tired" and the clientele on the mountain as seemingly old and lacking vitality. Sun Valley spokesman Sibbach said the resort was "sorry she had a bad experience here, but that is very uncommon."
Sibbach went on to say that "we have guests who have called and said they will write the Wall Street Journal in our support." One part of the article Sun Valley officials were particularly displeased with centered on a conspicuous factual error. Landro complained about a portrait of Carol Holding, wife of Sun Valley Co. owner Earl Holding, which she was forced to stare at for 20 minutes while waiting to be served at Gretchen's restaurant. In fact, Sibbach noted, the portrait is of Gretchen Fraser, a gold medalist in alpine skiing in the 1948 Olympics. Fraser went on to become an ambassador for Sun Valley.
On Oct. 16 and 17, 3,000 anonymous flyers were distributed to property owners in Sun Valley and caused quite a stir. The anonymous distributor turned out to be Sun Valley Co., and the flyer read, "Your property value and rights will be taken by the city of Sun Valley this month."
Specifically, the document opposed a residential mass-and-scale ordinance and a workforce housing linkage fee ordinance.
"Obviously, I was wrong for going onto people's property and handing out fliers. We are in the process of picking them up," said Sun Valley Co. General Manager Wally Huffman.
No citations were issued, and on Oct. 26 the City Council backed down from the ordinance that would have, among other things, limited house sizes to 12,000 square feet.
Sun Valley Resort owners Carol and Earl Holding flank company General Manager Wally Huffman. The three share a rare jovial moment during a generally contentious Sun Valley City Council meeting in October. Photo by David N. Seelig
