Residents seek gate at White Pine Ranches after repeated trespass; commission asks staff to prepare findings

Homeowners at White Pine Ranches told the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission on Jan. 9 that repeat trespass to reach the Tombstone lift has escalated to the point of physical threats and property damage, and they asked the commission to approve a conditional use permit for a vehicle-control gate.

Rick Nemeroff, who lives at the top of the cul-de-sac and serves as the neighborhood HOA president, described repeated incidents in which drivers and groups were dropped off, ignored posted private-driveway signage and, in at least one account, verbally threatened a resident. “They are physically threatening us and they are causing property damage,” Nemeroff said, and he showed staff video and logs documenting incidents and private security deployments.

Planner Amir Chaus reviewed the CUP criteria specific to vehicle-control gates, including 13 required findings such as demonstration of need, presence of a major traffic or parking generator within a 900-foot walking distance of the private street entrance, and adequacy of a gate-management plan. Staff noted a net gain in disturbance area for grading and infrastructure and that some engineering approach details remain unresolved, requiring further coordination with the engineering department.

Commissioners expressed sympathy for the homeowners’ safety concerns and discussed mitigation alternatives, including short-term deputized patrols, increased resort patrols, resort coordination on guest routing and targeted enforcement by property owners. Several commissioners questioned whether the Tombstone lift and Canyons Village constitute the code’s “major traffic generator within 900 feet” threshold and asked staff to examine the 900‑foot criterion and evidence of spillover parking/activity in the area.

Rather than render a decision, the commission voted to continue the matter to a date uncertain and directed staff to prepare written findings of fact, draft conditions of approval (including a condition specifying that the gate remain open outside resort operating hours), work with the engineering department on approach and disturbance issues, and contact the Canyons resort to involve it as part of a mitigation plan. The motion passed with no recorded opposition.

Staff and several commissioners emphasized that the CUP process requires findings of fact and conclusions of law to justify a departure from the county’s general presumption against new gates; those findings will be drafted and returned to the commission for a final determination.