Is Park City still a mountain-town?

Just today, I read a rather virulent guest editorial in our local Park City newspaper. In a nutshell, the angry author was complaining about the seemingly unstoppable growth that today, may have become the new normal in Park City.

What the author of that editorial fails to realize is that growth in mountain towns is a universal challenge. From Aspen to Whistler and from Avoriaz to Zermatt in Europe, the trend is pretty much universal.

It used to be that only these mountain-town residents who could find a tourist-related local job lived there, but today, with modern technology, many more folks can live where they please, and more often than not, where quality of life has the most to offer.

The other unique aspect of Park City is that it sits smack in the middle of a sea of private land that can be developed, unlike the majority of North American mountain resorts that are for, the most part, landlocked into Federal land, with extremely limited room for expansion.

Sure, with about 27,000 people sharing a Park City address, we're no longer talking about a small town; yet, in Oregon, Bend counts upward of 90,000 people, Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada, 60,000, and the Vail Valley, around 45,000!

Also, what has hoisted Park City at the top of American mountain towns is the convenience of being located 35 minutes away from a major airport and a large metro area offering every necessary resources. In the future, we sure are likely to see even more growth for these same reason.

It's true that we're facing some big problems, like water availability and traffic, and our local government will have to work hard at mitigating these issues. We'll simply have to be more creative, disciplined and able to remain content, as these problems pale in comparison with the wonderful quality of life still available today.

I've lived more than 33 years in Park City and, while there are local aspects that I miss, there are also many more new additions that I greatly appreciate, I still find the place quite livable and most importantly, I still fully enjoy living here with no exit plan in mind.

Yes, before I forget, for the malcontents, there's always Red Lodge in Montana as the perfectly sized mountain town to seek refuge to...