Why Protect Big Cottonwood Canyon?
Our Mission: Preserve Nature and Public Access
Big Cottonwood Canyon is a vital natural resource that offers a haven for wildlife, a place for recreation, and a scenic escape for all. Unfortunately, unchecked development threatens to diminish this cherished environment. By supporting Stop the Lot you contribute to protecting the canyon’s ecosystems, maintaining open access, and ensuring that future generations can enjoy its beauty. Together, we can halt development plans that jeopardize our public lands and work to preserve this irreplaceable natural wonder.
Urgent: STOP alterra’s parking lot
Solitude has proposed a 593 car multi tier parking lot that would be located on an 11 acres parcel across SR 190 from the the upper solitude base. Your support is important in defending a vital part of Salt Lake City.
Alterra Mountain Company, the owner of Solitude, is run by two private equity giants. They should never be allowed to clear-cut nearly 15 acres of aspen forest to build two massive parking lots that will lead to a new level of traffic congestion and chaos at what is already the busiest stretch of the Big Cottonwood Canyon Road during ski season. Alterra’s plan will endanger the wildlife, community, workers, and visitors to the canyon. It will inevitably degrade Big Cottonwood Creek.
Don’t let Solitude PAVE PARADISE!
How To take action?
Sign the petition
Sign the petition to show your support to stop Alterra’s parking lot development.
Email a representative
Email members of the Brighton Town Council to show support against the Solitude Parking Lot.
Share on social media to spread the word
Get the word out about the solitude parking lot. Solitude has tried to keep this from the public eye, we need help getting the word out!
Sign the petition
Why sign?
Petitions show decision-makers that the community is paying attention. Every signature adds weight, proving there’s strong public support for protecting Big Cottonwood Canyon and demanding thoughtful, sustainable planning. It’s a simple action that turns individual concern into collective influence.
Email Town Council Members
URGENT:
Before November 11th — Show your opposition to Solitude’s Purposed Parking Lot! Email the Brighton Town Council to make your voice heard. Steps and info below.
The Brighton Town Council will meet on the evening of Tuesday, November 11, to consider a proposed ordinance that would clarify an existing ordinance restricting ski resorts from building ski facilities outside resort boundaries. This clarification is critical because, among other things, it will prevent Solitude Resort and its owner, Alterra Mountain Company, from building a massive parking lot outside the resort’s boundaries on a steep, forested hillside across the street from the resort on Big Cottonwood Canyon Road. The proposed ordinance and an associated map defining the resort’s boundaries received the unanimous approval of the Town of Brighton Planning Commission at its meeting on October 15. From the Planning Commission the ordinance and map go to the Town Council for final approval.
Besides sending a message to the members of the Town Council, please consider attending the meeting at which they’ll decide this issue. Here are the details:
Time: Tuesday, November 11 at 6:30 p.m.
Place: United Fire Authority Fire Station 108, 7688 Big Cottonwood Canyon Road, Brighton UT. You can can also join by Zoom. Check here for the Zoom link a few days before the meeting: meeting link passcode:
785011
Meeting agenda and information
steps to send an email
1
Write a your own email or copy one of the examples
Copy and paste one of the email examples here:
To the Brighton Town Council and Planning Commission:
The proposed clarification will limit commercial resort facilities to resort boundaries and prohibit those facilities in most residentially zoned area, which is consistent with the Town’s general plan and appropriately protects residential areas from commercial development. Solitude’s proposed parking lot is a perfect example of why this ordinance clarification is necessary.
The proposed parking lot will necessitate clear-cutting and paving over 15 acres of pristine aspen forest, with the result that contaminated runoff will seriously imperil one of the valley’s principal sources of drinking water.
Alterra’s proposed parking lot will dramatically increase traffic congestion and chaos on what is already the busiest stretch of Big Cottonwood Canyon Road during ski season.
The proposed parking lot, along with Alterra’s proposed traffic light intersection across Big Cottonwood Canyon Road near the eastern resort entrance, will inevitably endanger skiers and boarders crossing the road during peak traffic periods. Many of these pedestrians will be children carrying skis across the road while long lines of vehicles attempt to go up or down the canyon or access the new parking lot.
2
Copy the email addresses below
jeffbossard@brighton.utah.gov, keithzuspan@brighton.utah.gov, lisebrunhart@brighton.utah.gov, DanKnopp@brighton.utah.gov, carolynkeigley@brighton.utah.gov
3
SEND IT!!
Your voice matters, and every email counts.
When we come together as a community, we have the power to protect more than just Big Cottonwood Canyon—we protect the very spirit of Utah. The canyon is a symbol of the broader fight against unchecked development that threatens our open spaces, wildlife, and way of life. Utah became what it is today because people were drawn here by its beauty, resilience, and sense of belonging. By raising our voices now, we defend not only the land, but the uniqueness that makes Utah a safe haven and a place worth calling home.
Aspens aren’t just beautiful trees in our canyon—they are part of some of the largest living organisms on Earth. Entire groves are connected underground through a single, shared root system, meaning what looks like thousands of individual trees can actually be one enormous living being.
The world’s largest known aspen grove, called Pando in Utah, is estimated to be around 80,000 years old and weighs over 6,000 tons—making it the heaviest living organism on the planet. Protecting aspens in Big Cottonwood Canyon means protecting a species that plays a critical role in stabilizing ecosystems, supporting biodiversity, and storing carbon on a massive scale. When we lose aspens here, we chip away at a globally significant network of life.
