UPDATE 12/2/2025: On December 2, 2025, in Salt Lake District Court UDOT’s attorney explained to Judge Richard Pehrson that UDOT had no ‘intention’ of using the Granite Oaks land for a gondola access road or any other purpose at this time. This, despite the fact that UDOT spent millions studying and engineering a system that explicitly includes a gondola access road. They got WFRDC, the federally and state-recognized transportation planning authority, to include the access road in their Regional Transportation Plan. UDOT published, in the Federal Register, and briefed to the legislature a Record of Decision for their plan for LCC, including the gondola road.
However, UDOT will have us believe the land purchase at Granite Oaks is simply coincidentally a good spot for an access road, but has nothing to do with building a gondola access road. Therefore, based on UDOT’s statement in court, Friends of LCC (and taxpayers and residents) can only surmise that, if UDOT has no intention of using the land for anything at all, then this is another case of UDOT using our tax dollars to speculate by buying up private land in residential and commercial areas for profit. Is that an appropriate use of taxpayer funds?
BACKGROUND
In March 2025, Granite Oaks HOA filed a lawsuit contesting the $5mn purchase by UDOT of a restricted private residential lot in the subdivision, with the intent to secure the ability to build public access roads to the giant gondola base station and parking structure through the subdivision full of single family homes. The HOA alleges that UDOT has violated private property rights and misused public funding in with the purchase.
A new lawsuit has been filed against the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) over its proposed gondola project in Little Cottonwood Canyon. This time, the legal action comes from the Grand Oaks Homeowners Association, who argue that UDOT’s plans to use part of their neighborhood for a parking garage and gondola station violate previous agreements and property rights. The HOA claims that the land in question is governed by deed restrictions allowing only single-family homes, and that UDOT’s actions break a deal originally made with Salt Lake County.
Their attorney emphasized that UDOT’s purchase of residential property to build large-scale infrastructure like a gondola station and parking garage represents a clear departure from the agreed-upon land use. “This goes against everything the homeowners and the county originally agreed to,” the attorney said. “You can’t just change the rules because it’s convenient.”
The gondola project is estimated to cost more than $730 million. Supporters of the plan believe it could alleviate traffic congestion in the canyon, where hundreds of cars often line up daily, contributing to significant carbon emissions. One hiker interviewed expressed support for the gondola, pointing out the environmental toll of so many idling vehicles and calling the project a step toward helping the planet.
However, critics argue the gondola would do more harm than good. Several groups, including Friends of Alta, Save Our Canyons, Salt Lake City, Sandy City, and the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy, have already filed lawsuits of their own. Their concerns focus on environmental risks, particularly to the watershed, and the belief that the project would primarily benefit private property owners and developers rather than the general public.
Local residents are split on the issue. Some see the gondola as a forward-thinking solution to traffic and pollution, while others view it as a government overreach that ignores the will of the people. “You expect government to serve the people,” one resident said. “But here, they’re ignoring us and pushing forward with a project that most of us don’t want.”
UDOT has declined to comment on the latest lawsuit, stating that it does not comment on pending litigation. As the legal challenges continue to mount, the future of the gondola project remains uncertain—and the debate over how best to manage access to Little Cottonwood Canyon is far from over.
