PROVO, Utah — Neighbors who live near Provo’s Slate Canyon are voicing their concern about a proposed waterpark that could take away a significant portion of their local green space.
She may not be from Utah originally, but when Katherine Hall goes to the mountains, she feels at home.
“There’s just such a peace when you’re here in the canyon,” said Hall as she walked along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, looking out over Utah Lake.
In over 30 years of living in Provo, Hall has made her memories in nature.
“My family comes to mind,” she said. “My children have spent countless hours here growing up, this was kind of their playground.”
Check out plans below to turn former Salt Lake water park into nature park:
But Hall and her neighbors are now treading carefully.
“We want to make sure we preserve the Slate Canyon amenities that are there,” said Bryan Bayles, a representative for the Splash Summit project. “That’s the bottom line.”
Towards the end of April, they learned of a plan to relocate the aging Splash Summit waterpark near the mouth of Slate Canyon.
“Despite the best efforts, our current location is landlocked and doesn’t allow us to create the experience that our guests are demanding,” Bayles said.
Developers note the details aren’t finalized, but it will likely include hotels, retail and more housing.
“Provo’s great, love tourism for it,” said Jeff Whitlock, another resident who lives near Slate Canyon. “But right now we have this asset that’s benefiting the community, and it’s about who’s benefiting? I’d like the community to keep benefiting.”
The residents say they’re not opposed to growth and development, but Hall feels this sort of space is not the place for it.
“I think there are areas in Provo that are already zoned for a resort and retail and those might be better suited,” said Hall.
She notes this is zoned for preservation and contains critical hillsides.
“A critical hillside has a slope of 30% or more,” Hall said. “To remove this vegetation would cause erosion issues that would affect the communities below.”
The city already has plans to build its own community park here.
So, Hall has started a petition pushing against the water park project which has already gathered 600 signatures.
“I personally spoke to over 100 residents canvassing door-to-door,” she explained.
She says they hope the city follows through on their plans to protect this precious area because they can’t get it back once it’s gone.
“Public land is important to hang on to, not only for us but for future generations,” Whitlock said. “It’s super important.”
The developers presented the idea to community members at a meeting for Provo’s second district. Hall says they plan to move ahead with a formal proposal.
FOX 13 News reached out to representatives from the city, the project and the waterpark about the plans, but have yet to receive a comment.
