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Park City councilman lists home for sale amid feud with White Pine Touring

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The home was listed for sale last week.
Matt Rourke

Park City Councilman Jeremy Rubell is selling his home weeks after being charged with disorderly conduct following a feud with the White Pine Touring Nordic Center.

Rubell listed his Thaynes Canyon home for sale last week.

Summit County records indicate he owns other property in Park City. City council members are required to live in city limits.

Rubell didn’t respond to a request for comment Monday.

In recent months he and White Pine Touring have been mired in conflict regarding the Nordic Center’s parking plan.

Rubell has urged White Pine to more strictly manage overflow parking on Thaynes Canyon Dr., saying it has negative safety impacts on neighbors, especially amid growth in cross country skiing.

White Pine Nordic Director Richard Hodges has said they’ve seen nearly double the amount of skier days over the last two years.

Citing a conflict of interest, some residents called for Rubell to recuse himself from a city council vote on White Pine’s winter parking plan in December. Rubell declined to do so.

Thaynes Canyon Dr. has been used for overflow parking at the Nordic center for over 30 years. However, city government recently discovered that parking there is technically illegal according to land management code.

The incident that led to a charge from the county attorney stemmed from an apparent exchange of middle fingers and curse words between Rubell and a White Pine instructor Dec. 29.

The instructor said Rubell threatened to shut the Nordic Center down, which Rubell said was false. He said that the ski instructor has a long history of disrespect toward his family.

A viral post in a Park City Facebook group about the incident identified the location of Rubell’s home, something he had previously expressed concerns about to KPCW.

He is scheduled to appear in Summit County Justice Court on Feb. 27. If convicted he could face possible jail time of 90 days and a fine of up to $750.

The city council was set to discuss a long-term parking plan for Thaynes Canyon Dr. on Jan. 5. That item was postponed after the county attorney’s charges were announced shortly before the meeting.

The city approved temporary parking plans for the Nordic Center this winter. A separate plan was established last summer for the municipal golf course, which is where White Pine operates in the winter under a concessionaire agreement with the city.

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