State recommends expansion of Mount Sunapee; land swap would add 150 acres to state park

A key state agency has recommended approving a plan to expand the Mount Sunapee ski resort over the objections of citizens who say the plan will lead to sprawl that will scar the mountain.

Jeffrey Rose, commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development, delivered the draft recommendation Thursday to a crowded Veterans Hall in Newbury.

Rose calls for the expansion area, about 150 acres, to be granted to the state where it would become part of Mount Sunapee State Park.

Mount Sunapee Resort has been trying to expand for nearly two decades. The company wants to expand the ski mountain by adding a lift and four trails, but opponents worry it will build condominiums on the private land and connect them to the ski mountain.