Pasco County Temporarily Closes Snow Park Due To Code Violations

DADE CITY, FL — Pasco County government has temporarily shut down the Snowcat Ridge Alpine Snow Park in Dade City.

During several recent site visits, Fire Rescue and Building Construction Services discovered fire, building, electrical and plumbing violations that pose a significant threat to public health and safety.

The park will remain closed until all life-safety violations are corrected.

On Nov. 25, Pasco County became aware that Snowcat Ridge was operating in unsafe shipping containers without required permits, inspections or a certificate of occupancy. Although several permits have been pulled for the project since July, only one permit has been closed to date.

The park has not requested any inspections for the other outstanding permits. The building construction process, in general, requires the owner or contractor to pull permits for any work that requires one. Once a permit is entered into the county's system, the owner or contractor completes the work and schedules the appropriate inspections with the county.

To help ensure the continued safety and security of the public, Pasco County Building Construction Services is considering hiring a community liaison to work directly with property owners and contractors to provide regular oversight on complex projects.

The county noted that it is committed to working with the staff at Snowcat Ridge Alpine Snow Park to address the violations.

The park along with nearby Treehoppers Aerial Adventure Park of Dade City is owned by Benjamin Nagengast, CEO of Point Summit in Clearwater.

The snow park opened Nov. 20. Five days later, the park reduced its hours and temporarily shut down its Arctic Igloo because its machinery couldn't make snow fast to keep all its features operational.

Snowcat Ridge Alpine Snow Park issued the following comment on the closure:

"On the evening of Wednesday, December 9th, Pasco County officials arrived at Snowcat Ridge. The county revoked our existing permit and forced us to close on Thursday, December 10th, as well as the morning and afternoon of Friday, December 11th. We are working closely with the county to resolve these issues. At this time, we don’t have any additional information and will provide updates soon."

See related stories:

• Cold Front Coming; Snow Park Set To Open In Dade City Nov. 20
• Florida's 1st Alpine Snow Park Opens In Dade City