Resort tour shows more than paper
Ogden Standard-Examiner
October 13, 2007
By MARSHALL THOMPSON
HUNTSVILLE — Powder Mountain Resort treated the Ogden Valley Planning Commission and the public to a complete tour Friday of land the resort seeks to rezone for a large-scale housing and resort development.
About 30 people, made up of planning commissioners, county planners, lawyers, lobbyists and concerned citizens, crammed into four-wheel-drive vehicles to attend the public meeting held on the mountain ridges that divide Weber and Cache counties.
“I think it was good to see the ground that we’re talking about,” said Planning Commissioner Greg Graves. “It’s kind of hard to envision this stuff on a flat piece of paper.”
The Powder Mountain rezone, which will come before the Planning Commission on Oct. 23, would allow the resort to increase the density of development to include 610 single-family homes, 850 town homes and condos, 320 hotel rooms, five lodges, two 18-hole golf courses and one firehouse.
Two moose leisurely ate from a windswept clearing surrounded by stunted, leafless aspen and a few hardy evergreens as the tour group passed by in trucks and SUVs.
Brooke Hontz, project manager for Powder Mountain, said the moose were standing where the new fairway would be.
As the tour moved a few hundred yards down the unimproved dirt road, a stunning view of the entire Ogden Valley opened up. Hontz said a tee box would sit on the high point, with a par-three green just below.
“Jack Nicklaus came here and said this is going to be one of the Top 10 holes in the world.”
That is, if the commission approves the rezone and the project moves forward.
Powder Mountain will first have to show the planning commission that the development is in the best interest of Ogden Valley.
“They’re looking for a rezone so that they can get the increased density they want,” Graves said. “Just doing that, I don’t see how that benefits the valley as a whole.”
A lot of negotiating is to be expected before the commission can reach a decision, he said.
Several representatives from the Valley Citizens for Responsible Development, a local watchdog group, attended the tour.
Member Larry Zini said he wants to see the proposed rezone tabled until resort ordinances can pass the Weber County Commission. That would take several more months at least.
Some of the ordinances would require Powder Mountain to pay for the increased development rights, the proceeds of which would go to secure open spaces in other parts of the valley.
“We can’t wait,” Hontz said of the seven-year effort to improve the resort.
Powder Mountain supports paying for increased development rights because it would create population nodes and leave more open-space corridors, she said.
The planning commission could even impose the same fees as part of the rezoning approval, even if they aren’t formal ordinances yet, Hontz said.
Jan Zogmaister was the only county commissioner to take the tour. Even though the rezone petition hasn’t reached her office yet, she said she wanted to see the area for herself.
“This is a huge development, and we need to really think about it and do all we can to make sure we have all the information,” she said. “I’m still gathering information.”
Upon the recommendation of city staff, the commission tabled consideration of the rezone Sept. 25. The next Ogden Valley Planning Commission meeting is set for 4:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at the County Commission Chambers, 2380 Washington Blvd., Ogden.
