John Allaire

By MARSHALL THOMPSON
Standard-Examiner staff mthompson@standard.net


OGDEN - Weber County Commissioner Craig Dearden woke up at 3 a.m. one day last week, thinking about Powder Mountain resort's petition to incorporate as a town to pave the way for increased development.
"I wondered if anyone has ever talked to the Powder Mountain owners about a way to do this without forming a town," he said. "So I got ahold of the owners, and they said they were willing to sit down and talk with us."
After meeting with the resort developers on Monday, Dearden decided to move to table the incorporation petition at Tuesday's commission meeting so negotiations could continue. The commission voted unanimously to hold off on the incorporation request until next month.
Lisa Davis, a Powder Mountain spokeswoman, distributed a written statement about the commission's decision.
"Powder Mountain is hap- py to accommodate the county's request to discuss the resort and the incorporation petition. Over the years, we have always been willing to sit down and discuss both the development plans and now the proposed incorporation with everyone who's asked ... " the statement read.
Commissioner Jan Zogmaister said she was a little surprised by Dearden's motion, but decided it was the right call.
"I thought it was a good move," she said. "I've been troubled with the fact that the residents didn't have a voice up there."
To meet population requirements for a town, the Powder Mountain owners drew their boundaries to include about 100 Weber County residents. Under a controversial Utah law, the future residents of the Town of Powder Mountain do not get to vote on annexation or on the first town council or mayor.
Davis said she did not know if discussions with the county would include voting rights for future residents. But Dearden said he hopes a compromise can be reached in which the developers would withdraw the petition entirely.
The Ogden Valley Planning Commission spent about two years working with the Powder Mountain developers on the project. In December, the commission approved expansion plans for the resort, but did not allow for extra density because of traffic and water concerns. In January, the Powder Mountain owners filed the petition to become a town so it could design its own master plan and set its own density levels.
Jim Halay, a future resident of the proposed Powder Mountain town who opposes the incorporation, said he appreciates what Dearden is doing, but hopes it will be done responsibly.
"I just hope that they don't give away the farm with this," he said. "Because I thought the Ogden Valley Planning Commission did an upright job."
Davis said that the Powder Mountain owners have been willing to compromise in the past. They have promised to pre-pay $750,000 in development fees to get the town running, and to pay a 1 percent transaction fee on all property within the resort to a municipal fund for open space preservation, she said.
But to future Powder Mountain resident Deja Mitchell, it all comes down to voting rights.
"We want a vote on incorporation and a vote on the town council," she said.
The commission also approved a petition from Wolf Creek Resort owner Steve Roberts to opt out of the town. Landowners can remove themselves from the proposed boundaries if they own at least 1 percent of the total land value in the town and if their absence would not form an island. The removal of Roberts' land will not affect Powder Mountain's ability to incorporate.

STAY TUNED!!!

‘Powderville Six' to take on ski resort over vote

By MARSHALL THOMPSON
Standard-Examiner staff mthompson@standard.net

EDEN - As the Powder Mountain developers' petition to form a chunk of the Ogden Valley into a town moves forward, future residents are taking matters into their own hands.
A group of 40 voting-age residents met Friday to elect their own ad hoc council. Darla Van Zeben, Deja Mitchell, Jim Halay, Ryan Bushell, Layne Sheridan and Norman Belnap are the six people who will unofficially represent "Powderville," which is a nickname for the residential neighborhoods that were drawn into Powder Mountain Town without a vote.
"We agreed to work together on tactics and plans and report back to our residents," Halay said. "We elected a group to speak for us."
Under a controversial law, which the Utah Legislature amended last week, Powder Mountain owners can incorporate a town and then effectively choose the members of the first town council. According to the old law, which still applies to Powder Mountain, the Weber County Commission will appoint the mayor and town council from a list of qualified applicants submitted by the developers.
Lisa Davis, a spokeswoman for Powder Mountain, said the developers have yet to finalize their list of potential council members. She said that even though the law does not require it, the owners have talked with most of the residents to gather potential names for the positions. But Halay said he wants to vote on his representatives, and any law that does not allow him to do that is fundamentally unconstitutional. "We cannot allow a corporation to come in and take away our rights," he said. The Powderville Six will first attempt to work out a compromise with the Powder Mountain owners that would allow residents to vote, Halay said. "I love Powder Mountain. It's the only place I ski," he said. "So, we're looking for a way to come to terms." Davis said she could not comment on the possibility of any compromise that would secure voting rights for the residents until she has more details. She added that the owners were not concerned about the possible disenfranchisement or about the possibility the law might be unconstitutional. "They've been really proactive under the law that exists, and I don't think they've even thought about that," she said. If the Powderville Six cannot reach a compromise with Powder Mountain owners, Halay said, they may have to seek legal aid. The Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has received two complaints about the law, said Marina Lowe, a staff attorney for the ACLU. It has not come up with a position yet, but will be looking into it, she said. In the meantime, the Powderville Six are making plans and hoping that future Powder Mountain residents will have a vote in their new town.

The future of Powder Mountain, and the entire Ogden Valley is at stake.

Regardless how you may feel about the bill that passed the Utah House and Senate in late 2007 (allows easy incporporation of a township with no vote required by those who find themselves within the township boundary, circumventing the county planning and zoning approval process), I recommend you subscribe to "The Ogden Valley Utah Forum" by clicking on this link: http://ogden-valley.blogspot.com/, then provide your email address under "For Email Updates, Subscribe Below" box. In addition, if you feel strongly about allowing development to proceed at more reasonable density levels, I strongly recommend you sign the petition link on this same website.

The ultimate decision around allowing the new Powder Mountain owners to develop that area at twice the density vs what was approved and recommended by the Ogden Valley Planning Commission, plus other key limitations including secondary road access (currently one road used to access the resort, with grade exceeding 13% in areas!), reduction in golf course acreage (water is a HUGE deal here) is at stake.

Time is short!

Whether you are a current or future owner of property in the Ogden Valley, or someone who enjoys periodic visits to our beautiful area, the near-term Powder Mountain township decision will forever change the look and feel of the Ogden Valley for the long term, good or bad.

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

John Allaire

By MARSHALL THOMPSON
Standard-Examiner staff mthompson@standard.net

OGDEN - Powder Mountain owners released the results of their privately commissioned feasibility study Friday showing the ski resort could become a viable municipality if the developers provided cash upfront.
If Western America Holding, LLC, coughs up $750,000 for its proposed town government, there would be no need to levy an additional municipal property tax or telecommunication tax on the residents, the study said.
"Assuming creation of a fund from prepayment of development fees, there is adequate funding to allow the newly incorporated town to operate through the end of Fiscal Year 2012," the report read. "If resort development does not begin in 2009 as planned, there will be adequate time for the Town Council to dissolve the town or identify alternative revenue sources or expenditure saving to allow the town to continue."
To avoid meeting development requirements set up by the Ogden Valley Planning Commission last year, Powder Mountain owners delivered a petition to incorporate to the Weber County clerk on Jan. 18. As a town, the owners can more easily create the zoning they want.
The move came as a surprise to Eden residents whose homes lie within the boundaries of the proposed resort-town. Under a 2007 Utah law, House Bill 466, any group that owns a majority of land and property value in an area with more than 100 people can draw boundaries and form a municipality. The law does not allow future residents to vote or decide if they want to be included in the developers' plans.
The county must review the incorporation petition to ensure that all the details are correct, but otherwise has no input in the new town. At first, county attorneys thought the county would be able to order a feasibility study to see if the new town was financially viable. But HB466 allows petitioners to skip that requirement if they own more than 50 percent of the property value.
The petitioners own 65 percent, according to Powder Mountain owners. Dave Wilson, Weber County's civil attorney, said if that number is correct, the county cannot require any feasibility study.
"Even though the law does not require a feasibility study, we have done one ourselves," said Lisa Davis James, a spokeswoman for the developers.
She added that the developers wanted to have the study to present to future residents at a Jan. 22 meeting, but did not get it in time. Many future residents expressed anger at being pulled into a town without even knowing if it makes sense financially.
According to the study's projections, the new town would need nearly $100,000 in startup fees and would have a $135,500 budget in the 2008 fiscal year. If the resort developers' massive expansion plans do not pan out, the city could continue on an annual budget of about $165,000 for the next five years. That would include sales tax and other revenue.
But after that, the $750,000 would be spent.
If the development continues as planned, however, it could reach completion in somewhere between 12 and 30 years. By then, the study projects, the town's budget would be $1.8 million.
But Ogden Valley residents are not convinced.
Steve Clarke, an Eden resident who is worried about the impact of the mega-resort, said he spent hours poring through the feasibility study.
"I have more questions than I have answers now," he said. "There are a lot of red flags for me in this feasibility study."
A big problem that Clarke sees is the study was based on the average budget of several similar towns in Utah, such as Springdale, Brian Head, Mantua and Paradise. He said for the study to be accurate, the analysts should have interviewed each department at Weber County to get an accurate estimate of the cost of services.
"When we were looking at incorporating Eden, the sheriff gave a number that even floored the feasibility analyst," Clarke said.
In an attempt to calm irate future residents, the developers are holding several small group meetings with homeowners to discuss the study. James said the Powder Mountain group would continue to reach out to future Powder Mountain town residents.

Ski resort going to town?

Powder Mountain developers find alternative for expansion

By MARSHALL THOMPSON Standard-Examiner staff mthompson@standard.net
OGDEN - Powder Mountain ski resort may soon become Powder Mountain Town - developers filed paperwork Friday with the Weber County clerk to incorporate as a municipality.
The action could allow resort developers to move ahead with plans to expand into a massive four-season resort in the Ogden Valley without going through the county planning commission.
Last month, after months of workshops and public hearings, the Ogden Valley Planning Commission voted in favor of the resort's rezoning proposal, but attached almost 20 conditions that limited the density of the development and required secondary access roads.
Powder Mountain owner Mark Arnold told the Standard-Examiner that some of the requirements were unreasonable and would have destroyed his vision of the project.
"I just want to see our vision through, and the way things are going, this is what came to the surface to enable us to do that," he said.
"We've been looking at it only as an option, in the case that somebody kicked us out on our nose."
Arnold said "the straw that broke the camel's back" was when the neighboring town of Huntsville passed a resolution Dec. 18 opposing the resort's plans.
County Commissioner Ken Bischoff said he expects the petition for incorporation to be approved within two months. After that, he said, neither the county commission nor the planning commission will have any say in Powder Mountain's development plans.
"They will have their own planning commission and town council," he said. "We won't have anything to do with it. They will determine their own future."
Last year, the Utah Legislature passed HB 466, which expedites the incorporation process. Under the new law, a group can form itself into a town as long as it has 100 to 1,000 residents, owns more than 50 percent of the land mass and owns more than 50 percent of the land value.
Resort developers elsewhere have taken advantage of the relaxed rules to form their own towns. Bryce Canyon City, centered around Ruby's Inn, incorporated in September, and another developer is attempting to form the town of Aspen in Wasatch County.
The only other requirement of HB 466 is that the incorporation petition have five signatures from permanent residents in the area. For that hurdle, Powder Mountain developers got help from Ogden Valley Planning Commissioner Jamie Lythgoe.
"I'm in support of their desire to apply for incorporation, if it's appropriate," said Lythgoe, who signed the petition last week after Arnold approached her about the plans.
Lythgoe, whose family founded Powder Mountain and sold most of their land to the current developers, stirred up a controversy when she refused to recuse herself while the OVPC considered the resort's expansion plans.
Even though about 200 acres of her family's land was included in the resort proposal, she denied any conflict of interest.
Eventually, she abstained from voting and her family's property was removed from the plans.
Louis Cooper, chairman of the planning commission, said he was surprised by Lythgoe's involvement.
"It's kind of interesting that she would be one of the petitioners," he said. "But things change, and situations change, and maybe she decided things are different now."
Lythgoe said she signed the petition to see how the plans would develop. She said it is too early to tell if she would run for mayor or town council.
"I have a feeling of curiosity about what it all means," she said.
Once incorporated, Powder Mountain would be able to make its own rules for development, but it's not an entirely free ride, Arnold said.
"It's still a governmental entity," he said. "We still have to go through a planning commission and a town council. We still have to hold public meetings. It will be easier, though."
What makes the process even smoother is that HB 466 lets the developers choose who gets to run for office. The county appoints the mayor and town council from a list submitted by those who filed the petition to incorporate.
Arnold said construction could begin as soon as the town is approved.
"We had a window of opportunity under the law, and we took it," he said.
The development could include 805 single-family homes, 2,090 multiple-family units, 500 hotel rooms, 11 corporate retreats, a 60,000-square-foot recreation center, a 40,000-square-foot equestrian center, a 40,000-squarefoot air station, three lodges, two 18-hole golf courses and a fire station.
The Powder Mountain resort spills over into Cache Valley, but Arnold said Powder Mountain Town will be in Weber County only.
Ogden Valley residents were shocked to hear the news of the petition Friday.
Krista Dana, whose home in Eden would become part of Powder Mountain Town, said she hadn't heard anything about the new municipality.
"I loved living in Eden," she said, adding that she is interested to see how the new town would develop.
Larry Zini, a member of the Valley Citizens for Responsible Development, said Friday was the first time he heard of the petition to incorporate, but it did not surprise him.
"It's been keeping with the theme that we felt early on, that they wanted to bypass the Ogden Valley Planning Commission," he said.
"I think they were looking down the barrel of a possible rejection or conditions they didn't want to live with, and so they found a different way out."
While a difference exists between what is legal and what is moral, Arnold said, the decision to incorporate Powder Mountain is both.
"I don't want to do anything immoral," he said.
"This is a cool project. I've seen a vision."