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ong>Support strong among members for Ogden mayor's proposal

OGDEN -- The city council is considering a measure that will complement Mayor Matthew Godfrey's decision to place restrictive covenants on Mount Ogden Golf Course and adjoining park land to ensure the property remains open space.

The council will likely include language in a proposed community plan for the Mount Ogden area, specifying that the golf course and park land retain their open-space designation, said Bill Cook, the council's executive director. The council may vote to approve the plan Oct. 23.

If adopted, the plan's open-space provision would become part of the city's overall general plan, Cook said. The plan is a binding document used to guide development throughout Ogden, he said.

To rescind the provision to allow development, the city council would have to rezone Mount Ogden Golf Course and adjoining park land as well as amend the general plan, both of which would require public hearings, Cook said.

"It doesn't mean it can't be done, but a very public process would have to occur," he said.

The open space provision would complement Godfrey's plan to place restrictive covenants on Mount Ogden Golf Course, adjacent park land and trails, Cook said. Godfrey announced the restrictions Monday.

"The concept is good and can help strengthen the preservation of the golf course, trails and park area," Godfrey said.

He plans to finalize the covenants within the next three weeks. They would restrict use of the golf course, park land and trails solely to public use. It would not allow for homes or other private use of the property.

Godfrey has said the covenants will reinforce his decision not to sell the property to developer Chris Peterson, who had planned to build houses there, to pave the way for an urban gondola.

Councilwoman Susan Van Hooser, who is Godfrey's opponent in the November election, said in a Wednesday e-mail to the Standard-Examiner she is pleased that Godfrey will place the protective covenants on the golf course and adjoining city-owned land.

"I, and other members of the Ogden City Council and a great many citizens of Ogden have been working for some time now to protect and preserve Mount Ogden Park and the rest of the open space in the city's foothills, to keep it safe and available for us and for our children, and theirs for generations to come," she said.

"I am glad that Mayor Godfrey has finally decided to join me, my fellow council members, and the people of Ogden in that effort. We've known for a long time what the mayor seems now to understand, how important the golf course, the park and the trails in the foothills are in drawing visitors from all around the state, and the nation, and even the world to Ogden. I'm particularly glad the mayor's two-year long attempt to sell the city's largest park for a real estate development, which has so divided this city, seems at last to be over."

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