Setback for resort town
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1 Comment [ View ]Wolf Creek Resort asks to be excluded from Powder Mountain plan
OGDEN -- A dissenting landowner may complicate Powder Mountain's plans to incorporate as a town by withdrawing his property from the proposed boundaries.
Steven Roberts, owner of Wolf Creek Resort, filed a petition with Weber County to have his property excluded from Powder Mountain Town, county officials confirmed Tuesday.
Powder Mountain owners want to build thousands of homes and hotel rooms, an equestrian center and two 18-hole golf courses on top of the mountain, but that level of development does not comply with Weber County's current master plan.
To get around the master plan's restrictions on density, Mark Arnold and Lee Daniels, two of Powder Mountain's owners, filed a petition to incorporate the resort into a town in January. As a municipality, they can create their own zoning ordinances.
Under a controversial law the Utah Legislature unanimously passed last year, developers can form independent municipalities and appoint a town council and mayor as long as they own more than 50 percent of the total acreage and 50 percent of the property value in an area with at least 100 residents.
Lisa Davis, a spokeswoman for Powder Mountain, said the petitioners control about 90 percent of the land area and about 65 percent of the property value.
The other landowners have no vote in the incorporation under the current law. However, if a dissenting party owns at least 1 percent of the total property value of the proposed town, it can opt out, said Roger Brunker, assistant clerk/auditor.
He said the county will review Roberts' petition to see if he meets the standard.
The Wolf Creek property that Roberts wants excluded covers 160 acres and has a market value of $4.8 million, according to the county's assessed property value.
It forms a bridge to about 730 acres worth approximately $24.4 million owned by the Cobabe family, the original owners of Powder Mountain who are co-petitioners for incorporation.
Incorporation laws do not allow the formation of islands, so if Wolf Creek's petition for exclusion is approved, Powder Mountain Town might lose a total of nearly 900 acres worth almost $30 million, according to property tax records.
Davis said Powder Mountain owners feel confident they control enough land to continue.
"Even if his (Roberts') parcels are taken out of the town, the petitioners still have enough, over 50 percent in both value and area," she said.
The total property value of Powder Mountain Town, as originally proposed, is about $108.6 million, Davis said. Of that, the petitioners own about $70 million.
If Wolf Creek can exclude its property, the town's total land value would be about $78.6 million, of which the petitioners would own about $45.6 million.
The county's assessed property values are sometimes incorrect, but if the numbers are accurate, it would leave the petitioners with 58 percent of the total land value.
Still, Davis said, the exclusion is cause for some concern.
"I think it's something people are keeping an eye on," she said. "It will slow down the process because it will have to be evaluated, and it will slow it down a bit because the county will have to consider it."
Brunker said the county will wait to see if Powder Mountain's petition to incorporate meets all requirements before it will seriously look at Wolf Creek's petition for exclusion.
He said the governor's office is in the process of verifying the future number of residents in the Powder Mountain Town boundaries.
Roberts could not be reached for comment.
This story was updated on Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Opposed landowner may delay Powder Mountain's plans to become a town
OGDEN -- A dissenting landowner may complicate Powder Mountain's plans to incorporate as a town by withdrawing his property from the proposed boundaries.
Steven Roberts, owner of Wolf Creek Resort, filed a petition with Weber County to have his property excluded from Powder Mountain Town, county officials confirmed Tuesday.
Powder Mountain owners want to build thousands of homes and hotel rooms, as well as an equestrian center and two 18-hole golf courses on top of the mountain. But that level of development does not comply with Ogden Valley's current master plan.
To meet an incorporation requirement of 100 full-time residents, Powder Mountain owners had to draw their town boundaries around several subdivisions in Eden, including a portion of Wolf Creek Resort.
A landowner must have at least 1 percent of the total assessed property value of the town if he wants to opt out, said Roger Brunker, assistant clerk/auditor. He said the county is reviewing Roberts' petition to see if he meets the standards.
For more on this story see Wednesday's Standard-Examiner.
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I have to be honest, I think it would be absolutely terrible to have that many homes up there. Powder mountain ski resort would lose its charm.