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OGDEN -- Ogden Valley may be looking at another resort development in the near future.
Snowbasin is proposing to build homes, condos, hotels and golf courses clustered across the 12,000 acres it owns in a bid to become an all-season, world-class resort.
In a meeting with the Standard-Examiner editorial board Friday, Snowbasin representatives laid out their proposal for the resort.
The plan would cover 8,000 acres in Morgan County and 3,800 in Weber County, with about 2,400 development units in Weber County.
It is at least a 50-year project, and building depends on market demand, said Wallace Huffman, resorts and resort development director for Snowbasin and Sun Valley.
Despite 2,800 units planned at Powder Mountain, Huffman said they are confident there will be a market.
The majority of building in Weber County would be at Earl's Village, which is near the existing lodge, at more than 1,500 units. To the southeast of that will be 500 units, and more than 300 units will be near Highway 39. About 80 percent of Snowbasin's land in Weber County will be open space.
Snowbasin presented its proposal to the Weber County Planning Commission last month. The development will be the first rezone request to use the Destination and Recreation Resort Zone created last year.
Most of the development units are gained by transferring nearly 600 development units from land near Pineview Reservoir up to the mountain.
With development incentives and bonuses available through the resort zone, Huffman said they should reach their goal. About 100 units are currently on the mountain.
Snowbasin was very involved with the creation of the resort ordinance and has been working with Ogden Valley stakeholders and the Growth With Excellence Mandate committee for two years to minimize the development's impact on the valley, said Steve Clarke, GEM committee member.
GEM is an Ogden Valley citizen committee working to accommodate growth while trying to preserve the valley's rural feel.
Huffman said Snowbasin plans to create another entrance to the resort in Morgan County and ideally would have a 50/50 split of patrons at the entrances. He said that would help prevent clogging Ogden Valley roads.
No application has been submitted in Morgan County yet.
When finished, the resort would include hotels, condos, townhouses, single-family homes, parking, new lifts, a fire station, wastewater treatment, three golf courses, ice skating, fishing, spas, an amphitheater, a grocery store, restaurants, retail space and horse, biking and hiking trails between the two counties.
Huffman estimated about 30 percent of the residents in the resort developments would be full time.
All of the development would be done in the resort zone.
Working with Snowbasin has been a dramatically different experience than working with Powder Mountain, said Kim Wheatley, GEM committee member and former Ogden Valley Planning Commission member.
He said Snowbasin worked hard on the resort zone and chose to work through that instead of trying to bypass it, he said.
Although both Clarke and Wheatley said they are not totally happy with the development, they are impressed with Snowbasin's effort to compromise and listen to concerns from valley residents in an attempt to reduce the impact.
Wheatley said they have reduced the number of units they were originally asking for and even proposed the transfer fee in order to mitigate the effect on the valley and keep open space.
Resort owner Earl Holding, his son Steve Holding, Sinclair Companies Senior Vice President Clint Ensign and other Snowbasin representatives took a two-day tour of the valley with stakeholders to listen to their concerns and suggestions, Clarke said.
"Eventually, we persuaded him (Earl Holding) he could never have a world-class resort unless Ogden Valley had some value in it," Wheatley said.
Since then Snowbasin worked with the planning commission, the county commission, the GEM committee and others to create a mutual vision for the valley, Clarke said.
"They wanted to work with us in the planning stages. It was not hostile attitude," he said. "It's been a cooperative attitude all along, an example other resort owners should try to demonstrate."
Clarke said he thinks it is unfortunate if negativity toward Powder Mountain from valley residents spills over into relations with Snowbasin.
Huffman said Snowbasin will hold public information sessions about its plans in mid-July.
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