BEN DORGER, Standard-Examiner file photo

EDEN — As officials from Skyline Mountain Base work out the details of the planned ski village at the base of the Nordic Valley ski resort, one message stands out — they plan to keep the mountainside below Lewis Peak green.

They are also aiming for a contained village with as many as 763 housing units that provides recreational opportunities at a more economical price than other area resorts.

“The idea is to try to develop the ski resort on one side and the real estate on the other side,” said Laurent Jouffray, a member of the Skyline Mountain Base board and a resident of the Liberty area. He and Francois-Michel Giocanti, the Skyline president, discussed the plans with the Standard-Examiner.

That is, the flank below Lewis Peak containing Nordic Valley’s ski runs will remain free of development, reserved for skiing and other recreational activities, potentially throughout the year. The village will be located further down, clustered around Nordic Valley Road and 3850 East, just east of the current resort base area, according to preliminary maps of the plans supplied to Weber County planners.

The idea is for something “harmonious with the feeling of a village,” Jouffray said. The amenities will be offered at “a lower price point” than Snowbasin and Powder Mountain, other nearby ski resorts.

Image supplied, Weber County Planning Division

Development, meantime, would occur gradually, probably over 10-15 years. “It will be step by step. We can’t do it (all) at the same time,” said Giocanti.

Preliminary development of the plans dates to 2014, when Skyline Mountain Base acquired Nordic Valley and the land around it. Village plans publicly emerged last October and now developers are engaged in talks with county officials to sort through the process of properly zoning the property so development can move ahead.

Skyline reps have also embarked on a campaign to inform Ogden Valley residents about the plans, get their feedback and hear their questions. One public meeting was already held and another is set for Thursday from 5-7 p.m. It’ll be held via zoom at https://bit.ly/3GQXQva. The meeting ID is 891 7481 0320 while the passcode is 608223.

While Mountain Capital Partners, headed by James Coleman, manages and operates the Nordic Valley ski operation, Skyline Mountain Base owns the resort and the land where it is located and is the force behind the village plans.

“Since 2014, we have invested a lot of money in the ski resort. There is a lot of investment in time and money and we want the project to move forward,” Jouffray said. Notably, the Ogden Valley General Plan, the county document that guides development in the area, allows for the sort of proposal put forward, according to Weber County Commissioner Gage Froerer.

‘VERY CONCERNED’

Development is a touchy issue in the Ogden Valley, though, and some who live in the area are jittery at the prospect of more housing, more people and more cars if the skyline plans progress. “People are very concerned because of the number of units that are going to be there,” said Jan Fullmer, who helps lead GEM, a grassroots group made up of people who live in the Ogden Valley.

More specifically, some worry much of the proposed housing at the Nordic Valley village would serve as short-term rentals geared to outside visitors, creating a large, transient population coming in and out of the area.

“We’re losing a sense of community, that’s No. 1,” Fullmer said. On top of that, she said, county efforts to craft a new policy governing short-term rentals remain a work in progress.

Jouffray, however, notes that Skyline officials aren’t seeking permission to develop more housing than what county guidelines already allow. Moreover, he emphasizes that the developers aren’t envisioning sprawling, uncontrolled growth.

As it stands, he notes, the developers could start building without the need for a rezone. “But we want to make something that is a nice boutique resort over time, and not a big development,” Jouffray said, necessitating the rezone efforts.

Moreover, they want to maintain transparency with locals “so that each can understand what we have in mind and bring some suggestions and ideas to the project.”

As for development specifics, those may evolve over time. But as put forward in Skyline materials, plans call for 693 t0 763 housing units, mostly condominiums, as well as hotel rooms and commercial space.

“All architecture within the project will strive to preserve the pristine views and natural beauty while creating an identifiable and cohesive U.S. Alpine modern mountain design aesthetic,” reads online informational material prepared by Skyline. “Structures will range from 2 to 5 stories with the tallest buildings proposed at the ski beach adjacent to the rising mountainous terrain and the shortest proposed at the eastern edge where the terrain flattens. Energy neutral and environmental friendly building technics will be used for the entire project.”

Froerer said the zoning question could come to county commissioners by mid-March. He is a partner in Nordic Valley Land Associates, which owns a portion of the land that’s within the development area envisioned by Skyline.

However, Nordic Valley Land Associates has had no role in development of the plans, Froerer said, while he, as only a partner, has no say in how the company manages the property in question. He would recuse himself from any action on the development plans if required.

Presuming Skyline officials get the zoning changes they need, developers would next work on infrastructure, water and sewer, most notably, Jouffray said. Plans for each proposed building in the development would then have to go through a permitting process.

Liberty Ski Ventures, based in Eden, is the the main stakeholder in Skyline Mountain Base, also based in Eden. Sorep Group of France, headed by Giocanti and Renaud Muselier, is the majority owner of Liberty.

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