Article in Salt Lake Tribune on 10/13/2007
Deal Deadline Looms for Powder Mountain Project
by Arrin Newton Brunson, Special to the Tribune
Last Updated: 10/13/2007 02:49:12 AM MDT
LOGAN - Time is running out for investors who began the process more than two years ago to turn Powder Mountain resort into a four-season luxury development.
The project involves plans to develop 7,960 acres of resort property, which straddles the Cache/Weber county line, six miles north of Eden in the Ogden Valley and 19 miles northeast of Ogden.
But Cache County Attorney George Daines insists that Western America Holding Co.'s time is up. Oct. 31 is the expiration date for the company's third six-month extension in an effort to secure a development agreement from the county's Development Services Department.
"I recommend that they start anew. No more extensions," Daines told the Cache County Council this week. The council deferred action until Oct. 23, a week before the deadline for the county and developer to sign a development agreement.
For the past 18 months, Daines has insisted that the developers provide proof of financial surety, such as bonding, to ensure the owners have the capital to finish what they start.
He also wants service agreements in place for fire, law enforcement, road maintenance and water.
Powder Mountain Project Manager Brooke Hontz said Thursday that investors have offered to post $1 million of their own cash as a surety. Once the development agreement is approved, investors could acquire bonds for
specific phases, she said.
"Through the documentation we've submitted, we've shown a variety of ways for the county to protect itself. The developer has to pay for the services within Powder Mountain until the taxes support the services," Hontz said, adding that Western America feels considerable progress has been made in its dealings with the planning and county commissions in Weber County.
On the Cache County side, however, Hontz said progress has not been as fast as investors would like. Nevertheless, she added, "I'm confident we'll be able to work with them. We're on track now."
The Powder Mountain development team includes new legal counsel: former West Valley City Attorney Paul Morris and state Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan.
Hillyard, who was hired at the beginning of September, said Thursday the application process is near completion.
"I've been impressed with how much more they've gotten done," he said. "We meet the spirit of the conditions that need to be in place. Our people have gone over all the minutes, all the letters, and feel they've satisfied all the issues."
Cache County Zoning Administrator and Planner Josh Runhaar said the Development Services Department and County Attorney have spent considerable time on Powder Mountain proposals since 2001.
"Projects of this size aren't easy to handle with a small office," Runhaar said, particularly when they include unusual features and the complicating factor of being in two counties. "Our job here is to make sure it's a benefit to the county and not a drain."
Hillyard said developers share that goal as well. They know that the planning processes ensure the interests of Cache and Weber counties will be protected before the first spade of dirt is turned on Powder Mountain.
"These conditions are reasonable and make sense," he said.
abrunson@sltrib.com
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