By MARSHALL THOMPSON
Standard-Examiner staff mthompson@standard.net
OGDEN - Weber County Commissioner Craig Dearden woke up at 3 a.m. one day last week, thinking about Powder Mountain resort's petition to incorporate as a town to pave the way for increased development.
"I wondered if anyone has ever talked to the Powder Mountain owners about a way to do this without forming a town," he said. "So I got ahold of the owners, and they said they were willing to sit down and talk with us."
After meeting with the resort developers on Monday, Dearden decided to move to table the incorporation petition at Tuesday's commission meeting so negotiations could continue. The commission voted unanimously to hold off on the incorporation request until next month.
Lisa Davis, a Powder Mountain spokeswoman, distributed a written statement about the commission's decision.
"Powder Mountain is hap- py to accommodate the county's request to discuss the resort and the incorporation petition. Over the years, we have always been willing to sit down and discuss both the development plans and now the proposed incorporation with everyone who's asked ... " the statement read.
Commissioner Jan Zogmaister said she was a little surprised by Dearden's motion, but decided it was the right call.
"I thought it was a good move," she said. "I've been troubled with the fact that the residents didn't have a voice up there."
To meet population requirements for a town, the Powder Mountain owners drew their boundaries to include about 100 Weber County residents. Under a controversial Utah law, the future residents of the Town of Powder Mountain do not get to vote on annexation or on the first town council or mayor.
Davis said she did not know if discussions with the county would include voting rights for future residents. But Dearden said he hopes a compromise can be reached in which the developers would withdraw the petition entirely.
The Ogden Valley Planning Commission spent about two years working with the Powder Mountain developers on the project. In December, the commission approved expansion plans for the resort, but did not allow for extra density because of traffic and water concerns. In January, the Powder Mountain owners filed the petition to become a town so it could design its own master plan and set its own density levels.
Jim Halay, a future resident of the proposed Powder Mountain town who opposes the incorporation, said he appreciates what Dearden is doing, but hopes it will be done responsibly.
"I just hope that they don't give away the farm with this," he said. "Because I thought the Ogden Valley Planning Commission did an upright job."
Davis said that the Powder Mountain owners have been willing to compromise in the past. They have promised to pre-pay $750,000 in development fees to get the town running, and to pay a 1 percent transaction fee on all property within the resort to a municipal fund for open space preservation, she said.
But to future Powder Mountain resident Deja Mitchell, it all comes down to voting rights.
"We want a vote on incorporation and a vote on the town council," she said.
The commission also approved a petition from Wolf Creek Resort owner Steve Roberts to opt out of the town. Landowners can remove themselves from the proposed boundaries if they own at least 1 percent of the total land value in the town and if their absence would not form an island. The removal of Roberts' land will not affect Powder Mountain's ability to incorporate.
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