Several items in the weekend news, concerning the ongoing Powder Mountain development story.
First we'll highlight this morning's Standard-Examiner article, wherein Marshall Thompson reports that the developers of the Powder Mountain Resort have produced a feasibility study report, in support of their municipal annexation petition. We incorporate here the lead paragraphs from the article:
OGDEN — Powder Mountain owners released the results of their privately commissioned feasibility study Friday showing the ski resort could become a viable municipality if the developers provided cash upfront.We're just speculating on this, but it's likely that the production of this report represents a proactive attempt on the part of the developers to anticipate the passage of one of the two remedial bills which are now pending in the state legislature, each of which contains provisions referring to a county-required feasibility study. An article in yesterday's Voice of Deseret blog provides information about these two bills, along with links to several recent northern Utah news articles:
If Western America Holding, LLC, coughs up $750,000 for its proposed town government, there would be no need to levy an additional municipal property tax or telecommunication tax on the residents, the study said.
“Assuming creation of a fund from prepayment of development fees, there is adequate funding to allow the newly incorporated town to operate through the end of Fiscal Year 2012,” the report read. “If resort development does not begin in 2009 as planned, there will be adequate time for the Town Council to dissolve the town or identify alternative revenue sources or expenditure saving to allow the town to continue.”
The now infamous HB466 created the problem. Passed by the Utah State Legislature, it liberalized the criteria required for a developer to form a town. Rep. Mel Brown (R-Coalville) sponsored the original law, but now that he's seen how predatory developers have abused it, both in the Wasatch Valley, and now up in the Ogden Valley, he's submitted a draft bill, HB164, which changes HB466 by stiffening the requirements for incorporation. On the Senate side, Sen. Dennis Stowell (R-Parowan), has already produced SB25 to accomplish the same purpose. It's probably a good thing it's also being worked in the Senate, because, according to the Tribune, the House bill has stalled, most likely to reconcile it with the Senate version.We received an email yesterday from our friends and cohorts at Ogden Valley Forum, requesting that we direct our readers' attention to an online petition, directed at the above-referenced senate bill. We accordingly provide the text of this message below:
We have a new petition available to all residents and property owners in the state, but more specifically Weber County residents. We would love to have your readers sign the petition, which is available here.We urge all Weber County Forum readers who are concerned about the quick passage of a bill curing the defects of last year's HB-466 to visit the site, and to affix their signatures to this online petition. As of the time of this posting, the petition had already registered 71 signatures.
As for the legal effect of the feasibility study report discussed in this morning's Standard-Examiner story, we suppose we'll have to wait and see how it all shakes out.
