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MORGAN — A development proposal in Morgan County calling for 2,200 or more houses and other housing units is sparking debate and talk of turning the development site into a new city.
The 2,317-acre proposed development site, Nine Springs Mountain Resort, sits north of I-84 between Mountain Green and the Snowbasin ski resort in adjacent Weber County. Further south is the Wasatch Peaks development site, which covers some 12,000 acres and was the focus of an acrimonious court fight before the sides resolved the dispute last January.
Reps for the Nine Springs developers, who last week asked the state for a study into the possibility of turning the development area into a city, aren't yet saying much. But the plans have come up for discussion at two recent Morgan County Commission work sessions. County Commission Chairman Mike Newton said they've sparked pushback from some officials and residents given the number of proposed new housing units.
"It's way more intensive than what Wasatch Peaks is," Newton said Tuesday. Wasatch Peaks plans call for some 760 housing units along with ski runs, a golf course and more, while Nine Springs officials have said they plan to build as many as 2,700 new housing units in the largely undeveloped, mountainous area.
The prospect of building on the steep slopes of the Nine Springs development area is of concern to county officials, Newton added, as well as the potential impact of so much new housing, if it comes to fruition, on county roads and schools. What's more, that developers are looking to create a new city — theoretically allowing developers to circumvent county planning and zoning rules — came as a surprise to Newton.
"That feels like an end-run around the county," he said. "I suspect that's because we have pushed back a fair amount."
Brach Nelson, of Structure 9 Development Group, part of the team pursuing the Nine Springs plans, said the proposal is in the very early stages. Contacted Tuesday, he declined additional comment, at least for now, because some plan details are still being worked out. The incorporation applicants are the two entities that own the land to be developed, Spring Mountain Ranch and SISO LLC, both based at the same address in Ogden.
Public documents offer the broad vision of the proposal. According to the paperwork filed just last week with the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office asking for a feasibility study into the notion of turning the development area into a city, plans call for 2,257 housing units, a mix of single-family homes, condominiums and other multifamily structures. Another 600 hotel units are proposed as well as 30 yurts. The development would occur in 10 phases.
"The preliminary municipality will include a mix of resort facilities, recreational uses, residential units, commercial/retail, hotel and open space along with the necessary public and private infrastructure to facilitate the preliminary municipality's development," reads the request. Per the incorporation process, a study into the feasibility of incorporating is one of the early steps in the formal process of creating a new city. The state hasn't yet responded to the request.
According to Newton, the developers have proposed up to 2,700 units, which, he said, could bolster boost Morgan County's population, now around 13,000, to as many as 21,000 or 25,000 people. "It's a huge, huge project," he said.
According to the proposal submitted to Morgan County, focus of discussion earlier this month and in August by county commissioners, the development would occur over 15 to 20 years.
The varied elements of the development are designed "to accentuate and complement the existing resort feeling of this area and the beauty of the natural landscape," it reads. The development, the proposal continues, would be "a master-planned resort and residential community, where people can live and enjoy a variety of accessible high-adventure recreation activities such as Alpine slides, mountain coasters, seasonal ice skating, hiking, mountain biking, sledding, numerous other mountain activities and enjoying nature."
To allow the plans to proceed, the developers have asked Morgan County officials to designate the development area as a resort special district. Notwithstanding the proposal to incorporate the development area, the talks with county officials are very early, according to Morgan County Manager Kate Becker.
"We are nowhere near action," Becker said. "We're in the first, second inning. There won't be any action on this for a very long time."
Separately, a contingent in Weber County to the north proposes incorporation of the Ogden Valley area given growing development pressures. That question will be put to voters on the Nov. 5 ballot.
