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Overflow crowd chants, pickets against Powder Mountain resort By
Toby G. Hayes
LOGAN -- Many Cache Valley residents aren't happy about the proposed resort at Powder Mountain. A public hearing at the Cache County Council meeting Tuesday was met with protesters and vocal opposition from an overflow crowd. A picket line formed outside with people shouting, "County Council, the choice ain't hard. No more ski resorts in our back yard." The sentiment inside was much the same. "My daughters are 11 and 6 years old. I don't want a four-lane highway in front of our house. I don't want development to ruin their rural upbringing," said Avon resident Jennifer Gines. But the development may be inevitable. Over the next 12 years, Brent Ferrin plans to construct two golf courses, major hotels, multi and single family housing, plus condominiums, schools, shops and restaurants at Powder Mountain, the small ski resort straddling the Cache and Weber County lines near Eden. Powder Mountain is inaccessible from Logan during the winter. Only a small rural road leads through Avon, an hour drive to the mountain from Logan. But developer Brent Ferrin wants to change all that. It would be like a little Park City, said Weber County planner Jim Gentry. It would also mean a wider highway, possibly four lanes, from Logan to Powder Mountain. But that has some residents worried, wondering where a large highway will be placed. "We have a narrow road with very steep turns and a canal on one side," said Avon resident Launi Evans-Stocker. Others don't like the idea of development in their rural corner of Cache Valley. In August the County Council approved a zoning ordinanance for the county called Resort Recreation (RR). The new zone allows resort develop After the new zoning ordinance was passed, Ferrin asked the Cache County Planning Commission for a rezone of his property to RR. They recommended the chament in the unincorporated county. Currently, Ferrin's proposed resort area is zoned Forest Recreation zone (FR-40), which only allows one structure per 40-acre lot. nge, referring it to the county council, but advising a public hearing on the issue. "(Brent Ferrin) can develop with or without Cache County. He could incorporate his own city," said Councilwoman Kathy Robison. If incorporated as a city, the resort would keep valuable tax dollars away from Cache County. The County Council will make a decision Sept. 24 on the rezone and whether to allow the resort.
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