Summit to Develop Powder Mountain

Summit Proposal to Develop Powder Mountain

Open House February 13 2013, Wolf Creek Pineview Lodge

All things change; it is how the change will happen that is the question. Last week the Summit Series, the buyer of Powder Mountain Resort, held a town hall meeting to discuss an application with Weber County for the first phase of their intended development project.

There were two loud cheers that I couldn't hold back. The first was the announcement the lawsuit for "Powderville" had officially been withdrawn. Although this happened in November, few of the locals are aware this ended the potential risk of having unlimited development at the resort. Where does that leave the development potential? At 2800 units. Summit made it clear they have no intention of developing those 2800 units and would be scaling back the overall development substantially. And my second whoop came after they announced single family residences would be capped at a maximum square footage of 4000 square feet. Honestly, this is a very different ski resort plan and one that will hopefully minimize the development potential of Ogden Valley.

Presently Summit is weeks away from completion of the Sky Center. This facility has two yurt style structures built of wood and glass with a large deck tying them together among outside space. It is located west of Hidden Lake and has a low profile blending into the hillside. The lodges have had a face lift to clean up the place, but keep the original vibe. Thus far they have only done things that should have been done years ago. I honestly feared walking to the Sundown Lodge from the parking lot thinking it could collapse, like a bridge in an Indiana Jones movie. So far, the changes have been in good taste and stay clear of the luxury aura.

The PUD proposal is being done in two phases; phase one (discussed here) is for 250 units (although the application is referencing 141) including single family lots, small clustered cabins (or in Summit lingo "nests"), some commercial development and small single family homes. The second phase was not presented and will facilitate moving Powder Mountain to Resort Development Zone as Snowbasin has done. This would be overseen by Weber County and require them to adhere to the county zoning requirements.

This first phase is focused primarily south of Hidden Lake and is all proposed below the ridge line. This is great news for Valley dwellers below. The Village will serve as the center for Summit and include a light commercial element with the intent to help minimize travel on the roads. Included here would be grocery stores, restaurants, bars, etc. This year they will break ground on a handful of speculation homes and begin selling. They anticipate a 3-5 year sellout of the first phase development.

Trails were a topic of deep discussion by a few locals. There will be some changes including a ton of additionally developed trails in both Weber and Cache Counties. From the Hidden Lake gate going south will be a reservation and guide only area in the future. This represents about 1/3 of the trail network that is being developed and seems like a fair trade to get miles and miles of new area to play in. Why? This area will intersect with the new development and personal residences so Summit wants to control the access to the public in the residential areas.

There is more to come including the future of the Wolf Barn area, aka Balloon Festival Field and further details on the trail systems.

Please see the packet submitted to Weber County for Powder Mountain Phase 1 here.

By Brandi Hammon