3 strikes/ You're Out - Ogden Valley Planning Commission Approves Rock Crusher and extensions for Both Bison Creek Ranch and Trappers Crossing

This just in from one of our Humble Huntsville readers:

In a disappointing move, the OVPC rubber stamped the requests for a one year extension for the Bison Creek Ranch and Trappers Crossing subdivisions. Their claim was one we are all too accustomed to - "The developers meet the requirements of the ordinance, so we have to grant the extension." Keith Rounkles was the lone dissenting voter with regard to the Bison Creek Extension.

Even more disappointing was the Carte Blanche approval of a rock crusher in the nearby Rivers Ghetto project - or rather the Rivers Cluster development may be more politically correct - bite my tongue. After desperate pleas from neighbors and advocates, the Planning commission approved the Rock Crushing operation. Only two hero dissenters had the conviction to vote nay - Keith Rounkles and Gary Allen.

The approval did have some minor restrictions that the developer, Jamie Gull, was not happy with. First, the approval was only for 180 days from the start of the operation, and secondly, that it could only be for phase one.

Interestingly, the developer claimed he did not want the crusher for phase two because homes would be built on the land at that point. Commissioner Rounkles queried the developer by stating, "So you are concerned about your new residents, but are not concerned about the current homeowners?" The developer claimed he was taken out of context and the reason there would be no rock crusher for Phase two was that there would be homes on the site of the proposed rock crusher.

Yesterday's petition with over 70 mostly Huntsville signees was even spotlighted to no avail. Also, during an emotional plea from long time Huntsville resident, Jenifer Georgi, she asked the Planning Commissioners why and who was responsible for allowing the destruction of wetlands and wildlife habitat. She stated that her children and grandchildren would never see the former valley.

Commissioner Rounkles agreed with Ms. Georgi and said the developers ignored recommendations from DWR. He agreed with her that developers are destroying the valley, but the OVPC has no choice.

Later, the developer accused Keith of saying that his actions were illegal and that he had no idea what he was doing with respect to the DWR recommendations. They went back and forth till Chairman Cooper stopped the bantering.

Keith showed he cares, understands and will take a stand.

Is it too late to have Keith Rounkles run for President?

Please Sign Petition To The Ogden Valley Planning Commission ASAP!

It a bit of a last ditch effort, we just received a petition entitled "Ogden Valley Residents Request Denial of Rock Crushing Operation." Time is of the essence as the All-Important Planning Commission meeting is this afternoon, and the petition sponsors are trying to round up some last minute support.

To View the Petition, click here

While we think personal letters to the Commission members carry more weight, a petition certainly has a place - NOW IS THE TIME and THIS IS THE PLACE.

Time is ticking, so:

• Spread the word to your friends and neighbors via phone and email to sign the petition
• Send an email letter to the Planning Commissioners if you can - be sure to ask Ms. Sillito to pass on your letter to commissioners prior to the meeting
• Attend the 5 Pm meeting tonight
• Become informed on the issues at tonights meeting by reviewing the last few posts on the Forum

Trappers Crossing and Bison Creek Request One Year Extension and The Rivers Requests "Design Review" of Rock Crusher Operation

As we mentioned a couple of days ago, the developers from Trapper's Crossing and Bison Creek Ranch have requested a one year extension. The rubber stamp planning staff is recommending that the planning commission approve both extension requests, but we disagree.

Ron Gleason, a concerned citizen, offered his recommendations, which we will paste below. As much as we would like to send both developers packing, we agree with his recommendation for offering Trapper's Crossing an extension IF they have culinary water, while denying Bison Creek Ranch an extension for several reasons. We have added the emphasis.

The county has finally published the agenda for the 10/28 meeting. IMO there are a couple of very important items that people should attend and express their opinions or write emails to the planning staff and OVPC commissioners

The agenda can be found here

There are two items on the consent agenda. These items have to be called out at the beginning of the meeting or the consent agenda will be rubber stamped

* Request a One Year Time Extension of Final Approval for Trappers Crossing Cluster Subdivision

The developer has made much progress with the build out. The question I have has to do with culinary water. The development was approved with culinary water being managed by Eden Water and the source coming from a well on the Bison Creek property. At final approval it was indicated that a condition of Final Approval would be the availability of wet water.

Where is the water coming from since the Bison Creek project has not moved forward and what progress has been made.

The extension should be granted as long as water can be provided

* Request a One Year Time Extension of Final Approval for Bison Creek Ranch Cluster Subdivision

This extension should be denied

* Does final approval run with the land?
* Ownership has changed - As documented in letter from Paul Laughton, developer of Trappers Crossing, dated September 13, 2008 the Bison Property has changed hands.
Therefore my question is does final approval for a development run with the land?

If not then the new owner should have to get re-approval for the development.

* Is foreclosure imminent?

There are signs on the fence surrounding the property indicating a trustee sale. At the trustee citizens were informed that it was cancelled as new terms with the bank(s) were being worked on and new date in early November would be established for the trustee sale if is needed.

Is the property going to be foreclosed on?

If so then the approval should be denied.

* The development was to house a regional sewer plant with a capacity of 700 or so residential hookups. Furthermore two subdivisions, Trappers Crossing and The Rivers, were to utilize the system and have approximately 85 connections.

These two development now have their own sewer system so 1/3 of the committed connections for the sewer plant are gone.

Is the sewer plant still a viable option that the new owners can justify?

* Wet water. Similar to the sewer.

Water system was to be built, managed by Eden water and it would provide to three subdivisions; Bison Creek, The Rivers and Trappers Crossing.

Is the development of the water system still viable and will the other two subdivisions utilize the system?

On the regular agenda the follow item is important

* Approval of Design Review DR #04-08 to Operate a Rock Crusher on a Temporary Basis with the Rivers Cluster Subdivision Located at approximately 7800 East Highway 39

Everyone should download the 'meeting packet' located here

I do not know how a temporary rock crusher use can be approved as 'design review' and not a conditional use.

I recommend denial of this agenda item

Reasoning for my denial request click here

A Neighbor of The Rivers Expresses concern

From a concerned neighbor of "The Rivers"

We received a notice in the mail today from the Weber County Planning Office stating that the Rivers Cluster Subdivision, located at 7800E Highway 39, is requesting approval of a rock crusher on site.

We live within 500 feet and we are very concerned about the noise (we already have a baby who has difficulty sleeping), and we have been trying to spread the word by going door to door.

Residents are invited to express their thoughts concerning this request at the Ogden Valley Township Planning meeting to be held on Tuesday, October 28th at 5:00 pm in the Commission Chambers (1st floor, Weber Center 2380 Washington Blvd. call 801-399-8791 for more info)

Also, I have just been made aware that the developers of The Rivers Cluster have joined forces with the developers building up behind The Jackson Fork Inn. Their plan is to pump the sewage from the Rivers up to their processing plant, then send the processed sewage back down to be dumped right here, next door to our little town. It makes me sick to even think about it!

Please send this information on to anyone you think may be interested, and if you know anything more about the sewage situation please share.

Thank you for keeping us updated on the forum!

At least two other very important agenda items are planned for the OVPC meeting and we will post our always unbiased review of those items soon. Stay tuned, contact the planning commissioners and attend the meeting.

Important Ogden Valley Planning Commission Meeting Tuesday - Be There!

Rampant, wide spread development of Ogden Valley has seemingly slowed with the slowing economy, but some persistent developers are returning to the Ogden Valley planning commission this Tuesday for more handouts in the form of extensions and rock crushers.

Be sure to attend as the agenda has a full line up:

Weber County Commission Chambers,

Weber Center (2380 Washington Blvd).

5:00 pm

Under "Consent Items," two important items are listed:

• Request a One Year Time Extension of Final Approval for Trappers Crossing Cluster Subdivision
• Request a One Year Time Extension of Final Approval for Bison Creek Ranch Cluster Subdivision

Hidden in the "Regular Items," we see:

• Approval of Design Review DR #04-08 to Operate a Rock Crusher on a Temporary Basis with the Rivers Cluster Subdivision Located at approximately 7800 East Highway 39

Click here to view the agenda in its entirety

Also, be sure to contact the planning commissioners and let your feelings be known regarding the aforementioned agenda items. The VCRD web site is an excellent resource with contact info, public speaking and letter writing suggestions.

More will be posted on this topic prior to the Tuesday meeting, but be sure to download the Planning Commission Packet, become informed and get involved.

We will also include links to past Ogden Valley Forum articles:

Trapper's Crossing

The Rivers

Bison Creek Ranch

BAIT AND SWITCH ZONING and More

The January 23, 2007 Ogden Valley Planning Commission meeting was lengthy to say the least at more than 5.5 hours. It is quite obvious there are more items taking place in the Valley than one commission can reasonably handle and it is time to petition our County Commissioners to appoint another East Huntsville Planning commission. As of late, much of the proposed development seems to be happening on the South side of the Valley.

The agenda shows many items such as the Rezone request from Lisa Karam for property on the Old Snowbasin road and Highway 39. In a classic bait and switch, she seeks a rezone from CV-2 to CV-1 so 70 Condotels can be constructed instead of a 70 room hotel. Money talks and she will surely cash in on the Condotels. The Snowbasin road traffic will be worse than it was when the road served as primary access to Snowbasin. Interestingly, Steve Roberts, the Passionate developer from Wolf Creek, spoke against the debacle. Ultimately, the Planning Commissioners tabled the request, although there is a sign on the property serving as a public notice of the request. She will be back.

There was also a request for the Two Rivers Cluster Subdivision which is being proposed just South of Huntsville. They are proposing packing in some 46 lots on ground that is usually under water. This is one of three large subdivisions proposed in the Huntsville area that all hinge on a state of the art sewage system that will produce gray water suitable to drink. Are you going to drink the gray Kool Aid?

They are also planning on having water piped from Eden and the homes will not have basements (maybe too much water in those two rivers). Thanks to the Eden Water company for our current development boom.

A councilman from Huntsville (Galt, we believe) was asked why the Town of Huntsville did not wish to annex the property and why they did not respond to a letter from the WC planning staff. His compelling response was that they had reviewed the letter from Weber County asking if they were interested, but interpreted it to mean reply only if interested, which they weren’t. He went on to say the project didn’t fit the town's Master Plan, the density didn’t fit their zoning and the property in question represented too much risk of high water. He said, "we didn’t want to be involved with law suits when homes flooded."

The next Ogden Valley Planning Commission meeting will be February 27th - it should be interesting!

It is time to wake up and get involved Ogden Valley. Where will our first stop light be?

Major Developments Proposed For South Side of Valley

The long anticipated post Olympic development boom has hit the valley hard and Huntsville is the latest target. The South side of the Valley has somehow escaped the rampant growth so prevalent in the Eden and Liberty area. With the exception of the Ski Lake, Green Hills and a few isolated areas, the growth on the south side of the past few years could be considered sporadic. UNTIL NOW!

Several projects are in the planning stage. One of the largest, Bison Creek, was the cover article of the latest (12-15-2006) issue of the local Ogden Valley News. According to the article, the planned subdivision is 458.868 acres and consists of 150 lots. The cluster lots could be as small as 10,000 square feet (less than 1/4 acre). This land has inherent problems as much of the area is wet. The developers are also proposing an on site sewer where the treated waste water will be stored in a community lake for reuse in the secondary water system. And Weber County or its assigns will provide sewer service.

Another proposed project is Trapper's Crossing which will be located on the old Trapper's loop road. Details are not available, but rumored to be some 80 acres with about 27 high dollar lots. There is also talk of expanding along the foothill to the east.

Still another will border the South boundary of Huntsville Town and is called "The Rivers." The proposal calls for 42 lots on about 55 acres. What happened to 3 acre zoning? This subdivision would be along the west side of Highway 39, west and south of the storage sheds and American Legion.

All of these developments plan to send their sewage to the Sewage system run by Weber County located on the Bison Creek Subdivision. Furthermore, the 16 acre lake full of processed sewage will be a playground, complete with a boat house. Let's dive in!

Stay tuned for more details....