County rezones Powder Mountain
The Cache County Executive Council voted 6-1 in favor of creating a Resort-Recreation Zone on 3,580 acres of Powder Mountain.
The new zone will allow the county to control wastewater, runoff and housing developments on the mountain.
Mark Teuscher, county-wide planner, said the current Forestry Recreation-40 Zone is very disjointed, being the biggest zone in Cache Valley.
“FR-40 takes up 66 percent of the county,” he said. “It’s never been altered. It doesn’t provide a lot of protection.”
Members of the council took turns saying how they would vote regarding the rezone and why. Protestors held up signs depicting a highway toward Powder Mountain flanked by an exit sign for Brent Ferrin, who plans to use the land to build single- and multi-family housing, hotels and a golf course.
Councilman Darrel Gibbons represents communities in the north end of the valley, like Amalga, Lewiston, Trenton and Richmond.
“It’s frustrating to listen to your concerns,” he said. “Very few people are concerned in [the north end of the valley]. Powder Mountain exists already and there will be development there, even under the current [zone].”
The development he referred to is Ferrin’s soon-to-be-completed purchase of Powder Mountain land.
Ferrin said because of the rezone vote, he plans to proceed to the next phase of development – presenting a master plan to the council.
“I was prepared to move forward without the rezone,” he said. “We’ve been ready for quite some time.”
About $2 million was spent on environmental studies for the area, which will also be presented to the council in two weeks. Animal and hydrogeological studies were just two of the 18 done for the area, Ferrin said.
The lone councilman who voted against the rezone is John Hansen, who represents communities on the south end of the county, like Avon, Paradise, Wellsville, Mendon and Hyrum.
He was following the loudest voice of his constituents on the issue, he said.
“I would vote against this because I ran on a platform I would represent the people on the south end,” Hansen said.
The rest of the council members said they agreed with Gibbons.
Craig Petersen, one of three members who represents Logan who is also the vice president for Student Services at Utah State University, said even though some protestors assume the council would rezone the land without carefully scrutinizing the impact of such a decision, they were wrong.
“I want to make sure I have the power to make a careful examination,” Petersen said.
Councilman Cory Yeates of Logan chastised some of the protestors who had written letters to him regarding Ferrin.
“Shame on you for some of the comments you made toward Brent Ferrin,” Yeates said. “I agree fullheartedly with what Mr. Gibbons said. If you think the proposition now would cause problems, you wouldn’t believe the watershed problems we’d have [without the rezone].”
If Ferrin were to continue developing Powder Mountain without the rezone, the council would be powerless to govern wastewater and other land-management issues, he said.
The county could also find itself in court.
“Mr. Ferrin has legally met conditions to be accepted into the Resort-Recreation Zone,” Yeates said.
Chairman C. Larry Anhder, whose district covers Providence, River Heights, Nibley, Millville and College-Young, said Ferrin could still develop without the rezone, but he recognized it is important financially to have the land management Cache County can provide.
“It’s part of a win-win situation,” Anhder said. “He gets something marketable, and we get control.”
Some protestors just seemed to miss the issue.
Part of Tuesday’s council meeting was devoted to a public hearing on language of the county’s comprehensive plan. Despite repeated reminders from Anhder that questions should pertain to the language of the plan, protestors continued to speak out against development of Powder Mountain, an area already developed with a ski resort.
After the meeting, protestors talked of disappointment and decided to keep in touch via e-mail to continue fighting further development of the mountain.
Jim Steitz, president of ECOS (Ecological Coalition of Students), said, “The council has disgraced and disobeyed its bosses. But ultimately, the people will prevail. We will not allow this development.”
-jmdo@cc.usu.edu