Residents try to halt new development at Wasatch Peaks Ranch ski resort before vote

If a sign could have gall, then this one certainly did. That’s what ran through Shelley Paige’s mind when she saw the “Notice of Public Meeting” posted at the turnoff to Morgan Valley Drive, which leads to Wasatch Peaks Ranch.

Not two weeks before, Paige and four other Morgan County residents had won the right to put to referendum the new county zoning laws that enable the construction of the private, ultra-luxury ski and golf resort. That decision by Second District Judge Noel Hyde should have, they and their lawyers believe, paused any development at the resort that does not comply with the land’s original zoning designation as “multiple use” and “forestry.”

But there it was: A notice that meant the county commission planned to consider approving — and ultimately did green-light — development of a subdivision plat at its next meeting.

“I was so shocked. I couldn’t believe it,” Paige said. “I just thought, ‘How could the county ignore Judge Hyde’s ruling?’ He wrote that we followed the law and met the legal standard. But the county won’t give us our referendum packet so that we can collect signatures so that we can hopefully get the referendum on the ballot. Yet the county will approve another phase for Wasatch Peaks Ranch.”

Frustrated, the residents expected to file for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction Wednesday against Morgan County and Wasatch Peaks Ranch. If approved, those orders could halt development for at least two weeks — and potentially more than a year.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Shelley Paige speaks out against Wasatch Peaks Ranch on Friday, April 7, 2023, at one of their homes that oversees the property about 17 miles from Ogden. Some Morgan County residents oppose Wasatch Peaks Ranch, an exclusive community and private ski resort under development outside the hamlet of Peterson. From left, Whitney Croft, Cindy Carter, Paige and Brandon Peterson gather to express their concern with the long-term impact the project could have on their rural community. The development, catering to richest ‘1% of the 1%’ is approved for 750 residential units, will come with a Tom Fazio golf course, a village and numerous amenities, including 70 miles of trails for residents’ exclusive use. (Francisco Kjolseth/)

Dana Farmer, an attorney for Whitney Croft, Robert Bohman, Brandon Peterson, David Pike and Paige, said he planned to file the two motions Wednesday morning in district court. Farmer said he expects Hyde to rule on the restraining order by the end of the week. If Hyde approves it, the judge would then have 14 days to schedule a hearing on the preliminary injunction request. During that time, Wasatch Peaks Ranch would have to halt virtually all construction and permitting.

If Hyde rules in favor of the injunction, further development at Wasatch Peaks Ranch ostensibly would have to be shelved until the laws are put to vote. That wouldn’t be until at least next year pending the residents gathering enough signatures to get the referendum on the ballot. At minimum, construction would have to be stayed until the county’s appeal of Hyde’s approval of the referendum is decided by the Utah Supreme Court. No court date has been set.

In a meeting on Sept. 19, four days after Hyde’s decision, Farmer said Morgan County Attorney Garrett Smith told him and some of the residents that the county would not accept any more land use applications from Wasatch Peaks Ranch. However, after Paige and fellow petitioner and Morgan County resident Cindy Carter approached Smith about the public notice sign, he told them the application for “plat 3A” could go before the county commission because it was filed three months prior to Hyde’s ruling.

Smith reiterated that stance at the Oct. 3 commission meeting. He also urged the commission to support the application as long as it met all other requirements. He noted that in the county’s eyes, Wasatch Peaks Ranch can operate under the zoning ordinances approved by the county council in 2019 because those laws took effect as soon as the county clerk denied the residents’ petition for a referendum, which ultimately triggered the court case.

Smith told The Tribune that the decision to not accept future development applications from Wasatch Peaks Ranch until the appeal is decided was a form of checks and balances. Under the law, he said, the resort could keep building until residents began gathering signatures for the referendum. However, they aren’t allowed to gather signatures during the appeal. So he believes it is only fair to also pause consideration of Wasatch Peaks Ranch development applications submitted after Hyde’s Sept. 15 ruling.

“The county, we walk a delicate line for balancing a lot of different rights and interests,” Smith said. “And when I talk to Wasatch Peaks attorneys, they want me to only consider Wasatch Peaks’s rights. When I talk to the petitioners, they want me to only consider petitioners’ rights, basically. From the county’s perspective, we have to maintain more of a neutral approach.”

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune An aerial tour of Wasatch Peaks Ranch, a 12,000 acres expanse of land in Morgan Valley, outside Ogden, which recently went up for sale for $46 million. Owned by the wealthy Bass and Holding families, the acreage is one of the largest tracts of privately held land in the Intermountain West. It has 24 peaks, 15 bowls and a two-mile stretch of the Weber River. (Francisco Kjolseth/)

Smith added that applications submitted after Sept. 15 should not be considered at this time.

“We don’t ignore the law. We don’t ignore orders from the court,” Smith said. “But we do have the rights of due process, just like any other petitioner has, to make our case to court or appellate court as well.”

As designed, Wasatch Peaks Ranch will feature 3,000 acres of skiing and a mountain village accessed by five lifts as well as an 18-hole, Tom Fazio-designed golf course. About 750 homeowners and their families and guests will have exclusive entrée to the resort. It plans to sell 705 memberships at a cost of $500,000 annually and equity investments in $5 million blocks, according to federal financial disclosures.

Farmer wrote in his motion for the injunction and restraining order that Wasatch Peaks Ranch was “foolish” to move forward with construction while the zoning laws were in limbo. As soon as his clients petitioned for a referendum, he said, the court had no choice but to “toll,” or suspend, the new zoning laws.

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