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OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- The city won't sell its Mount Ogden Golf Course to a developer with plans for a resort and mountain gondola, Mayor Matthew Godfrey said.
Resident concerns for the city's foothills trail system and the loss of a city-owned golf course prompted the decision, Godfrey told the Standard-Examiner Saturday.
"It doesn't mean the project will stop from moving forward," the mayor said. "It may happen but it will require Chris to go back to the drawing board."
Developer Chris Peterson has been working for a year on a proposal for an upscale housing development, resort and a tram up Mount Ogden to Malan's Basin. He planned to purchase the golf course and some land from Weber State in order to build the project.
Godfrey said he doesn't believe there's excess land at the golf course to accommodate Peterson's subdivision plans. He said advised Peterson of his decision Saturday.
Initially the mayor supported selling the course because it typically operates with an annual deficit of about $300,000.
"I came to the conclusion we need all the existing area for the golf course," he said.
In an e-mail to the newspaper Peterson said he's now weighing his options.
"I understand the Mayors decision, but I am very disappointed with it because it negates about six months of concept development work and about a year of design, engineering and finance work," he said. "If there is no possibility of owning the Mt. Ogden golf course, however, my project is left in a precarious state. Ill have to think long and hard about whether or not I want to start the process over from scratch."
A 2006 city-commissioned feasibility study said the resort and gondola project would cost about $533 million and generate $89 million in tax revenue over 10 years.
------ Information from: Standard-Examiner
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
