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EDEN, Weber County — A study into the notion of turning the Ogden Valley into a city finds such change wouldn't require a tax hike, one of the key considerations in state guidelines bearing on whether the incorporation process can continue.
"This is what we were hoping for," said Nick Dahlkamp, an Ogden Valley resident from the Liberty area and one of the driving forces behind the incorporation drive.
Still, there are many more steps if the process to turn the vast unincorporated swath encompassing Eden, Liberty and other areas into a city is to move forward. And the process — amid the backdrop of periodic controversies over development — isn't without critics and skeptics.
The Ogden Valley is home to three ski resorts and Pineview Reservoir, popular draws, and development proposals regularly cause sparks, most recently a proposal called Eden Crossing on 20 acres in the Eden area.
"The fate of the valley is being decided by three commissioners who are responsible for all of Weber County," Dahlkamp said. He maintains that locally elected residents focused solely on the Ogden Valley area — and not the rest of the county — should be making the decisions for the area, spread over 73.9 square miles and home to nearly 7,400 people. Indeed, increasing local control amid growing development pressure, exemplified by Eden Crossing and other recent plans critics say run afoul of area planning guidelines, is the big driver behind the effort, according to Dahlkamp.
The incorporation drive started last year, and those taking part submitted the required signatures on petitions to spur a formal study into the question last January. Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson last April officially called for the study, and Salt Lake City-based LRB Public Finance Advisors, contracted by the state to do the work, issued its report this month. Next, LRB will hold two public meetings, yet to be scheduled, to report the findings to Ogden Valley residents.
Dahlkamp is encouraged. The report, he maintains, indicates the anticipated revenue sources in the city would be sufficient to cover anticipated expenses. Incorporation, the report reads, "will likely result in at least a 5% budget surplus when comparing available revenues to expenses," sufficient to allow the process to move forward per parameters set out in state law. Another petition drive would be required to collect signatures to get the incorporation question on the ballot, allowing voters to have the final say, possibly in the November 2024 election.
Others, though, remain skeptical.
Weber County commissioners won't get involved in the effort nor take any position on the incorporation question, said commissioner Gage Froerer, who lives in the area that would be incorporated. Personally, though, he worries incorporation could lead to higher taxes for property owners.
"We just encourage people to read the study, look at the numbers and make a decision on their own," Froerer said. Much of the area that would become a city is open, undeveloped land, and it encompasses the Nordic Valley ski resort though not Snowbasin or Powder Mountain.
Developers John Lewis and Shane Dunleavy, partners in the Eden Crossing proposal, have their doubts.
Dunleavy thinks incorporation, contrary to boosters' seeming goal of getting a handle on development, would create new pressure to develop in order to broaden the tax base and generate the revenue a city needs to operate. What's more, turning the Ogden Valley into a city could make it vulnerable to state pressure to increase development as state leaders prod municipalities to allow for more housing growth to counter a housing crunch.
"I don't think they're looking far enough forward as to what is coming," said Dunleavy. "If they want to be rural, unincorporated county is the best way to do it."
The Eden Crossing proposal is the latest in the Ogden Valley to spark controversy and concerns that runaway development will overtake the zone, known for its mountain views and outdoor recreation offerings, including the three ski resorts. The plans call for mixed-use development, including 350 housing units, and possibly a hotel on a plot of land east of the intersection of state Route 166 and state Route 168.
County commissioners on Tuesday approved a development agreement that allows the project to proceed, with certain stipulations. The developers are to pay up to $2 million to help cover the cost of installing a roundabout at the S.R. 166-S.R. 168 intersection to deal with an expected uptick in traffic brought on by Eden Crossing. They're also to include a public plaza in the development, among other things.
Next steps, Lewis said, would include seeking public input on the Eden Crossing proposal in crafting a detailed plan. "We do this with every one of our projects," said Lewis, who is involved in numerous development initiatives in the Ogden Valley.
Though many bristle at the Eden Crossing proposal, it's also got many backers. Lewis countered criticism his proposal would lead to urban sprawl, saying he's had to swap out development rights elsewhere in the Ogden Valley for the Eden Crossing plans. The end result, he said, would be less development on hillsides and mountainsides and more development in the Eden area, as contemplated in county planning documents.
