- A judge rejected a request for an injunction that would have barred Weber commissioners from making land-use decisions pertaining to Ogden Valley.
- The request came in a lawsuit aimed at forestalling new development ahead of incorporation of the valley next January.
- The lawsuit underscores the tensions between some in the Ogden Valley and county leaders.
OGDEN — A lawsuit aimed at preventing Weber County commissioners from taking action on development issues in the Ogden Valley ahead of the area's impending incorporation has suffered a major setback.
In a strong rebuke, 2nd District Judge H. Craig Hall on Monday rejected a motion for a preliminary injunction that would have prevented county leaders from exercising authority on land-use questions in the Ogden Valley pending incorporation next January. David Carver and Ogden Valley Smart Growth filed the suit in January against Weber County and county commissioners, worried that county action could undermine or run counter to the inclinations of city leaders.
Granting an injunction, though, "would contravene constitutional principles, including separation of powers and due process, and would likely result in an unconstitutional taking of private property," Hall wrote.
Voters in the Ogden Valley, located east of Ogden on the Wasatch Back of Weber County, voted overwhelmingly in favor of incorporation in November 2024. They'll elect leaders this coming November ahead of the city's official establishment in January 2026.
Notably, prohibiting county officials from acting on landowners' requests for land-use applications would undermine property owners' rights, Hall wrote, since such a change would leave no governing body left to consider them, at least until the city comes into being. The judge singled out the potential impact on Eden Valley Opportunity, a developer in the zone that intervened in the case on the side of Weber County.
"Landowners cannot continue to use their land in any lawful manner if the county cannot even make one of the most fundamental land-use decisions to approve or deny an application. Consequently, allowing the county to continue as the land-use authority is necessary and thus narrowly tailored to protecting its compelling interests," the judge wrote.
Eden Valley Opportunity owns more than $200 million worth of land in the Ogden Valley, and Hall said if development stopped because of an injunction, "those holdings would be significantly devalued by tens of millions of dollars."
The suit — spurred by county action last year sought by developers spearheading plans for a ski village adjacent to the Nordic Valley ski resort, inside the new city's boundaries — underscores the tensions between some in the Ogden Valley and county commissioners. Many who pushed for incorporation cited dissatisfaction with county leadership on development questions in the picturesque zone and argued that creating a city would give local residents more control.
Carver, an incorporation proponent, told KSL.com Tuesday that Monday's ruling could potentially pave the way for a flurry of action by county leaders on Ogden Valley development questions before formal incorporation.
"It means the county will push more than ever to get as much passed before we take over," he said.
Monday's move, which rebuffed the request for an injunction to stop county leaders from acting on development questions pending a final decision in Carver's case, isn't necessarily the final word in the matter. But Shane Dunleavy, a partner in Eden Valley Opportunity, said Hall "really gutted" the plaintiff's case.
"I don't see any way the case can really move forward," he said.
Carver, noting an upcoming ruling in another Ogden Valley court case related to development, said he awaits that decision.
"We will talk with our attorney on the next step in both these cases," he said.
