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A House committee Thursday endorsed a makeover of the law that guides town incorporations.
But lawmakers turned a deaf ear to Ogden Valley residents who want the new law to block Powder Mountain's incorporation.
The bill, HB164, proposed by Rep. Melvin Brown, R-Coalville, would replace HB466, passed with little discussion at the end of the 2007 legislation, a measure one representative - Kerry Gibson, R-Ogden - acknowledged Thursday was a "major screw-up."
The new measure, Brown said, would protect property rights and the right to self-determination while preventing homeowners from being railroaded into a new town. Incorporation would happen only if a majority of residents wants it.
But he spoke against making the new rules apply to pending incorporation petitions.
Powder Mountain's new owners - who want to build luxury homes, golf courses and hotels - filed their petition in January, not long after Weber County's Planning Commission attached strong strings to its endorsement.
The town's boundaries include residents who don't want to live in Powder Mountain Town.
"I suppose I echo the sentiments of the speaker [Rep. Greg Curtis, R-Sandy], who says the law is what it is and we can't change the rules in the middle of the ballgame," Brown said.
Weber County Clerk-Auditor Alan McEwan said Powder Mountain's petition appears to meet all the requirements of the 2007 law. The county received confirmation Thursday from the state's population committee that enough people - about 160 - would live within the boundaries of the new Powder Mountain town.
Two Eden residents whose homes are in the future town begged the House Political Subdivisions Committee to make the new law apply to Powder Mountain.
"We're stuck hanging in the wind here," Jim Halay said. "We've got 100 citizens who are dragged into this process and we have no rights - no rights to vote whether we want to be part of the town, no rights to elect our own representatives."
Darla Longhurst-VanZeben said the new measure violates civil rights. "We have no right to elect our leadership and yet that leadership can tax us and that's wrong."
Under the 2007 law, the petitioner - Powder Mountain's owners - propose the town's first mayor and council, and the County Commission approves the list. Residents vote only after a couple of years.
Endorsed by the House Political Subdivision Committee, it lays out a new process for incorporating a town. Among the key provisions:
* Incorporation sponsors cannot own more than 40 percent of the town's land.
* A majority of residents must sign a petition.
* A public hearing must precede a petition.
* A similar bill, SB25, is being amended and could go to the committee next week.
The House bill goes before the full House; the Senate bill still must go before a committee. Meanwhile, the Weber County Commission likely will put the petition on its March 4 agenda.