This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
LOGAN - The increasingly blustery climate on Powder Mountain has nothing to do with the weather.
Proponents of a 7,960-acre build-out at the ski resort between Eden and Ogden survived a potential storm Tuesday night, when the Cache County Council approved another in a series of deadline extensions related to development of the resort's 3,600 Cache County acres.
The council went against its attorney's advice and - in the face of threatened litigation - voted 4-2 to give Western America Holding Co. another six months to meet Cache planning requirements.
"I'm not sure if it's in the best interest of the county to make them start over. It's going to be expensive. It's going to take more time," said Councilman Darrel Gibbons. "I think our best interest would be to try to set the stage to bring about the resolution of the issues we're struggling with."
Cache County Attorney George Daines said another extension won't solve the project's long list of problems. Daines said his repeated requests for a list of owners, proof of a title and a list of liens on the property have gone unanswered.
"It's a pretty simple request. Show me who the lien holders are . . .. This title report will tell you there's $20 million in liens," Daines said. "This is symptomatic of their problems across the board. This one goes to the core of our financial concern . . .. I'm not prepared to suggest that it be approved with these kinds of risks to the county purse."
The new threat of litigation is an added concern to the county, Daines told the council. "It may include you personally," he said, referring to council members.
The developers last week retained the Salt Lake City law firm of Ray Quinney & Nebeker.
"Western America anticipates that it will be filing separate actions in federal and state court against the county and certain county officials related to the continued opposition and discrimination against Western America related to development of the property," said an Oct. 16 letter to Daines from RQ&N attorney James Jardine.
Jardine also requested the preservation and delivery of all Powder Mountain records within 10 days.
Lyle Hillyard, a state senator and another attorney representing the developers, told the council he never intended to get involved in litigation with the county, but "I probably will end up doing something because of my experience on the perimeter of this."
Hillyard, who said the developers are close to meeting the planning criteria, said the lawsuit threat stems from the owners' frustration with Daines. Allegations - tossed out in a recent planning and zoning meeting - that the project owners weren't financially capable of funding the project were inappropriate, Hillyard said.
"That offended the owners deeply," he said. "I found that Mr. Daines wasn't willing at all to do what I thought we agreed to do."
Cache County officials said they would rather wait to see how Weber County acts on the part of the Powder Mountain property under its jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, Daines said all future meetings about the development will require the presence of an attorney to represent Cache County.
In Weber County, planners on Tuesday tabled a request to rezone 4,475 acres associated with Powder Mountain. A public hearing is Nov. 27. Commissioners in Ogden heard about a traffic-impact study and got reports from the Utah Department of Transportation and from Brooke Hontz, project manager for the proposed development.