COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS - A strip mall, outlet chain or big-box store could be built there.

So, changing the land use on 11 acres along Wasatch Boulevard from "regional commercial" to "mixed use" seems like a better option for the neighborhood and city, said Cottonwood Heights City Planner Michael Black.

Plus, he added, the city's general plan recommends that area, where Snowbird's Racquet Club formerly stood, be mixed-use.

But for some nearby residents, the proposed development at the base of Big Cottonwood Canyon - two hotels, two retail buildings (maybe as restaurants) and 25 single-family homes - could make the neighborhood loud and unsafe.

"I'm not very happy about it - I sure as heck don't want it," said Lauren Wagers, who attended a public hearing on the proposed development and organized her neighbors against the project.

She lives across from the fenced-off, vacant lot and worries about her young daughter's safety if the hotel were built and brought more people and more traffic to Racquet Club Drive.

"Our area is quiet," Wagers said. "When they build it, it'll be chaos."

The in-and-out nature of a hotel could be a problem if vacationers aren't invested in the community, said neighbor Marie Rushforth Nuttall. But time shares, condominiums or a resort seem like they could work in the area, she added.

"As far as a Wal-Mart, Home Depot or big box - I'll protest. I'll chain myself," Nuttall said.

And hotels and homes should be preferable to the neighborhood, according to developers at Wasatch Gates, LLC, which wants to build on the site.

"We could go in there and put some strip malls in and nobody would be happy," said developer Gary Harrison. "But we don't want to do that. We want to do something we and the residents can both be proud of."

The plan is to put 25 high-end, single-family homes along Racquet Club Drive as a buffer between existing neighborhood and hotels, which Harrison said will cater to skiers, hikers and business travelers.

The development, he said, fits in with the city's plan to create a gateway.

That district would be the first impression of Cottonwood Heights seen by the estimated 31,000 people who drive Wasatch Boulevard each day, said Black, the city planner.

Plus, that intersection is where Fort Union Boulevard becomes Big Cottonwood Canyon Road and leads to Brighton and Solitude ski resorts.

"[Now] what they do see of the city is just basically the road, and a few minor commercial businesses - everyone knows the 7-Eleven," Black said.

The area where the hotels would sit is only a small part of the city's gateway vision, which largely focuses on a gravel pit farther north.

Black estimated the pit will likely be mined for another decade.

When those 100 acres are ready for development, city leaders want to see high-scale offices, hotels, homes, stores, restaurants and a walkable community.

"We feel that this area is a gateway to the city," Black said. "And eventually we see it as a destination."

mariav@sltrib.com

What's next for the proposal

* WASATCH GATES, LLC will present its proposal to build two hotels, two retail buildings and 25 homes in 11 acres between Wasatch Boulevard and Racquet Club Drive to the Cottonwood Heights Planning Commission. The development could be recommended and forwarded for approval to the City Council during an Aug. 6 meeting at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 1265 E. Fort Union Blvd., Suite 300.