The Beaver County Planning Commission has some questions - about water (will there be enough?), about financing (will there be enough of that, as well?) and about the proposed golf course (will the 10,000-foot-or-so elevation pose any problems?).

Until they have satisfied those questions - and more - the planning commissioners aren't about to approve preliminary plats for the proposed $3.5 billion Mount Holly Club.

Mount Holly Partners LLC hopes to build 1,200 upscale homes and town homes on 2,000 acres of private land - surrounded by Fishlake National Forest - in the Tushar Mountains, nearly 20 miles east of Beaver.

Club members would have exclusive access to an 18-hole golf course and runs at the now-closed Elk Meadows ski resort.

Many county residents oppose the club. They worry about dwindling resources, an invasion of rich outsiders and lost access to the ski runs and other recreational areas.

During a public hearing at Wednesday night's planning meeting, residents also expressed concerns about possible pollution to streams and whether the developers are following county ordinances concerning planned-unit developments.

Others in the county of 6,400 residents back the project. They see it as a way to bolster business and beef up tax coffers.

In the face of this community split, the Beaver County Commission approved a development agreement for the project earlier this week.

Construction can't begin, however, until the development wins preliminary and final plat approvals. And planning commissioners want proof that the developers have adequate water before they sign off on the 45 housing units planned for 572 acres in the project's first phase.

"Until the state proves they have the 'wet' water and not just the rights, it [development] isn't going to happen," vowed commission member Dennis Miller.

Commission members also want assurance that the project has enough financing, and they delayed a request for a conditional-use permit to begin construction of the golf course. The panel plans to investigate if other courses built at high elevations faced any problems.

Bill Quick, a spokesman for Mount Holly Partners, conceded that the Planning Commission's lack of action was disappointing.

"Sure, we're anxious to get started and would have loved to have been approved, but we also understand the process and are committed to providing information necessary to get approved," Quick said.

mhavnes@sltrib.com