A trial over the disputed agreement between Beaver County and developers of the Mount Holly Club, proposed for more than 1,800 acres that includes the Elk Meadows ski area, ended Friday. Walton has not indicated when he would make his ruling.

In addition, Walton has to decide if Beaver County residents can vote on the agreement.

Alan Bradshaw, who filed suit against the county on behalf of some Elk Meadows homeowners, said in closing arguments that the impact of the agreement, adopted as an ordinance, will have a profound effect on the county and should be voted on. The proposed project includes 1,204 expensive houses and town houses.

A group of county residents who joined the lawsuit have turned in more than 800 signatures to get the matter on the ballot. They only needed 501 signatures of registered voters.

"What the county did was a legislative act, so is subject to referendum," said Bradshaw, who owns property in Elk Meadows.

He also said county procedures for letting people know about public hearings on the agreement last spring were flawed.

He said drafts of the agreement were available only two days before the hearings and there is no proof the public notices of the meetings were ever posted in the county towns of Minersville and Milford.

Dan McDonald, representing the developers, said in closing that the agreement respects all county development laws, and because the zoning for the proposed club site was not changed, it does not qualify for a referendum vote.

"The development agreement is replete with language concerning the applicability of all land-use ordinance," McDonald said. "We're not seeking special treatment."

He said the agreement did not meet broad, sweeping changes affecting the fabric of the community that is required for a vote.

"[The referendum] is for things like school vouchers or same-sex marriage," McDonald said.

County Commissioner Chad Johnson, who voted earlier to adopt the agreement, said a vote is a bad idea.

"You can't govern by referendum," he testified.

Also Friday, Norman Dahle, executive vice president for CPB Development, Mount Holly's developer, said the $3.5 billion gated community would be smaller and less dense than a previous development planned for the Elk Meadows ski area.

Dahle noted Friday that Mount Holly Club's 1,200 housing units is a significantly smaller number than the 3,500 units once planned for the area east of Beaver. That project, pitched in 2000, never got past the conceptual stage.

Dahle testified that CPB also plans to build a sewer system for the mountain and vowed to comply with the strictest water-quality rules.

Many residents have expressed concerns that the club would drain resources, including water. They also worry that they could lose access to area trails and popular Puffer Lake.

mhavnes@sltrib.com