Citizens Rights

Powder Mountain Citizen’s Rights Coalition

We are 120 Ogden Valley citizens who are being forced to become a town without a vote by the non-resident developers of Powder Mountain Resort.

We are 120 Ogden Valley citizens who will be governed and taxed by a mayor and town council who are hand picked by the non-resident developers of Powder Mountain Resort.

We are 120 Ogden Valley citizens who will not be able to vote for our own elected officials for more than two years.

We are 120 Ogden Valley citizens who expect to see our property tax rates more than quadrupled to pay for the town operation unless we agree to a binding development agreement with the non-resident developers of Powder Mountain Resort. We understand the developers’ desire to build up to ten thousand residential housing units on the mountain and the hillside.

We are 120 Ogden Valley citizens who are taking our constitutional rights case to the Utah Supreme Court.

You are the Ogden Valley citizens who will pay for the un-bridled development of Powder Mountain Town though over-crowding of the Ogden Valley, high density housing developments and increased traffic. The Ogden Valley is as yet an unspoiled gem which will never be the same.

You can help us to protect our rights and your future rights by standing with us, displaying our signs and donating money to the Citizen’s Rights Defense Group to help fund our Supreme Court case fight.

Introduction to the Powder Mountain Town Voting Rights Issue

NO VOTE, NO TOWN!

Two years ago the new owners of Powder Mountain Ski Resort, and a good deal of land surrounding the Resort, filed a petition to form Powder Mountain Town.  The law that permitted this had been passed by the Utah Legislature in 2007 as an accommodation to the residents and owners of Ruby’s Inn at the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park.  It provided for town incorporation by large property owners without a vote of the residents, permitting the developers to draw an arbitrary boundary that included at least 100 residents.  It also allowed these same large property owners to select the first mayor and town council.  I know, it sounds unbelievable.  For the full story, go to the Background and Info Links tabs.

Almost immediately the unintended consequences of the 2007 law were recognized.  Two developers in Wasatch County who owned large tracts of land drew town boundaries around groups of unsuspecting citizens and incorporated them into their towns over resident objections.  The legislature realized that they had made a horrible mistake, and a revised town incorporation law was prepared by the sponsor of the original bill to be considered by the 2008 legislature.  Three days before the 2008 legislature convened, the Powder Mountain developers filed their petition.   As expected, the 2008 legislature replaced the “company town” law with a new law requiring the support of a majority of the citizens to incorporate any town.  However, the new law applied only to incorporation petitions filed after March 2008.

The great majority of the approximately 130 men, women, and children residing within the proposed town’s boundaries have been fighting to keep this town incorporation from occurring.  At great cost in time and energy, as well as $$, they have been successful to this point.  A legal challenge has been accepted for hearing by the Utah Supreme Court, and legislative remedy is again being sought by the local state legislators. 

In the 2009 legislative session a bill which would permit a disincorporation election in less than the standard two year waiting period, applicable only to Powder Mountain, was introduced.  It passed the Utah House and a majority of senators had committed their votes.  The Senate adjourned an hour early on the last day, with our bill next on the agenda.  (Lobbyists can also count, and convinced Senate leaders not to let this bill get to a vote.) 

This year identical bills are being introduced in the Senate   SB 34   and the House   HB 218 early in the session.  It is very important that these bills be passed to correct this great injustice.  The residents have already spent hundreds to thousands of dollars per family and two years of their lives fighting.  A recent fund raising event brought tens of thousands of dollars to help.

                The town residents need our help.  NO VOTE, NO TOWN!

Now for the part that you can play; legislators are very busy people and lobbyists whisper things in their ears like:

This bill will create chaos when towns incorporate

The developers have a right to this privilege when they own more than half the land

There are many in the Powder Mountain town boundaries who want the incorporation

THE FACTS OF THE MATTER ARE:

Powder Mountain Town is the only municipality that meets the standards for an early disincorporation election outlined in the new law.   The two towns in Wasatch County are within a few months of being able to hold a vote under current law and no future Utah municipality would be affected because the current law REQUIRES a vote or petition signed by a majority of voters in every circumstance.

Developers do not have a right to take away the rights of citizens to choose those who will govern them.  The Weber County Commission is party to the lawsuit at the Utah Supreme Court because they are denied the right to freely appoint a representative initial town council and mayor under the 2007 law.

Only 6 of the 57 families affected currently say they support incorporation. 

Were the town to be formed, it would require tens of thousands of dollars each year over and above current revenue sources to barely make ends meet.  The only other potential significant sources of revenue are property taxes and bonding (binding the debt to future property taxes), and the disenfranchised residents pay over 90% of the property taxes generated within the boundaries.

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR UTAH    REPRESENTATIVE   AND   SENATOR   AND   ASK THEM TO VOTE FOR HB 218 and SB 34 respectively.

Your voice will be heard because you are in their districts.  Otherwise their input will come from paid lobbyists who represent the developers.

Please don’t let this wait; your help is needed NOW!