Wanship residents showed up in force at the Eastern Summit County Planning Commission meeting Thursday, imploring commissioners to veto a proposed expansion to Blue Sky, a luxury resort in the mountains near the 400-person community.
“This project plan is likely to be a death by a thousand cuts to the rural middle-class communities, such as Wanship,” said Janet Conway, a local attorney who spoke during the public hearing. “I request that this application be denied or, at a minimum, be tabled.”
Mike Phillips, who owns Blue Sky with his wife, Barbara, appeared before the Planning Commission with a two-part proposal.
Phillips asked for the commission to rezone the land to the northeast of where the current lodge sits from AG-40 to AG-10. The rezoning would increase the allowed density on the property, which is currently a maximum of 13 lots, and open the door for the Phillips’ end goal: a 639-acre, 76-lot subdivision. Nicknamed The Farms at Blue Sky, the master planned development would have homes and other new amenities such as a wastewater treatment plant.
The homes would have three or four bedrooms and range from 3,200 square feet to 3,800 square feet. Many of them would likely serve as seasonal second homes, Phillips said, and homeowners would be encouraged to place their properties into a rental pool for Blue Sky guests. Visitors would then be able to stay in the single-family dwellings in addition to The Lodge at Blue Sky.
“We’ve had a significant amount of interest from those guests, previous guests, that expressed an interest to have a home at Blue Sky,” a resort representative told the commission. “And that’s really what prompted the idea of The Farms at Blue Sky.”
Phillips said that many of the amenities would be available for Wanship residents, too, and not just for Blue Sky guests.
He proposed building an art and music studio, fitness center, learning greenhouse, community center, gourmet grocery store, meditation gardens and ponds, as well as updated spaces for equestrian riding activities, weddings and administrative offices.
“When you are on the border of a rural area and an urban area, the challenge is always to try and meld those things so that the density and the impact is minimal and you keep the character, the rural nature of it,” Phillips said. “That has been our objective with Blue Sky.”
Blue Sky employs 279 people and has an economic impact of $460,000, according to Phillips.
Members of the Planning Commission immediately expressed concerns about the cost of Blue Sky. They said it’s already too expensive for many East Side residents to enjoy, and that they would like to see the resort become more involved and accessible for the local community.
“I’d just like to encourage the team to consider what, if any, benefits might be and how to be more inclusive to the Wanship population,” said Commissioner Don Sargent. “Maybe it’s a discount at restaurants or some other kind of participation that the community can get involved in and be part of the Blue Sky Ranch more than having it be a separate entity up on the mountain that no one else really can afford to participate in.”
Phillips refuted the idea that Blue Sky is not involved in the community, mentioning events as well as a farm stand at Gracie’s Farm every Friday — a response that did not sit well with residents at the meeting.
“I went to Gracie’s Farm,” Tracy Amad said during the public hearing. “I bought a tomato for $4. I don’t see anything that brings any good to Wanship from Blue Sky.”
“As far as Gracie’s Farm, I went over there one time,” Jacqueline Ball said. “It’s $10 for six eggs and $6 for a little, tiny thing of pickled radishes. That’s something I can’t afford, so that’s not something that’s for the general public in Wanship. I’d like you all to know that.”
According to Planning Commissioner David Darcey, the code commissioners are required to follow states that rezoning is only allowed “to promote the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of eastern Summit County.”
“Not only is the rezone not supposed to adversely affect the public health, safety and general welfare, but it’s actually supposed to promote it,” Darcey said. “As I listen to the public comments tonight and as I listen to the presentation tonight, I am going to be trying to figure out which side of the ledger is this?”
Many Wanship residents who spoke during the public hearing opposed not only the creation of residential homes on Blue Sky property but the rezoning request itself, stating that rezoning the land was not necessary for any reason other than benefiting Phillips and his business.
“Why is the conditional use permit, or the master planned development in this case, wagging the tail of the zone?” asked Brian Zwahlen, the executive director of Big Canyon Ranch, which borders Blue Sky. “Shouldn’t it conform to what the current zoning allows? The only reason we’re changing or discussing changing the zoning from AG-40 to AG-10 is to fit 76 lots into the space.”
Zwahlen argued the master plan for The Farms would be appropriate if it were developed with the current zoning regulations in mind instead of trying to change the zone to cram in more homes. With present zoning requirements, The Farms would only be able to subdivide into 13 lots, a much smaller number than the proposed 76.
“I thought we were protected from something like this because it’s AG-40 over there, but now we’re going to rezone it to AG-10 for no particular reason other than the economic value to the applicant,” Zwahlen said.
Another big concern for residents was increased traffic in the area. Many speakers claimed congestion was already an issue and would only be exacerbated by adding more dwellings to the Blue Sky property.
“I live on Old Lincoln Highway, and I’d like you to understand what we go through every day,” Ball said. “We go through cars, delivery trucks, speeding employees stopping at the stoplight in front of my house. I walk my dog, and I’ve almost been hit three times. … As far as what they’re doing to my town, my hometown, I don’t like it. Nobody likes it, and it’s very disruptive.”
“The traffic and the speeding is beyond ridiculous,” Sherrie Perry said. “[My kids] have almost been hit several times. I actually do home health, and all of my neighbors are elderly. I watch them as they’re scared to go check their mail. … The speed has always been a concern and we just get blown off.”
Phillips and his Blue Sky staff have had multiple meetings with Summit County and the Utah Department of Transportation about installing a roundabout and speed bumps, which the resort would finance.
“UDOT doesn’t want to do it. They don’t think there’s enough trips there. They won’t even put a four-way stop and do a configuration that’s safe. We have advocated for that and said that we will pay for those improvements,” Phillips said. “It’s kind of laughable that we’re not acknowledging that these are not inexpensive improvements. It’s not painting a road. These are things that we’ve done and that we will do when we subsequently get approval for this property. But the idea that somehow we’re responsible for the improvements on this particular road not getting done at the intersection is just wrong, and it’s unfair to us because we’re the ones who have been advocating for this.”
Around 600 cars travel the stretch of road in question along Old Lincoln Highway, but the traffic study provided to the Planning Commission in Phillips’ proposal says that traffic will likely double to around 1,200 cars if the development is approved.
The Planning Commission did not vote on the Blue Sky expansion. Instead they asked Phillips and his team to put together a written response to the community’s concerns. Responses will be discussed at a later date before the Planning Commission makes a final decision.