Blue Sky Ranch is hidden within the hills along Old Lincoln Highway, down the road from Wanship.
It includes more than 60 units of lodging, the High West Distillery, restaurants and equestrian facilities, which frequently appear in national and international “best of” lists and episodes of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.”
Owners Mike and Barb Phillips are hoping to more than double what the resort has to offer, including 72 more units of lodging, either suites or houses, and more amenities.
“When you are on the border of a rural area in 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 of, the rural nature of [the area],” Mike Phillips said in at Eastern Summit County Planning Commission Nov. 21. “And that has been our objective with Blue Sky.”
More than a dozen Wanship residents who spoke at the hearing don’t think Blue Sky’s proposal succeeds in keeping the community rural.
Some said it’s already changed Wanship, particularly by increasing traffic and accidents on Old Lincoln Highway.
At the Nov. 21 planning commission meeting, attorney Janet Conway said she lives on the road and claimed an employee hit a cow in front of her house, where it had to be euthanized.
“And the accidents are beginning to accumulate, with another two in front of my property just in the last couple of months — people speeding to blue sky late for events,” Conway said.
The planning commission will eventually vote on whether to recommend Blue Sky’s expansion to the Summit County Council.
And some commissioners already seem to share resident concerns about community character. Commissioner Don Sargent said rezones, like the one Blue Sky is requesting, can be denied.
“It's completely discretionary,” Sargent said. “I'd just like to encourage the team to consider what community benefits might be — of how to be more inclusive to the Wanship population.”
To Sargent’s comments, Phillips mentioned the expansion includes a grocery store which Wanshipians could use. Coalville’s Griffith Foodtown is now closed, forcing many in northern Summit County to shop in Kimball Junction.
He also mentioned a commitment from Templin Family Brewing to open a more affordable restaurant on Old Lincoln Highway. But that requires replacing existing septic facilities with new wastewater treatment, as Blue Sky proposes doing in its expansion.
Residents doubt whether they’d be able to afford anything Blue Sky offers. Commissioner Bill Wilde echoed Sargent’s concerns, but he pointed out that there’s a benefit to expensive developments: high tax revenue.
“I hate to use the word ‘benefit’ because I don't believe Mike Phillips owes any of us anything,” Wilde said. “But on the other hand, we was hit a month ago with a $114 million bond for a school. We are growing and, so again, something to think about. We've got to come up with that.”
He’s referencing a new North Summit High School, which the school district is considering to build with property taxes. Residents rejected the $114 million ballot measure, which would have added to their tax bills, but the district can still issue it.
Under Summit County code, any new development requiring a rezone must “promote the health, safety and welfare” of existing residents.
Planning commissioners think that’s a tall hurdle to overcome at the county council, which has the final say.
There were so many comments that the commissioners directed Blue Sky to answer them in writing at a future meeting. They’ll take a vote some time after the resort responds.
