The Kamas library auditorium was filled with boisterous applause Aug. 7 as resident after Summit County resident spoke out against a development proposed in Browns Canyon.
Ivory Homes is asking the county to create a new zoning category that could increase housing density in the rural area.
The Eastern Summit County Planning Commission unanimously gave it a negative recommendation at the Aug. 7 public hearing. Now, the zoning proposal goes to the county council for a final vote.
Ivory is petitioning the county on behalf of landowners from the Garff and Rogers families, who own much of the ranchland from Bowns Canyon to the Kamas Valley.
As part of its application, the developer provided Summit County with a community plan for between 2,300 and 3,000 units on 400 acres of land. Right now the area is zoned for one house per 80 acres.
Ivory says there is a regional housing need, and its planner, Eric Langvardt with Langvardt Design Group, said development has come to Browns Canyon’s doorstep.
“Growth is adjacent. We feel that this is an appropriate next growth area,” he said at the Aug. 7 public hearing. “As you look at that bigger picture, Promontory is literally abutting us on the west side, Black Rock Village intersection just to the south of us.”
Commissioner Alex Peterson and others thought the scope of Ivory’s development would be too much, too soon for Browns Canyon.
“I understand that if I bought something 40 years ago, to have the expectation that it's going to stay that way is probably a naive expectation,” Peterson said. “But this is a radical change from our current land use and the way it is developed.”
There are some homes in the area, including at Promontory, but mostly Browns Canyon Road is the domain of commercial trucks and road cyclists. Many passenger vehicles are headed elsewhere in the county.
The county council has not scheduled its own discussion or vote on the issue yet.
