After more than a year of planning with Hideout administrators, the developers of The Boulders project withdrew their application in late June.
The Hideout Town Council recently sent the project back to the planning commission for further review. Hideout staff said they needed more time, and the property owner didn’t want to wait.
“This was a huge project — a billion-dollar project,” said Town Administrator Jan McCosh. “We wanted to make sure that we were getting it right, and that we reached out to the community. There were many things that we did, and it took time that apparently, we didn't have on the other end.”
The project planned for 400 homes and 150 hotel rooms on about 112 acres overlooking the Jordanelle Reservoir.
The Hideout Planning Commission gave the project a positive review in February. In May, the Hideout Town Council sent it back to the planning commission, saying they needed more details. Their questions involved plans for a bed-and-breakfast, an amphitheater and alterations to S. R. 248.
At that time, developer McKay Christensen lamented the project had already undergone extensive review. He said the council’s decision to send it back to the planning commission a “waste” of the previous six months.
Hideout’s concerns included growth and density in the new subdivision.
“We were doing more listening and evaluating,” McCosh said. “Unfortunately, we as a town need to think about commercial and sales-tax revenues and amenities, and those are all part of a growing town. We became a city last summer in population, and we were the fastest-growing municipality in the state.”
She added another issue was increasing traffic on Highway 248.
The town likely hasn’t seen the end of ideas for the property, which is across Highway 248 from Tuhaye.
Clerk Alicia Fairbourne said she hasn’t received any official new applications to develop the area. But without going into detail, McCosh said at least one new potential applicant had expressed interest.
