NORTH OGDEN, Utah — A 500-acre master plan proposal is on the table in North Ogden, and some residents are raising concerns about what it would mean for the people who live there.
The proposed Altura Master Plan project update is a 500-acre development with about 1,500 homes and a small commercial space coming to the North Ogden Bench and Ben Lomond foothills.
From online petitions to protests and putting up signs, neighbors have been vocal against the development, worried about the density since the new project adds a few hundred more homes compared to the plan from 2000, with apartments and townhomes being added to the mix.
Malinda Redford, who lives in North Ogden, loves bringing her dogs and walking around the hillsides in the area.
"We get up by the Bonneville trail line up there, where the trees are up there, the deer hide up in that area," Redford said. "I'm upset, very upset."
She said she's worried about the proposed development and the implications for residents.
"There's going to be a lot of houses here and a lot of people. That's going to make things worse," Redford said. "I think it's going to be more expensive for us and we can't afford it, and I don't want them to take that beautiful space away."
Amy Roskelley with Marriott Companies said her family owns the land and was planning to develop it based on an agreement from over 20 years ago with North Ogden City. The family said it wants to update that master plan now and add about 150 acres of open space and parks.
"This isn't really an option between no development and what's existing. It's what's existing versus what we can do better," Roskelley said. "Updating the plan to better accommodate those needs, for the different people and change in the community is what we really wanted to drive this project home with."
Roskelley added that regardless of the new plan, since they own the land in the city and the part that would be annexed from Weber County, it would be built out anyway. The trails now are all on their property, so the family wants to make them public.
"The plan that we have, the existing plan, if we went down that path, it wouldn't have any parks and open spaces," Roskelley said. "It wouldn't have any trails. The trails that people are using right now are on private property and this gives them a way to open that up to the public.
"It will have trails, several miles of trails, that tie from existing communities to Bonneville shoreline trail."
Redford's daughter, Bailey Knight, questioned the need for the change.
"You look out there, it's beautiful," Knight said. "Why make this all homes and apartments and whatever else they're going to try to make it? Why change it?"
Redford, her daughter, and granddaughter Julie love spending time in the foothills.
"I walked all of this, and I don't want to lose it," Redford said. "I know I'm not the only person."
Roskelley said the infrastructure can support the added growth.
"The traffic patterns actually can keep up with the traffic that we're going to be adding,” she said. “Water, we already have the water, we already own the water shares and what rights needed for this project. We want to build a better community, and we do have that in mind."
The planning commission recommended the city approve the project. It goes in front of North Ogden City Council next, but the exact date is not known.