The consultant would be responsible for "making sure that the essential elements are carried out so that when we get to the end of the day, we are able to get for the citizens of Salt Lake County and the west bench what we anticipated receiving," Daugherty said. The consultant would also carry out a "fiscal review so that the burden associated with the development of the west bench is tied to the west bench and the land, so other citizens of the county don't end up subsidizing it."

Last summer, Kennecott Land held a series of planning summits with county planners and officials, leaders of other Salt Lake Valley cities, transportation planners, public utilities, environmentalists, schools officials and others to gather input on the direction the development should take.

The result was a preliminary plan that would see two large urban centers — a northern one near Magna and Daybreak to the south — connected by a series of bus routes and light-rail lines with smaller town, neighborhood and village centers, as well as some farther into the Oquirrh foothills.

Kennecott planners talk of possible ski resorts, as well as plans for several schools, from the preschool to university level. They also envision libraries, parks, east-west roads, light-rail spurs and lines, office parks, retail centers and a series of trails, including a west-side Bonneville Shoreline Trail.

County planners have proposed the creation of a new zoning category, called the planned-community zone, that would be applicable to any piece of land of at least 1,000 acres with one single owner or a group of owners voluntarily consolidating their zoning request. It would be a mixed-use zone allowing developers to come up with a master plan for a community with parks, residential areas, business areas and open space all falling under one zone.

The zone could be applied to the Kennecott Land planning area. The council has not yet voted on that proposal.

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E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com; ldethman@desnews.com