Todd Cates, project manager of Red Ledges, downplayed such concerns, saying that more than half of the residents at the development will likely be second-home owners. However, a traffic study commissioned by the developer shows that the Red Ledges and other surrounding developments will generate an additional 5,400 daily vehicle trips by 2030 on Heber City's Center Street, the main collector road for the Red Ledges.

Plans already are under way by Heber City to expand Center Street's two lanes into four. Cates said the improvements will easily accommodate the additional traffic.

But Bob Wren, Wasatch County planning commissioner, said more roads would likely be needed and would have to be paid for by Heber, which would have the greatest traffic burden.

Tonight, the Wasatch County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing for a zoning-change request for the Red Ledges. The site is currently zoned as a preservation zone, which allows one house per 160 acres. Cates is requesting a change to a mountain zone, which would up the density to one house per five acres. It would also allow for bonus densities.

"A lot of people have questioned whether we need a gated community in Heber," Wren said. "Does it really need to be exclusive?"

But for Phyllis Christensen, 79, who owned nearly 1,200 acres of the Red Ledges with her late husband, Garold, a sheep rancher, the benefits of selling were too great.

"You know farmers are dirt poor," Christensen said. "I didn't think I would ever sell it. It was just an opportunity to have some cash flow. I can help all of my kids and all of my grandkids with the sale of it."

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