Preliminary studies show that the mountain could provide runs on vertical slopes of 1,000 to 1,400 for a ski resort, which is perhaps the most controversial part of Aspen, Utah, Johnson said, because of ongoing concerns over the resort's development.

Once the town incorporates and town officials can be chosen, they can work on ordinances and codes and then begin phase 1 of the project.

But that seems a little backward to some of the residents, who say they don't want to find out later that vacationers will be looking down into their backyards, or worse, find out later their land will be condemned.

Wasatch County Council members Steve Farrell and Jay Price, who attended the presentation, say they haven't made up their minds about Aspen, Utah, because Monday was their first chance to hear about it directly from Sellers and his team.

"We have lots of concerns," Farrell said, "about the effect on the rest of the community and on the residents."

But they would like the entire County Council to get a look at the scope of Sellers' project, too.

Sellers said he has given his word to the residents that they won't be condemned, and reiterated it for those who attended his presentation Monday.

"Our main interest here is people," he said. "We are not going to change the configuration nor the type of lifestyle they enjoy there. I have zero interest in changing anything in Storm Haven."

He said he offered to grandfather in the zoning and home configuration residents along U.S. 40 currently have.

But Kasey Bateman says he heard that promise, but says he's been told that Sellers can't promise anything because the future mayor and Town Council, who won't be appointed until there's a town, will make those decisions.

"He knows he can't be held liable (for those promises) because he's not the mayor," Kasey Bateman said.

And that makes the Batemans uneasy.

Sellers' attorney, Steven Clyde, predicts that the Daniel Town Council, which meets Dec. 3 to decide the fate of the annexation petition, will deny it.

Clyde called the petition "sloppy" and "riddled with deficiencies" and said certain people who signed the petition weren't qualified to do so.

And Sellers said the residents who circulated the petition did it for "little, selfish designs."

He and Clyde are confident the Daniel Town Council will see things their way.

If things don't go their way, Sellers has said, litigation may be necessary.

But the residents aren't Sellers' only hurdle.

To run a town, golf course and ski resort, you need water — a lot of water.

And Sellers has yet to secure the necessary amount of water for the area yet.

Most water rights in the area are owned by the Storm Haven Water Company, which serves the current residents in the area that could become Aspen. Another water company is located in the Daniel area.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com