Reader comments
Residents assail plans to incorporate Aspen

Be a little more original in naming the town. Why have Aspen Utah when there is already an Aspen Colorado? I also believe local residents should have more say in what happens to their area.

Enough is enough! What happened to the peaceful, quiet, beautiful Heber Valley???

Just another case of NIMBY. We do not want you to be able to use your property as you see fit but we can use ours for what ever we want.

I don't live in that area, but I have empathy with the residents. However, I think that this gentleman really needs to dig deep and come up with a more appropriate name for a community. Utah has never been second to Colorado't ski resorts, but this would really look like we were trying to be copy cats. Please name the community something that has more to do with Utah history--it really is silly to name it Aspen. Thanks

Utah has become the new LA for developers - come in, take away, make a fast buck, then leave it in a mess. Who cares about current residents or leaving the traditions or surroundings the same way?

Any reasonable person with even the slightest educaton in economics will look at this developer and want to shake his hand. I live in the Heber Valley and everyone already knows that the valley is growing and WILL continue to grow for decades to come. Nice, upscale mixed use retail was passed in Heber City a few weeks ago, and remember that the MAJORITY of people voted to bring the retail into town.

I would love to personally thank this developer for wanting planned progress and growth rather than some hodge-podge, half-cocked agenda.

I have a serious issue with the name Aspen. Isn't there already a resort/town with that name? Come on Mr. Developer, be more original than that!

The only way I want to shake this developers hand is if he was leaving the valley for good. I live in Heber as well and just because the valley is growing that doesnt mean that we should be careful and picky about how the growth happens. This development does not work with the Heber Valley. Anyone who has seen the land he is trying to develop knows that it cant happen. The mountains he wants to put ski resorts on cant really be considered mountains, they are more hills.

FYI It was the majority of Heber City, not the entire valley.

It is about time that someone stood up to the local crew and let them know who is really boss. We relocated here because it was beautiful, safe and high values. It is about time we fix that. It is time to build it big, and get this place sprawling. No matter what the cost. They tell us if we don't like it we can leave, well we ain't goin no where. We are staying here, having it our way. If you don't like it, perhaps you should leave. Go find another valley, make it attractive, safe with high values so we can steal it away too. We won't stop until we get it our way, so get used to it.

Out of respect for the people of Heber Valley he should name it NIMBY.

Everyone leaves someplace else to come here for the lifestyle, then they want to change it to match where they came from.

Everyone living in the city should have the right to vote to approve or disapprove a city being built on their property. Having one man from outside the state making decisions for residents is wrong. And using the name of an upscale established resort town is just a way to gather support with visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads.

Interesting to read all the comments. Mr Sellers does live in Utah, and his family pioneered the state in the 1800's. He is not interested in coming in and then leaving, nor is he a "Johnny Come lately." He does have family living in the state, including children. While he has big dreams, he does have a right to develop what belongs to him. Those who disagree will have to realize that it cannot stay pristine forever. Consider how the Salt Lake Valley, Park City, Utah Valley, Wasatch County, Washington County, and other areas have grown. Mr Sellers grew up in Mesa, which had a population of 7-8 thousand at the time. It now has over 400,000, twice as many inhabitants as the state had at the time. Growth is inevitable and is coming whether Mr Sellers or someone else does it. Just be sure that others have opinions and sometimes they have to be revised as growth comes, just as it did to Mr Sellers small city of Mesa.

I wish this would happen to me. Seriously next time they are building a community like this let me know in advance so I can go buy real estate there. Cause guess what? That cheap little piece of land you just bought is worth 4 times what you paid for it. If you don't like this town, sell your land make a nice hefty profit and go find another canyon. Utah is not going to run out of nice peaceful canyons. And maybe you will get lucky and the same thing will happen again. Heck you may even become millionaires. I wish I were that lucky.

Incorporation has benefits. Those benefits should be considered before such is dismissed out of hand.

Too many developers come to places like Wasatch County with their promises. Very few, if any, have any intention of keeping the lifestyle and respecting the residents. They claim to want to live in the 'country', but soon we find they are forcing us into the city life that they left behind. (e.g. WalMart in Heber) Park City, Provo, Orem, Salt Lake and Ogden are all within an hour's drive. Why not let us be and have a quiet, peaceful place to come home to.

I think developing every inch of the Heber valley is great idea. Maybe this "Aspen Town" could have 3 or 4 Walmarts, a 100 or so fast food chains, and maybe even a coal burning power plant. And when the ever-thirstier-over-populated Wasatch Front drains Deer Creek resevoir and the entire Provo river drainage, we could just starting storing nuclear waste there. Wow, just think how much your land would be worth then. The developers really are out for everyones best interest.

The comment in the article about this project bringing decent, well-paying jobs to this area made me laugh. Yes, companies and businesses that pay very well are just going to flock to a rural, fairly isolated area off what is primarily a two-lane highway, miles from an airport of any size and other amenities they need. If this project happens, this area will more than likely generate a so-so number of dead-end service-sector and retail jobs that generally do not pay a livable wage.

No matter what you think or do, you will never stop a developer from developing.
They always get what they want someway, somehow.
Throwing your council people out of office each election might slow it down though.

All the very high end developing that is going on seems to be creating low end service jobs with low pay and few benefits. Yes, the land values have gone up markedly. So the people who would be needed to work in the high end Aspen can not afford to live there. Where is the moderate housing for the workers and the children and grandchildren of current Heber Valley residents especially those where grandpa doesn't own land?

WHY ASPEN? AND WITH NO SKI SLOPES WITHIN MILES OF THE PLACE. A BOAT LIKE THAT WILL NOT FLOAT.
SOUNDS LIKE A WANNABEE DEVELOPER THAT HAS ALREADY RUN OUT OF ORIGINAL IDEAS. SCARRYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!