Among the proposed amendments were the updating of relevant land use maps and the alteration of an established 300-foot setback from the high-water mark of the Weber River.

Working through the Western Weber Planning Commission, an entity known as BlackPine Group requested the amendments to open the door to rezoning — to include commercial and residential lots — for a pedestrian-oriented, master-planned development on its property.

As part of that process, the county directed BlackPine Group to provide an outlook on the future of not only its own property but also surrounding properties, so any approved future development can better fit in with adjacent planned uses.

Consequently, several residents living near the western Weber County project area are raising concerns about what that development, if approved, will mean for their longstanding rural community, traditions and open spaces.

“Nobody is opposed to growth but we are opposed to the plans for everybody else that’s not even part of this,” resident Dylan Manning said during the public comment session Tuesday. “It feels like a land grab. It feels like you’re kind of stealing our property or making plans for our property, where we didn’t have any agreement with that.”

Manning, who presented a petition opposing certain potential rezoning, was one of several residents who voiced their opposition to general plan amendments and proposed development.

BlackPine rep Jeff Beck attempted to assuage the fears of residents, espousing the benefits of developing larger, master-planned communities over smaller, disconnected subdivisions.

“The general plan that the county adopted articulates a desire for smart growth and development,” Beck said. “What we’re seeing in the Wasatch Front — and West Weber, specifically — is you have landowners, who are generational landowners, who get to the point where they want to sell their property. What they’re doing is they’re selling them in 10-, 20-, 50-acre parcels at a time and a developer or builder buys them. … What’s happening is it’s not helping the community, it’s not creating a sense of place and it’s not building good neighborhoods.”

Beck also asserted that open spaces can be more effectively preserved.

For their part, Commissioners Jim Harvey, Gage Froerer and Sharon Bolos spoke of the importance of planning for future growth prior to the board’s roll call vote on the resolution.

“We try to look for what’s going to happen for the grandchildren of our grandchildren, today,” Harvey said. “Things will change. It’s inevitable.”

Still, Bolos — the lone nay vote on the resolution — also expressed concerns about spot zoning. Harvey stated his stance against spot zoning as well.

General plan amendments notwithstanding, any potential rezoning or development must still go through the county and planning commissions.

Documents related to the project and general plan amendments can be viewed online at https://frontier.co.weber.ut.us/p/Project/Index/20894/.