ELK RIDGE — A proposed 550—acre upscale housing development could find a home in Elk Ridge, a small city southeast of Payson.
Elk Ridge's Town Council has accepted for study the housing-development plan that Payson officials once considered allowing into the city.
Developer Don Mecham wants to annex some 230 Payson Canyon acres into Elk Ridge to add to the land he already owns in the town, Town Councilman Gary Bowen said.
The council agreed this week to study the more than 200—home proposal. The study could take up to 60 days to complete. Then, Mecham can make a formal
request for annexation. Mecham was unavailable for comment.
One of the key issues in approving the proposal to bring the land into the city is what to do with Four Bay Pond in the Payson Canyon mountains above Elk Ridge and Payson.
The decades-old pond that services Payson's Gladstan Golf Course and provides water to drive the hydro-electric turbines for Strawberry Water User Association's power station leaks and occasionally overflows.
The combined leakage and overflow has cut a 40-foot-deep ravine in the side of the mountain near Elk Ridge, Bowen said.
"That has to be stopped," he said. If Mecham's plan is ultimately approved, houses will someday be near the gash in the mountain.
That could pose risks for folks living there, he said.
Mecham owns the land surrounding Four Bay, but Strawberry owns the waterline that goes around the mountain and drops down to the power station in the canyon. Payson owns the water and an 8—inch line that travels down the mountain to water the golf course, Bowen said.
On Tuesday Elk Ridge, Payson and Strawberry officials will meet at Four Bay to discuss resolving the problems it's causing.
"It needs to be eliminated," Bowen said.
Mecham's project encompasses some of Payson's watershed that provides city water, but Payson officials have said they will work with Elk Ridge to make sure Payson's watershed and springs are protected if Elk Ridge annexes the land.
A committee reviewed Mecham's plan before the council agreed to the annexation study. The development would give a major boost to tiny Elk Ridge's property tax base. Elk Ridge now has about 550 homes.
Two years ago the council rejected the proposal. The makeup of the council has since changed.
Mecham then took his plans to Payson but later withdrew them when it appeared getting approval would be too difficult. He was considering applying to the county for approval when Elk Ridge officials said they wanted to take another look.
E-mail: rodger@desnews.com