On the north end of Heber City’s expansion area map, just south of the Jordanelle Reservoir, there’s a 40-acre parcel of land that sits on a hillside and overlooks the reservoir, Heber Valley and has sweeping views of the Wasatch Back. Jan. 7, Heber City Council unanimously approved moving forward with Kasey Plourde’s petition to annex the 40 acres. The vote came after a busy public comment period in which locals spoke out against a much larger Heber Valley corridor project, including Harvest Village and North Village Crossings developments. While Harvest Village and Crossings involve multiple hotels, residences and a gas station, Plourde came to the table with a humble plan. Yes, she would like to annex the entire 40.85 acres into Heber City’s expansion area plan. No, she would not like to develop the entirety of the parcel. She would like to develop just one acre. Kasey Plourde’s 40.85-acre plot will move forward in the annexation petition process after Heber City Council’s unanimous approval Jan. 7 to entertain the petition. Credit: Photo courtesy of Heber City CouncilThe hilly terrain makes for a challenge with development, but Plourde has a plan. “It’s been my dream to have my own event space. I’ve been an event planner here locally for almost 13 years, doing events at the various resorts in the community and Park City, Salt Lake and beyond,” Plourde said. “This piece of land here seemed like a great fit for our vision.”The owner of Harvest Moon Events, Plourde travels across Utah to help clients put on weddings, parties and community gatherings. She said that for the most part, the venues she hosts at include Park City Mountain Resort, Sundance Mountain Resort and Snowbird Ski Resort. But she’s also hosted weddings at locations like River Bottoms Ranch. If Plourde is able to annex and develop, her small business will have its own home base. But Plourde said there’s a long way to go.“Right now, there’s still so many hurdles in the way, and I’m a small-business owner. I’m not a developer or anything,” Plourde said. Harvest Moon Events launched in 2012 with event planning and event design. More than a decade later, Plourde’s business has been featured in Rocky Mountain Bride, Martha Stewart Weddings and Luxe Mountain Weddings, to name a few. She and her husband have run the show since its opening. Before she started her own business, Plourde put on events in Las Vegas for VIP guests at the Casino de Monte-Carlo.Park City is home for Plourde, a Park City High School graduate with family in the area. After she moved back to Utah, she became an in-house resort event planner. After five years, she was ready to start her own business. She continued facilitating resort events, but then branched out to conduct her own events in the area. As an event planner, Plourde has seen her fair share of successes through challenges with celebrations and weddings. She said that, despite those challenges, she thoroughly enjoys her chosen path.“Actually, the hustle is what I love. Being able to pull together these high-stress moments for people and put out fires along the way and hopefully prevent fires before they start,” Plourde said. “The reward is once the event goes smoothly, there’s nothing like it. I thrive in those moments.” Despite her love for planning events for others, Plourde said her own wedding was an elopement. She and her husband’s nuptials took place in Kauai, Hawaii, with 20 of their closest friends and family members. They said that they knew if they were to host their ceremony in Utah, it would “have to be a huge thing.”“We just wanted it to be nice and intimate,” Plourde said. Kasey Plourde has hosted hundreds of events, including small dinner parties, weddings and corporate conferences with up to 2,000 attendees. “We love it all,” her Harvest Moon Events “About” page says. Credit: Photo courtesy of Carla BoecklinBut, Plourde knows that every client is looking for something different. That’s why she’s hoping her dream of owning her own event space will encompass the needs of nearly every client. Because the terrain on her 40-acre parcel is so sloped, Plourde’s vision includes multiple decks with an arrival area, a main barnlike glass structure that’s “modern and elegant, but also suits the area and celebrates the views,” some yurts and support buildings. Plus, a ceremony platform for wedding ceremonies, small community gatherings and concerts. She’s hoping that the main structure will hold about 200 people for a sit-down meal. “I love the Heber Valley, and the views from this spot that we found are awesome. It seems like finding the right parcel is the first step for a project like this — finding something that has the remote feel where people are, that’s worthy to celebrate an event like a wedding, but also have the accessibility,” Plourde said. With Plourde’s plan to develop just one acre, the remaining 39 acres will be dedicated to open space to have a few trails and “just keeping it beautiful for the people who are coming to celebrate there. With the Heber City Council’s acceptance of Plourde’s official petition on Jan. 7, she is able to move forward with her proposal to annex into Heber City. Further study will take place over the coming months. As far as the general plan, due to the open space aspect of the project, the designation is with mountain preservation.The post This small-business owner hopes to expand into the Heber Valley appeared first on Park Record.