Summit County sealed the deal on the $55 million, 8,600-acre open space acquisition in January.
The 910 Cattle Ranch extends from Jeremy Ranch to the Salt Lake County border and north into Morgan County.
Around 1,700 acres of the ranchland are in Morgan County. Under a state bill proposed in the 2026 General Session, Summit County would need to pay annual taxes on that land to Morgan County.
Deputy County Manager Janna Young said Summit County leaders were surprised by House Bill 445.
“We think it's related to our purchase of the 910 ranch,” she told the Summit County Council during a weekly legislative update. “It is something we've been working very closely on with Morgan County for a while now. We don't understand why there is legislation about it, but it does have broad impacts to counties throughout the state.”
Morgan County Commissioner Blaine Fackrell said that his county is pleased that Summit County is planning to protect the 910 Cattle Ranch from development.
He said Morganites asked for the bill not because of the 910 but because of “other times” a county has bought land in another county.
“What I told the [Utah Association of Counties] today is that it is for future generations,” Fackrell said Feb. 5. “And this is a law, legislative law, that basically says you need to cooperate. That's all it is.”
HB445 would require one county to seek another’s permission — in the form of a council or commission vote — to make a cross-county land purchase in the future.
It wouldn’t affect the finalized 910 Cattle Ranch deal. However, it would mean Morgan County can still collect taxes on the ranch.
Utah counties, like nonprofits, are tax-exempt organizations. But HB445 says counties would need to pay annual property taxes on land they own outside of their borders.
According to the Morgan County Assessor’s Office, the 2025 market value of that portion of the ranch — 1,724 acres — is $4.7 million. But it benefits from the greenbelt tax break for agricultural land, so the Morgan County taxes would be calculated from a small fraction of the full value.
In 2025, the assessors say the taxable value was $21,544, which puts annual taxes in the hundreds of dollars.
Summit County Councilmember Roger Armstrong noted the ranchland purchase has been in the works for years. The county publicly announced it in August 2023.
“Morgan County at the very end of our process, just prior to funding, suddenly complained that they were concerned that we were going to cause increased traffic on the roads and we were coming into their county without permission,” Armstrong said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Feb. 5.
He said the two counties have drafted an interlocal agreement that would tackle some of the same issues HB445 does.
“We're protecting this land,” Armstrong said. “It's not like we bought a parcel in Morgan County and we're going to put a massive commercial development and somehow entitle any number of things that would be bad for Morgan County. There's no intent to do that.”
Both counties have the same Utah House representative, Morgan County resident Tiara Auxier. HB445 is sponsored by Salt Lake County Republican Rep. Mark Strong. As of Feb. 5, the bill had not been set for a committee hearing.
Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW.
