The developer-led towns, called preliminary municipalities, were added to Utah law in 2024.
Moab-area nonprofits alleged in a February lawsuit that the tool was specifically designed to enable a luxury housing project along the Colorado River.
Last week, Wasatch County declared its support for the 7th District Court lawsuit which would deem preliminary municipalities unconstitutional.
The lawsuit says developers use the controversial tool to circumvent planning processes when they see pushback from county leaders or the public.
Ivory Homes has proposed the preliminary municipality of Lost Creek in Summit County. And in Wasatch County, Philo Development is proposing Wasatch Highlands.
Both counties, and the town of Wallsburg, have called on the Utah Legislature to undo the law. They say it thwarts common-sense planning.
Now, Wasatch County is also calling preliminary municipalities unconstitutional. It filed an amici curiae, or friend of the court, brief in 7th District Court Oct. 16 with Kane County.
The two governments want Judge Don Torgerson to know that the Moab lawsuit has broader implications on what they call “the right to local self-government, ” which has become the refrain for opponents of preliminary municipalities.
Torgerson could rule on the law’s constitutionality after a hearing Thursday, Oct. 29.
Thursday is also when Wasatch County residents can weigh in at a public hearing about the future town of Wasatch Highlands.
