A vote on the proposed town between Kamas and Hideout has been an on-again, off-again tug of war.
Ten landowners who oppose West Hills successfully sued to block the vote. Then the town’s sponsor Derek Anderson asked the state’s highest court to revive the issue on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Hours after the sides made their cases before the Utah Supreme Court Tuesday, justices denied Anderson’s appeal. In a short ruling, the court said the election wasn’t reinstated in part because of “the potential disruption to the election process.”
“It’s obviously disappointing property owners won’t have a voice this election cycle,” Anderson, a Salt Lake City-based real estate attorney, said in a statement. “We've heard from a number of pro-West Hills landowners come forward and ask to continue to push for land flexibility, and we are evaluating all options.”
For Tuhaye resident Craig Savage, an opponent of West Hills, it’s victory. Those opposed to the incorporation worry it will allow overdevelopment and take away from the area's rural character.
“We are very pleased that the Utah Supreme Court acted quickly, and believe the decision is fair to all parties,” Savage said. “Justice prevailed.”
Landowners on both sides said voters were confused about whether their ballot would count or not.
After Tuesday’s ruling, the Summit County Clerk’s Office confirmed votes won’t be counted.
The legal fight over West Hills centered on whether the incorporation process was unconstitutional.
The landowners who sued in 3rd District Court said it was, claiming the law treated some neighbors differently than others. A judge agreed and tossed the vote after deeming the law unconstitutional.
Anderson asked the supreme court to address the issue, but justices didn’t mention it in their Tuesday decision. That means Anderson can file a second appeal and maybe get West Hills before voters in 2026.
In the run-up to Nov. 4, the number of voters in West Hills had more than doubled from 47 in January to at least 96.
According to Savage, many registered within the last month.
“We were ready to file voter challenges if the ruling didn't come in as quickly as it did last night,” he told KPCW Oct. 29. “We are very concerned about how quickly the voters went up.”
Anderson told KPCW he doesn’t know who the new voters are but wouldn’t be surprised if they’re anti-West Hills.
A public records request indicates that more than 70 of the 96 are either private or withheld, meaning the press and the public don’t have access to their identities.
Anderson noted that his opponents advocated for increased voter registration at a West Hills public hearing in January. DeEtte Earl, one of the residents who sued him, told her neighbors to rent out their homes and get tenants registered to vote — presumably against incorporation.
“We need to play the game like Derek plays the game. He's sneaky,” Earl said at the hearing. “He's divided us up.”
Earl’s attorney Janet Conway told The Salt Lake Tribune after the Utah Supreme Court hearing it was pro-incorporation voters who were moving into “tents and trailers” in West Hills.
It was the January public hearing that launched the Kamas Valley Preservation Association, which has financed the lawsuit to stop the town.
Anderson has claimed “outside influences with deep pockets” are funneling money through KVPA. Savage told KPCW that’s probably a reference to him, because he lives across the county line in Tuhaye.
He was named in a federal countersuit by a pro-incorporation landowner who alleged a “conspiracy” to stop West Hills.
Savage believes it’s an “insult” to KVPA’s more than 100 donors. Savage says he’s donated $10,000 and claims that’s less than 10% of the organization’s total fundraising.
One of KVPA’s attorneys, Michael Judd, is a shareholder at Parsons, Behle & Lattimer, which is a financial supporter of KPCW.
