When Salt Lake City resident Matt Meier sought building permits for a cabin in a remote and mountainous area of northern Summit County, he discovered the lot he owned wasn’t just in Summit County.
It also crossed into Morgan County, and the county line across his property meant he couldn’t build where he wanted to.
“Our county recorder, Greg Wolbach, and his staff started researching this problem and discovered that that incident was throughout this area, where people's lots were in both counties,” Summit County Councilmember Tonja Hanson said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” July 9.
Now, about two years later, Summit County councilmembers and Morgan County commissioners have agreed to shift the boundaries slightly so Meyer’s property and others like it are no longer split in two.
The change approved July 7 affects remote neighborhoods north of Glenwild: little more than a dozen lots in The Preserve, Pine Meadow Ranch and Stagecoach Estates.
The county line originally followed an area ridgeline. Now it will follow the lot lines.
Hanson said the resulting changes in county acreage and property tax revenue are negligible.
Morgan County and Summit County leaders have worked closely since Summit County bought the 910 Ranch, which also straddles the county line.
Morgan County supported a 2026 law that will require Summit County to pay property taxes on that land unless the two come to some other agreement.
Prior to that, the counties had been negotiating an agreement that would see Summit County pay a fee instead of property taxes.
The Morgan County Commission also discussed a draft version of that agreement July 7. Neither county has adopted it yet.
Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW.
