Summit County leaders want the Utah Legislature to “respect the right to local self-government” when it comes to land use.
That’s because they say the counties created the state, not the other way around.
Wednesday, the Summit County Council joined Wasatch County and the town of Wallsburg in calling for the repeal of 2024’s Senate Bill 258.
That’s the law that allowed for “preliminary municipalities” in Utah. Some Wasatch Back residents have criticized the law for allowing developers to flout city and county zoning by creating their own towns.
“What we are talking about is a disagreement with a tool, not necessarily with the governor's intention to try to create housing solutions,” Summit County Councilmember Canice Harte said Wednesday. “It's the tool itself that we take issue with, and this is our expression of our disagreement with the way this tool is designed.”
All four preliminary municipality applications submitted this year came from Wasatch or Summit counties.
Only two can proceed, one just east of Heber and another on the Summit County side of Browns Canyon. Both would transform rural areas into suburban neighborhoods.
Summit County’s resolution calling for the repeal of the law allowing those towns is five pages long.
Councilmember Chris Robinson called it “Utah history 101,” referring to the fact that counties existed prior to statehood in 1896. Summit County’s government was formed in 1861.
“This resolution sets Utah counties apart because there was this interregnum between Brigham Young's leadership and ultimate statehood,” Robinson said. “Those counties that existed in 1896 were deemed to be stronger creatures and not necessarily creatures of the state, in the same way maybe other states’ counties would be.”
Robinson still believes that county leaders should engage directly with state leaders on the preliminary municipality issue, besides simply passing a resolution.
Harte said a state subcommittee is drafting changes to the law, which he says could become either more or less permissive.
Developer Ivory Homes, for example, has called on the state to do away with the limit of two applications per year. It submitted the preliminary municipality application in Browns Canyon.
Meanwhile, it’s also asking Summit County for new zoning that could allow thousands of homes there. The county council has not yet discussed or voted on the proposal.
Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW.
