Bear Canyon was one of two preliminary municipality proposals the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office accepted in January.
Its application was part of a program that allows a small group of landowners to begin creating a town on mostly undeveloped land.
Now, the lieutenant governor says the would-be developers’ plans fell short, so they can’t move forward.
Wasatch County Manager Dustin Grabau said Tuesday he’s glad to hear the news.
“This is some exciting news,” he said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” July 21.
Layla Basic, an office administrator for the lieutenant governor’s office, confirmed the certification of Bear Canyon’s request for feasibility study was rescinded July 16.
The Utah Population Committee found that although a strip of land connects two areas in the proposed town, it’s too narrow to be considered contiguous.
This is the second rejection for Bear Canyon, whose landowners wanted to build a resort community of about 1,000 residential units near the Utah County border.
The project’s first request for a feasibility study was denied in February because too many property owners were included in the proposed town boundaries.
State law says sponsors cannot modify their request for a feasibility study more than once, so this is the end of the line for Bear Canyon – for this year. The landowners could reapply in January 2027.
The lieutenant governor’s office made its decision a day after Wallsburg residents met to mobilize against preliminary municipalities. Residents are concerned about the prospect of major development in their backyard.
Grabau said county leaders are concerned, too.
“We’ll be bringing back to the council in August a resolution encouraging the state to repeal this law and stop the pilot program,” he said.
State law established the preliminary municipality pilot program in 2024. The lieutenant governor’s office can accept two applications each year until 2031.
It’s not yet clear whether the state can or will accept another preliminary municipality application instead of Bear Canyon.
“Requests for a preliminary municipality that are statutorily unable to proceed do not count toward the limit of two filings per calendar year,” Basic said in a statement. “Our office is evaluating next steps.”
Supporters say the program is needed to help address Utah’s housing shortage, but Grabau rejected that reasoning.
“That’s the justification that is being given for why we need several hundred more homes that are very high-end, so that we can get maybe a small handful of arguably affordable units – I just don't think that that's a reality,” he said. “I think we would be better served by more specific targeting on affordable housing issues than just this type of broad-brush development incentive.”
He said he’d like the county to “ride the wave” of the Stratos data center’s unpopularity to convince state leaders to walk back the preliminary municipality program.
This year’s other accepted application, Wasatch Highlands, is also in Wasatch County, east of Heber. A population committee found Wasatch Highlands would have about 2,200 residents when complete.
Meanwhile, Moab-area residents are suing developers and the lieutenant governor’s office, arguing preliminary municipalities are unconstitutional.
