The list of local governments opposed to preliminary municipalities is growing.
The small Wasatch County town of Wallsburg passed a resolution Thursday, Sept. 17, urging state lawmakers to disband the program that allows developers to form towns.
Councilmember Peter Nielsen said town leaders and residents take issue with the law because it bypasses local input.
“It's got huge ramifications, huge consequences, because most of the people building these things, that want to develop, that own land, don't live there,” he said. “So, they don't have to live with their consequences of what they do.”
Landowners applied to form a town near Wallsburg in January. The lieutenant governor’s office didn’t accept the proposal this year, but Nielsen is worried about traffic in the community if the plans ever get the green light.
He’s also concerned the new towns won’t meet one of the stated goals for the preliminary municipality program: to create more affordable housing.
“Affordable housing out there in Wallsburg, particularly in our situation, that’s like a million-dollar home on a half-million-dollar piece of property,” he said. “That’s not very low-income housing.”
The Wasatch County Council passed a similar resolution opposing the development tool earlier this month.
Summit County will consider doing the same at its meeting Wednesday, Sept. 23.
The Wasatch Back saw four town applications in 2026. Two in Wasatch County were accepted, and one — Wasatch Highlands — has so far met the requirements to move forward.
