Latest news with #UtahLieutenantGovernor'sOffice
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Southern Utah developers pick new route to create cities due to roadblocks with county leaders
The developers behind two proposed Utah cities that would be created via a new mechanism that bypasses local officials' scrutiny say they tapped the alternative incorporation route after hitting roadblocks in dealing with county leaders. 'We worked closely with Kane County for nearly two years before applying for a preliminary municipality,' said Greg Whitehead, representative for Kanab 600, the developer behind Willow, a proposed new development 1.4 miles east of Kanab in Kane County. Realizing the applicable county zoning guidelines wouldn't allow for the higher housing density project that developers sought, they opted to pursue incorporation via a mechanism created in Utah law just last year — a process that's raised concerns among some. Going the route outlined in SB258, developers create the plans for the sort of locale they seek — called preliminary municipalities — and the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office reviews, considers and, if they pass muster, approves them. 'The best path forward to achieve our vision — one that aligns with the governor's and state's priority of increasing accessible housing — was to pursue a preliminary municipality,' Whitehead told The Willow plans, fully developed, call for 1,276 housing units, including 794 single-family homes, 206 townhomes, 168 apartments and 108 vacation rentals, spread over 595 acres. The request to become a new city, filed Jan. 1, is still in the works. In Grand County, Kane Creek Preservation and Development and G&H Miller Family Holdings are pursuing a proposal on around 180 acres of land about a mile southwest of Moab. Fully developed, their community, previously called Kane Creek and now named Echo Canyon, calls for 478 housing units, 48 of them identified as affordable housing, and 102 'overnight accommodation units.' A spokesman for the project — which has sparked strong opposition from some — said the developer initially worked with the Grand County Commission to try to get support for the plans. After four years of what the spokesman described as fruitless efforts, they also applied for preliminary incorporation with the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office. 'We've never asked for a favor. We just wanted a fair processing of our application, and that clearly hasn't happened. So that's why we started pursuing this,' said the spokesman, who asked not to be named given the intense sentiments the issue has spurred. The developers, still open to working with Grand County officials, submitted their preliminary municipality petition on May 1, 2024, and it is still under review, though it is much further along than the Willow request. The Echo Canyon developers' plans fall within guidelines spelled out in the zoning laws of Grand County, home to Arches National Park and a popular tourist destination. But county officials have rebuffed, stalled and delayed action, the spokesman charges, because of a 'no growth' mindset. Thus, when they learned of the mechanism spelled out in HB258 that gives them leeway to work with the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office in creating a city, opening another route for their plans to move forward, they jumped. 'If nothing else, even if it just brought the county to the table to treat us fairly, that'd be an OK outcome, too,' he said. The Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office has yet to grant final approval to any of the four preliminary municipality requests it's received since last year. Development is a delicate topic in fast-growing Utah, and the preliminary municipality process as spelled out in SB258 was targeted by another measure during the 2025 legislative session, HB540. HB540 — pursued amid concerns that SB258 gives developers too much leeway and weakens the authority of local government on development questions — aimed to halt or limit use of the process, but the measure ultimately stalled. At any rate, as described by the Willow and Echo Canyon developers, their moves to go the preliminary municipality route aren't about flaunting local officials or local development guidelines. 'Throughout our collaboration with the county, we explored ways to create a master plan that would allow for more attainable housing, which generally sits on less than 1-acre lots,' said Whitehead. 'However, given the existing zoning restrictions, we ultimately realized that we wouldn't be able to provide the level of affordability and variety of housing options that we felt were truly needed — homes that allow young families, first-time buyers and longtime Utah residents to stay close to their roots and build their futures.' Furthermore, Whitehead noted, the plans still face scrutiny by the state, which requires studies for proposed new locales to make sure they are financially feasible, among other things. 'We welcome ongoing conversations and community engagement to help shape this new city in a way that benefits everyone,' Whitehead said. The Echo Canyon spokesman stressed the fact that the proposed development falls within development parameters already spelled out in Grand County zoning ordinances. The developers sought 'zero variances,' he said. While the traditional incorporation route is spearheaded by registered voters in a development who want to convert the locale into a city, developers are the key force behind preliminary municipalities, typically on undeveloped land. Still, the Echo Canyon spokesman noted that a traditional elected city government would have to be created in preliminary municipalities on reaching 100 residents, among other requirements. Developers behind two other projects, Park City Tech in Summit County and Nine Springs in Morgan County, have also applied to become preliminary municipalities. Summit County Manager Shayne Scott, however, said the Park City Tech developers, Park City Junction, plan to work with county officials in finalizing their plans. Park City Junction reps didn't respond to queries seeking comment. Brach Nelson, who represents the Nine Springs developers, Spring Mountain Ranch and SISO, declined comment.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Salt Lake City close to annexing more land after hitting unexpected snag
Utah's capital city is on the verge of growing its boundary after the Jordan River created an unexpected hurdle in a process years in the making. Salt Lake City Council members informally voted last week to advance a plan to annex hundreds of acres of an unincorporated section of northwestern Salt Lake County at the center of ongoing warehouse development. Their plan would switch parcels to the newly created M-1A zoning, while others would remain under an agricultural form of zoning called AG-2, depending on their preference, once the annexation is complete. That measure was requested because residents remain split between wanting to stick to agriculture and the area's old ways, and wanting to move forward with zoning in place to handle the development that shows no signs of stopping, said Salt Lake City Councilwoman Victoria Petro, whose district includes the area that would be added to the city. A final vote on the plan could take place as early as next week. Salt Lake City initiated the annexation process a little over a year ago, seeking to add portions of unincorporated land near 2200 West in the Northpoint community. That was after the city adopted a new Northpoint Small Area Plan in 2023 in response to growth in the area, spurred by the construction of massive warehouses and the impact it has had on residents. However, adding Northpoint residents to the city hit a snag later in 2024 after city staff found that the Salt Lake and Davis counties' boundary was 'no longer consistent with what was on file,' according to a memo filed with the Salt Lake City Council. 'That was based on the Jordan River having some movement over the course of the last few decades,' said Nick Tarbet, deputy director of legislative and policy for the City Council. 'City staff was able to clean those up with the county, and we're now at a process where the county can consider moving forward with the annexation.' A formal vote is tentatively scheduled to take place on May 20 before the request is filed with the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office for final approval. Salt Lake City had previously created a Northpoint Small Area Plan, but it had not been updated since 2000, until the changes were made two years ago. While the section near the airport retains most of the city's remaining agricultural land, the update was sparked in 2021 as more commercial development began to creep into the area. Denise Payne was one of many residents who came to the city frustrated by the construction of a 1 million-square-foot warehouse that was permitted because there weren't many zoning limitations in the previous plan. '(Construction vehicles) shake our homes every day,' she told city leaders in 2023. 'We can't live there. Our quality of life is gone.' The plan introduced the M-1A for the area, which sets standards aimed at protecting the area's residents and ecosystem. It sought to answer the 'complex' challenges facing the area, Petro explained later that year. 'This is possibly the most difficult part of our city to deal with, at the moment,' she said at the time, pointing to a handful of environmental and 'logistical' concerns. Meanwhile, development interest hasn't calmed down in the area. Tarbet said last week that developers have already met with planning experts to get initial feedback on the new M1-A zone, which means he doesn't think it will take long before the area undergoes further changes in the future. 'There will be construction very quickly,' he said.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Signature verification for HB267 referendum is complete
Vote Utah announced Thursday that signature verification for the HB267 referendum had been completed by state elections officials. At the end of the verification process, conducted under direction of the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office, 251,590 signatures had been verified and 73,136 signatures had been rejected. There are a number of reasons why signatures may not get certified: signers may not be registered to vote, they may have written their address wrong, filled out the form incorrectly or their handwriting may be illegible. The number of verified signatures is far above the number required to certify a referendum and get it on the ballot. The required number of verified signatures is 140,748, a benchmark which officials say was reached on April 28. County clerk offices across the state participated in the signature verification. The Salt Lake County Clerk's Office verified signatures from over 115,000 registered voters in Salt Lake County, as well as an additional 20,000 signatures of registered voters from other Utah counties, according to a release from the Salt Lake County Clerk. After the deadline to turn in signatures on April 16, and county clerks offices had 21 days to verify the signatures. That deadline was Wednesday. HB267 was passed by the state Legislature in February and was one of the first bills signed by Gov. Spencer Cox. Shortly after the legislative session ended, the Protect Utah Workers coalition launched a signature-gathering effort to certify a referendum to repeal the law. On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson issued a temporary stay of the law which was supposed to go into effect on July 1. Under the temporary stay, the ban on public sector collective bargaining will stay paused until the lieutenant governor declares the referendum petition insufficient or the governor issues a proclamation putting the law into effect. The law prohibits public sector collective bargaining, which is when a union acts as the sole collective bargaining agent for public employees with their employers.
