Unincorporated Communities
In the unincorporated communities, "wall-to-wall" has taken on a sinister connotation, with Callaghan seen as the poster child for annexation. "It seems like all she wants to do is have a county fire sale," complains Kearns Town Council Chairman Alan Anderson. Callaghan insists that is not the case. "I've supported both [annexation and incorporation] approaches," she says. "I supported Taylorsville; I supported Holladay-Cottonwood. People should have a choice. All I'm saying is, let's find a solution now rather than later."
Concerns persist, for company incorporation however. Some think the process is moving too fast. "I'd rather see it evolve than be hurried," says Taylorsville Mayor Janice Auger. And in places such as Magna and Kearns, the suspicion lingers that, even if they get approval for incorporation, it will create more problems than it will solve. For some, it already may be too late. Kearns, for instance, is embroiled in a border battle with West Jordan about two significant chunks of real estate.
One is Oquirrh Shadows, a residential area with 12,000 people; the other is a 160-acre parcel that Anderson says provides access to the only remaining property Kearns could develop into a commercial, tax-producing area. West Jordan has approved annexation of the 160 acres -- though finalization has been held up by protests -- and is considering Oquirrh Shadows residents' request for annexation. Kearns community leaders believe the loss of either could kill their incorporation hopes.
"With Oquirrh Shadows and that small commercial area, it's a break-even situation," says Anderson. "But without it, we're talking about a huge tax load." Why? For every dollar the county receives in taxes in residential areas, it spends $ 1.40 to deliver services. Commercial properties are needed to help offset the deficit. Kearns and Magna have precious little to begin with. Not that commercial taxes are absolutely essential to a small city's survival -- at least in the beginning. Herriman, barely 3 months old, has virtually no commercial tax base, but at the moment is living off revenue from building permits for two major housing developments. The hope is that with new residents, businesses will come. And that might not be far-fetched, with computer giant Intel planning to set up shop next door in Riverton. Of course, notes Herriman Councilman Marion Millet, there is one significant difference between his town and other commercial-poor areas. "We have a tremendous amount of undeveloped land; they don't." So what to do? Anderson and his unincorporated allies would like to see a bill presented to the Legislature that would protect communities' rights to remain unincorporated -- and their borders from encroachment by neighboring cities. Along those lines, he is upset that the annexation/incorporation free-for-all is continuing while the new wall-to-wall study has yet to be completed. "The county and city have paid $ 200,000 for this study, and by the time it comes out it'll be useless," says Anderson. Evans doubts lawmakers would buttress unincorporated areas with new border protections, because that could hurt cities. He also wonders whether legislators will wade that deeply into the wall-to-wall debate this year. "We've lost some of the initiative. It will take a real push from the community councils to move a bill forward." True wall-to-wall cities may be impossible, anyway. Callaghan notes that Kennecott property on the west side of the valley and U.S. Forest Service on the east never will be part of the scheme. And they probably are not alone.
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