SUMMIT COUNTY LANDOWNERS FILE TO INCORPORATE AS NEW TOWN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 2, 2023

Summit County, UT – A group of residents, farmers, and landowners near Kamas have joined together as a cooperative and filed with the Lt. Governor’s office to initiate the incorporation process for a new town. The cooperative intends for landowners to vote on an official name once the incorporation is final, but until then, the town will be referred to as “West Hills.”

“I am encouraged at the prospect of designing a town with the intention of preserving the natural beauty of our area, while responsibly planning for careful growth and development,” said longtime landowner Geri Aposhian.

Open Space Priority: The new town will encourage modest new growth and preserve up to 50% of the land for open space with the culture of the Kamas Valley acting as the guiding star.

“We have all felt the pain as Summit County grows and real estate prices continue to rise. It’s the right time for locals to have a say on how to balance growth and preserve the valley’s beauty,” said longtime landowner Ted Bauman.

Protecting Locals: The new town will create additional land use rights to allow residents if they choose, to use, sell, transfer to family, or donate as open space for aesthetic and tax benefits. Revenue for infrastructure and services will be generated from new construction permit fees, the sale of unissued land use rights, and/or other methods. In addition, the plan allows for new growth to pay for itself.

“I support the town because I trust landowners who know the land and have skin in the game, over detached decision-makers who don’t,” said Jim Conway, who’s lived in the area for years.

Following the Law: The cooperative decided to pursue incorporation of a new town through the Lt. Governor’s Office, under Utah Code Annotated 10-2a-101. This law allows neighbors to band together to create their own town. The cooperative has now (i) gathered the required number of local signatures, (ii) met with the Lt. Governor’s Office on multiple occasions to make sure they comply with the law, and now (iii) filed an application to begin the process. The Lt. Governor’s office will conduct a feasibility study in the next 90 days and determine if a new town in the area can be done successfully. If it can, the landowners will then vote on the incorporation.

For more information about the new town and updates on its progress, please visit westhillsutah.com

Link to land survey.

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Media Contact:
Peter Watkins
[email protected] / 801-618-7111