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The Salt Lake County Council is facing a deadline to set the boundaries of the six townships and 44 islands of unincorporated territory whose future governance will be determined in a Nov. 3 vote.
Deputy District Attorney Gavin Anderson would like to see the council decide Tuesday after a public hearing on the boundaries that begins at 6 p.m. in the North Building of the County Government Center, at 2001 S. State.
"All things being equal, it would be a legal advantage to have the boundary decisions made at the hearing," said Anderson, who's taken the lead in interpreting the detailed election instructions the Legislature included in passing the Community Preservation Act.
That is the name of county Mayor Ben McAdams' proposal to end decades of internal boundary disputes in the county as numerous incorporations and annexations ate away at the unincorporated area and its tax base.
To preserve unincorporated-area boundaries while recognizing the residents' right to self-determination — in this case, the right to form a city — the mayor got legislation passed that sets up the election with these choices:
• Residents in each of the six townships will decide whether they should become a city or a metropolitan township. They then will vote on whether their area should join a municipal-services district being created by the county to handle tasks such as snowplowing, animal control and street lighting.
• People living in islands will be asked whether they want to stay in the unincorporated county or annex into an adjacent city.
The issue's complexity — and the level of public interest — was reflected June 4 in the first hearing on the boundaries. A crowd that spilled out of the County Council chambers raised numerous concerns about the lines proposed by McAdams.
Magna people didn't want to be separated from Saltair or the Magna Gun Club by the loss of Kennecott land. Copperton residents didn't care for losing 95 percent of their township with Kennecott's withdrawal either.
Millcreek residents wanted Mill Creek Canyon included in their township along with Suicide Rock and the Grandeur Peak trailhead.
Willow Creek residents generally wanted their area to stay intact as an unincorporated island, but some expressed a preference for annexing into Sandy while others favored Cottonwood Heights. Both cities are receptive to annexing the communities.
Since that hearing, mayoral staff and council members representing the contentious areas have been meeting with interested parties, trying to work out compromises on what's included and what's not in the final boundaries.
It seems likely that those negotiations may not be complete before Tuesday's hearing.
Councilman Michael Jensen, of Magna, who has been talking to Kennecott about his community's concerns, asked Anderson if the council could approve all of the noncontroversial boundaries Tuesday night. That would allow work to begin on those legal descriptions and maps for the official ballot while giving council members more time to resolve points of contention.
"How big of a hurdle would that be legally?" Jensen wondered.
It's possible, Anderson said reluctantly, "but only if we have to, rather than kicking the can down the road a week or two."
The council also must come up with specific ballot language describing the choices facing voters, a task complicated by Community Preservation Act wording that doesn't give county officials much wiggle room to emphasize points they feel are important.
Anderson also encouraged the council to consider hiring outside legal counsel to negotiate interlocal agreements between the county and the municipal-services district, which is being set up in much the same way that the Unified Police Department and Unified Fire Authority were split off from the county.
Boundary hearing
A second round of public comment on township and island boundaries heading into the Nov. 3 "Community Preservation" election will be accepted by the Salt Lake County Council at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the North Building, County Government Center, 2001 S. State.