In a unanimous vote, a reluctant three-member Garfield County Commission voted to accept an incorporation petition from Ruby's Inn.

County Attorney Barry Huntington plans to verify that the 2,300-acre inn has at least 100 residents so that it become Bryce Canyon City.

Huntington is expected to recommend that commissioners grant the incorporation at their July 23 meeting.

Commissioners oppose the move, citing the loss of one of their biggest tax cows. Garfield's unincorporated areas provide about $400,000 in annual sales-tax revenue - with Ruby's Inn supplying $250,000 to $300,000 of that total, according to Commissioner Maloy Dodds.

But a new state law makes it virtually impossible to stop the incorporation. The statute shifts the decision-making power from county commissions to property owners on whether incorporations can take place.

To qualify, the properties need only be contiguous, unincorporated and have 100 to 1,000 residents.

Ruby's Inn executives say about 150 of the hotel's 600 employees live on-site year-round.

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-- Reporter Cathy McKitrick contributed to this story.