The unincorporated enclave of Granite will remain intact for now -- and maybe forever -- after a successful petition drive placing the east-bench burb's future on the 2010 ballot.
Salt Lake County has certified a petition that will allow the community of about 2,000 people to vote on whether to become the county's seventh township, joining a club that now includes Magna, Kearns, Copperton, White City, Millcreek and Emigration Canyon.
That township designation would allow Granite, an eroding community at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon, to protect it boundaries much like a city.
The now-guaranteed election represents a hard-fought success for Granite Township backers, who -- because of an error in how some signatures were recorded -- fell short of the certification threshold last month.
But the group fixed those mistakes and submitted enough signatures to reflect 12 percent of the community's total acreage (they needed 10 percent) and 30 percent of the total land value (three times the required 10 percent).
"It means we are going to have an election," said Granite Community Council Chairman Mike Hansen, who now plans a vigorous educational campaign that will begin early next year with direct mailings, at least one town-hall meeting and a door-to-door push to teach people about townships.
"We want everyone to be educated when they come in to vote."
The successful petition drive puts a hold on all annexations carved from the proposed Granite Township until after the 2010 election.
Nick Duerksen, assistant community development director for neighboring Sandy, doubts the township push will affect his south-valley city "in any large way."
But it could create a hardship for residents within Granite who may want to tap into Sandy's water system, he said. City policy now asks that property owners annex into Sandy's boundaries to access its water supply. With annexations on hold, those residents would have to seek an exception to that policy for services.
Despite lingering questions about the community's future, Granite remains a historic remnant of the valley's pioneer beginnings. Its founding came in the late 1860s, when LDS settlers established a quarry in Little Cottonwood Canyon to harvest stone for the Salt Lake City temple.
Salt Lake County Councilman Max Burdick said he will support whatever position the community takes. "From day one, I have always been for self-determination."
What matters, he said, is that the people of Granite get to vote.
» 2,000 -- Estimated population of Granite.
» 140 -- Years since the community was established at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon.
» 10 -- Percent of the community's land value and total acreage that petitioners needed to put the Granite Township question on the ballot. They got 30 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
» 7 -- Number of Salt Lake County townships if Granite voters approve such status in the November 2010 election.
