Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
GARDEN CITY, Utah.
February 13, 2014. Bruce Warner,
Council Member, stated that the surrounding subdivisions outside the City
limits need to be annexed into the City.
He noted that the natural boundary of the City should be from the
Utah/Idaho line to the trailer park on Sweetwater Hill. He felt the City needs to provide services to
these individuals, and these individuals should be allowed to develop a sense
of Community. Everyone needs a place to
come from and go home to. Having a
special place to be is as important for these individuals as for them to be
provided with services. Currently these
individuals do not have a voice. It has
been estimated that this area will grow by 11 percent in the next 20
years. He feels the area needs some
solid long term planning. He doesn’t
want to force anyone to join the City, but he feels they need the opportunity
to do so. He reported that it would
result in a better county and better school programs with greater
representation. He noted that generally
when resources are shared, costs are lowered.
It was noted that the Planning and Zoning Committee would
have to draft an annexation plan. A
public meeting and a public hearing would need to be held. The boundaries must have no islands or
unusual shapes allowed in the annexation process.
The Mayor encouraged Warner to get some publicity going
concerning the annexation plan and hold some discussion meetings held to find
out the desires of those living outside the city limits. If there would be better and lower community
costs and if everyone had a seat at the table, this would be a good direction
to go. Income from the annexation
properties would be great. Sweetwater
would need to have their own water company and also take care of their own
roads. This may be the case with several
of the subdivisions.
The Mayor noted that the City would love to have all of
these individuals become part of the City.
They would have to pay the City taxes.
Currently building permits are actually easier to obtain from the County
than from the City. Impact fees are
being raised which may cause them to not want them to be a part of the
City. However, the City would provide law
and ordinance enforcement which could prove most helpful to them. Fifty percent of the individuals outside the
City would have to be in favor of the idea and at it would require at least
half the value of the area being annexed be supportive as well in order for
annexation to take place.
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