(1) A person may apply to incorporate an area as a preliminary municipality by filing a feasibility request in accordance with this section.
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Terms Used In Utah Code 10-2a-502

  • Affordable housing: means housing occupied or reserved for occupancy by households with a gross household income equal to or less than 80% of the median gross income of the applicable municipal or county statistical area for households of the same size. See Utah Code 10-2a-501
  • Contiguous: means the same as that term is defined in Section 10-2a-102. See Utah Code 10-2a-501
  • Feasibility request: means a request, described in Section 10-2a-502, for a feasibility study for the proposed incorporation of a preliminary municipality. See Utah Code 10-2a-501
  • Land: includes :
         (18)(a) land;
         (18)(b) a tenement;
         (18)(c) a hereditament;
         (18)(d) a water right;
         (18)(e) a possessory right; and
         (18)(f) a claim. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Municipality: means :
         (5)(a) a city of the first class, city of the second class, city of the third class, city of the fourth class, city of the fifth class;
         (5)(b) a town, as classified in Section 10-2-301; or
         (5)(c) a preliminary municipality incorporated under Chapter 2a, Part 5, Incorporation of a Preliminary Municipality. See Utah Code 10-1-104
  • Pending annexation area: means an area proposed for annexation in an annexation petition described in Section 10-2-403 that is filed before, and is still pending when, a person files the applicable request for a feasibility study under Section 10-2a-502. See Utah Code 10-2a-501
  • Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, organization, association, trust, governmental agency, or any other legal entity. See Utah Code 10-1-104
  • Primary sponsor contact: means :
         (10)(a) in relation to a feasibility request:
              (10)(a)(i) the individual designated as the primary sponsor contact for a feasibility request under Subsection 10-2a-502(5)(c); or
              (10)(a)(ii) an individual designated, in writing, by the initial landowners if a replacement primary sponsor contact is needed; or
         (10)(b) in relation to a petition for incorporation of a preliminary municipality:
              (10)(b)(i) the individual designated as the primary sponsor contact for a petition for incorporation of a preliminary municipality under Subsection 10-2a-507(1)(d); or
              (10)(b)(ii) an individual designated, in writing, by the initial landowners if a replacement primary sponsor contact is needed. See Utah Code 10-2a-501
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Property: includes both real and personal property. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Proposed preliminary municipality area: means the area proposed for incorporation as a preliminary municipality in a feasibility request. See Utah Code 10-2a-501
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Unincorporated: means not within a municipality. See Utah Code 10-1-104
  • United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(2) Subject to Subsection (6), a person may file a feasibility request in relation to an area that the person seeks to incorporate as a preliminary municipality if:

     (2)(a) the area is contiguous;
     (2)(b) no part of the area is within a county of the first class or second class;
     (2)(c) no part of the area is within, or within .25 miles of, a municipality;
     (2)(d) on the day on which the person files the feasibility request:

          (2)(d)(i) the area is owned by no more than three persons, all of whom consent to incorporation as a preliminary municipality; and
          (2)(d)(ii) at least 50% of the area is undeveloped;
     (2)(e) the persons who sign the feasibility request intend to develop the area to the point that:

          (2)(e)(i) at least 100 individuals reside in the area;
          (2)(e)(ii) the area will have an average population density of no less than seven individuals per square mile, unless:

               (2)(e)(ii)(A) a population density of less than seven individuals per square mile is necessary in order to connect separate areas that share a demonstrable community interest; and
               (2)(e)(ii)(B) the average population of the area has a population density of no less than seven individuals per square mile if the land necessary to connect the separate areas described in Subsection (2)(e)(ii)(A) is not included in the calculation; and
          (2)(e)(iii) at least 10% of the housing in the preliminary municipality is affordable housing;
     (2)(f) the area does not include land owned by the United States government unless:

          (2)(f)(i) the area, including the land owned by the United States government, is contiguous; and
          (2)(f)(ii)

               (2)(f)(ii)(A) incorporating the land is necessary to connect separate areas that share a demonstrable community interest; or
               (2)(f)(ii)(B) excluding the land from the area would create an unincorporated island within the proposed preliminary municipality;
     (2)(g) the area is entirely within one county; and
     (2)(h) the feasibility request complies with Subsection (3).
(3)

     (3)(a) A proposed preliminary municipality area may not include all or part of a pending annexation area, unless:

          (3)(a)(i) the portion of the pending annexation area included in the proposed preliminary municipality area does not exceed 20% of the proposed preliminary municipality area; and
          (3)(a)(ii) the feasibility request would comply with the requirements of this section regardless of whether the portion of the pending annexation area included in the proposed preliminary municipality area is excluded from, or remains included in, the proposed preliminary municipality area.
     (3)(b) A proposed preliminary municipality area may not include all or part of an area that is the subject of a completed feasibility study or supplemental feasibility study that qualifies to proceed under Subsection 10-2a-205(5)(a), unless:

          (3)(b)(i) the proposed incorporation that is the subject of the completed feasibility study or supplemental feasibility study has been defeated by the voters at an election under Section 10-2a-210; or
          (3)(b)(ii) the time described in Subsection 10-2a-208(1) for filing an incorporation petition based on the completed feasibility study or supplemental feasibility study has elapsed without the sponsors filing an incorporation petition under Section 10-2a-208.
     (3)(c) A proposed preliminary municipality area may not include all or part of an area that is the subject of a completed feasibility study or supplemental feasibility study whose results comply with Subsection 10-2a-504(4), unless the time described in Subsection 10-2a-507(1) for filing a petition for incorporation based on the completed feasibility study or supplemental feasibility study has elapsed without the sponsors filing a petition for incorporation under Section 10-2a-507.
(4) Except as provided in Section 10-2a-505, the lieutenant governor shall consider each feasibility request that includes an area described in Subsection (3)(a) as if the request does not include the area described in Subsection (3)(a).
(5) A person who files a feasibility request under this section shall file the feasibility request with the lieutenant governor, including in the feasibility request:

     (5)(a) the signatures of all owners of real property included in the proposed preliminary municipality area, showing that the owners consent to including the real property in the proposed preliminary municipality area;
     (5)(b) the name, address, and phone number of each owner signing the feasibility request;
     (5)(c) a designation of one individual who signs the feasibility request as the primary sponsor contact for the feasibility request;
     (5)(d) a description of the proposed preliminary municipality area;
     (5)(e) an accurate map or plat, prepared by a licensed surveyor, showing:

          (5)(e)(i) a legal description of the boundaries of the proposed preliminary municipality area and each phase of the proposed preliminary municipality area;
          (5)(e)(ii) all development planned for the proposed preliminary municipality area; and
          (5)(e)(iii) that the first phase of the proposed preliminary municipality area is projected to have at least 100 residents when completed; and
     (5)(f) a request that the lieutenant governor commission a study to determine the feasibility of incorporating the area as a preliminary municipality.
(6)

     (6)(a) The provisions of this part, providing for the incorporation of a preliminary municipality, is a pilot project that ends on January 1, 2031.
     (6)(b) Except as provided in Subsection (7), a person may not file a feasibility request under this part in a calendar year during which two or more requests have already been filed in the state.
(7) A feasibility request does not count towards the limit described in Subsection (6)(b) if:

     (7)(a) the sponsors who file the request withdraw the request;
     (7)(b) the lieutenant governor rejects the feasibility request under Subsection 10-2a-503(4) or (5)(b), and the sponsors:

          (7)(b)(i) do not timely amend the feasibility request under Subsection 10-2a-503(7)(b); or
          (7)(b)(ii) are prohibited from amending the feasibility request under Subsection 10-2a-503(7)(c); or
     (7)(c) the process to incorporate is prohibited from proceeding under Subsection 10-2a-504(5)(a) and the sponsors:

          (7)(c)(i) do not timely file a modified feasibility request under Subsection 10-2a-505(1)(b)(i); or
          (7)(c)(ii) are prohibited from filing a modified feasibility request under Subsection 10-2a-505(3).
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