Ogden Valley, Spring Lake incorporation proposals go to voters in November

Utah could be getting two new cities.

The proposal to incorporate the Ogden Valley in Weber County, a focus of debate since 2022, will be put to voters in a referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot, when the simmering issue could be decided once and for all.

"I was not surprised," said Nick Dahlkamp, a leader of the effort, noting the relatively short period it took boosters to collect the required signatures on petitions calling for the ballot question.

At the same time, residents in the small Utah County community of Spring Lake between Payson and Santaquin will also be voting on whether to become a city. As in the Ogden Valley, development pressures, increasing growth and a desire to have more say in how expansion unfolds figured in the push to incorporate. "(We'd) like to have more direct involvement in that process," said Jason Knapp, who's helping lead the Spring Lake effort.

The Ogden Valley incorporation boosters received word earlier this week from the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office, which processes incorporation requests, that they had gathered enough signatures on petitions to get the incorporation question on the ballot. The contingent pursuing incorporation received permission in early June to start the petition process and submitted signatures to the state about a month later, on July 3.

The Ogden Valley is facing growth pressure with more and more development, and incorporation boosters believe becoming a city with a mayor and city council will give locals more direct say in how growth proceeds. As is, the three Weber County commissioners are the elected officials who oversee the zone, along with the rest of the county's unincorporated expanses.

The proposed new Weber County city is focused east of Ogden across the Wasatch Front range in an increasingly growing area where Pineview Reservoir and three ski resorts are located. It encompasses the Eden, Liberty and Wolf Creek areas as well as the main lodge of Nordic Valley ski resort and the area of a proposed Nordic Valley ski village. It's home to an estimated 7,583 residents as of 2023 and extends across 63.3 square miles, which would make it more than two times larger, geographically, than Ogden, which covers 27.5 square miles, according to a report on the incorporation plans contracted by the state.

Powder Mountain and Snowbasin, Weber County's other two ski resorts, don't sit within the proposed city's confines.

A group has emerged in opposition to incorporation, Keep Our Valley Free, but representatives from the group didn't immediately respond to a query seeking comment. Their website , though, delves into some of the issues and concerns of the incorporation skeptics, including taxes.

"For residents concerned about their financial well-being, the decision to stay unincorporated or pursue incorporation is laden with financial considerations. The lower city tax rates in unincorporated areas serve as a financial advantage for citizens," their website reads.

Moreover, as a city, leaders of the locale could face pressure to lure in more businesses to expand the tax base to keep pace with city expenses, the Keep Our Valley Free website warns. "Opting to remain unincorporated frees us from the potential drawbacks of excessive business proliferation," it reads.

The study the state commissioned, standard when incorporation proposals emerge, indicates that the locale, if created, would have a sufficient tax base to cover city expenses. However, a parallel study paid for by Keep Our Valley Free and conducted by the Utah Foundation warned that stagnant or lower-than-expected population growth could be problematic. "Without ongoing growth, this newly incorporated city would be at risk of not meeting its costs and as a result would need to cut back on services, raise taxes or increase fees," it reads.

Dahlkamp foresees pop-up events and additional informational meetings on the proposal heading to Nov. 5 and expressed optimism that incorporation proponents will prevail, notwithstanding the opposition. "I think we're in pretty good shape," he said.

'A lot of support'

Knapp said Spring Lake residents have debated incorporation on and off over the decades, but this November's vote is the first time the issue will be taken up at the ballot box. Incorporation boosters' goal, he said, is to maintain local control as growth creeps further south in Utah County.

"I think there's a lot of support for the incorporation of Spring Lake," he said. The community, characterized by homes and farmland, covers only about 2 square miles and is home to around 600 people.

The study commissioned by the state for the Spring Lake proposal also finds the locale would have the required annual budget surplus if it became a city. Boosters submitted signed petitions last May to get the incorporation question on the ballot and the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office on July 15 determined they had met the requirements.