Summit County and Morgan County share a new border after the two governments agreed to a boundary adjustment on Tuesday night, shifting the line to prevent parcels from occupying both jurisdictions.
Summit County Recorder/Surveyor Greg Wolbach initiated an audit of properties bordering the Morgan County line last summer when a Pine Meadow Ranch landowner applied for a building permit. County staff discovered the parcel was partly in Morgan County, which meant the government could not legally issue the building permit, and Wolbach ultimately located an additional 22 lots stretched across the two counties.
In total, the boundary adjustment affects 29 Summit County parcels and 15 Morgan County parcels. Morgan County gained 34 acres because of the change, while Summit County lost approximately 9 acres. However, each property will remain in its original county and continue to be taxed in the same jurisdiction.
The border generally follows North Church Road and now runs south instead of north. However, the road itself is not the boundary between the counties. Summit County staff told the Morgan County Commission that the adjustment was designed to follow the northern edge of the parcels in question to ensure they line up with surveyor records.
North Church Road is a private road, and neither county will be responsible for maintenance.
One property will remain in both jurisdictions because the family that owns it plans to use it for estate planning purposes, Wolbach said.
The counties held a joint public hearing on the matter in Morgan County, and residents were mixed on the change. Pine Meadow Ranch homeowners seemed in favor of the idea and thanked the counties for their commitment to finding a solution to their building permit issues.
Meanwhile, one resident of Stagecoach Estates said there is ongoing litigation in the area between property owners. He told the Morgan County Commission and Summit County Council that he thought the boundary adjustment would create litigation risks for the two governments. He also expressed displeasure with the decision to allow only one property to continue straddling the border.
However, legal counsel for the county governments said the litigation is irrelevant to the boundary adjustment because it is a civil lawsuit involving private property owners, not Morgan or Summit counties.
County Council Chair Canice Harte, Vice Chair Roger Armstrong and Tonja Hanson attended the meeting to form a quorum on Summit County’s behalf, meaning the County Council could vote and take an official action on the resolution because a majority of its members were present.
The Morgan County Commission and Summit County councilors unanimously voted to pass the resolution and adjust the boundary.