Wallsburg community members are mobilizing to fight against incoming preliminary municipality development in Wasatch County, some of which is slated to surround the small town.
Located just southeast of the Deer Creek Reservoir, Wallsburg is home to fewer than 300 residents. Community members gathered at the Wallsburg Town Hall on Tuesday to engage in a discussion with the Wallsburg Town Council, Wasatch County Council representatives and state Sen. Keven Stratton, a Republican who represents Utah and Wasatch counties.
The Town Hall meeting centered around Senate Bill 258, which was introduced during the Utah Legislature’s 2024 general session. Now a law, it amended state code to provide a pilot program for the incorporation of a preliminary municipality — and eventually, a new town.
Wasatch County officials have expressed their own concerns about the bill, explaining that appealing or amending S.B. 258 may be in everyone’s best interest. Wasatch County Manager Dustin Grabau previously spoke about how the law allows preliminary municipalities to bypass approval from government entities such as Wasatch County.
County Councilor Colleen Bonner represented the council at the Wallsburg Town Hall discussion. She said proposed preliminary municipalities in Wasatch County present challenges with essential infrastructure, including roads, water and sewer.
“The hard thing for me is that they can create their own standards because they become their own city,” Bonner said. “And if they fail, they fall back on the community.”
Bonner referenced challenges presented with two preliminary municipality proposals the Lieutenant Governor’s Office allowed to move forward earlier this year.
That includes Wasatch Highlands, a 2,700-acre parcel east of Heber City and adjacent to the Red Ledges neighborhood. The proposed town of Bear Canyon filed a revised application in June and would be on nearly 2,232 acres near the southwestern corner of the Deer Creek Reservoir.
Wallsburg Town Councilor Pete Nielsen said it’s a third preliminary municipality, Smooth Hollow, that would present the greatest challenge for the small town. That proposal did not make it through the Lt. Governor’s Office, which only allows two applications to move forward each year.
But landowners will have a second chance to apply in 2027.
Nielsen said his greatest concern lies with the feasibility study conducted for preliminary municipalities after the Lt. Governor’s Office deems one qualifies. He believes that process is not stringent enough.
“They don’t go out and see if there’s any kind of water, if there’s any kind of sewer facilities, if there’s any kind of existing roads,” Nielsen said.
The Town Council member said he is in support of individual property rights to an extent.
“But when it starts impacting everybody else in the community, that’s when it becomes a problem,” Nielsen said.
Wallsburg resident Shauna Raby said that it’s the developers who have “all of the power” thanks to S.B. 258.
“What we’re working with here is a law that’s passed. It’s a done deal,” Raby said.
Like Nielsen, Raby said the feasibility study does not do enough to ensure a new town will be able to support itself and keep up with proper infrastructure. She encouraged the Wallsburg community to speak up against S.B. 258 and future development.
Stratton, providing insight into the state Legislature, said it’s important to strike a balance between development and protecting rural communities.
“There are lots of impacts: water, transportation, all of the infrastructure that goes along with that,” Stratton said. “The concerns you’re having are heard. They’re very valid. They need to be addressed, and we’re here to work to do that.”
The challenge, he said, is that there was little opposition to the bill when it was introduced. He said it was presented as a “test drive” that has since become a “train wreck.”
“We’ve got to fix it,” Stratton said.
The senator urged community members to speak up and share their point of view, especially at the Capitol itself.
“We have a good argument now to do some serious course correction,” Stratton said.
After the discussion at large, community members gathered to sign up for committees that would test the waters and see what kind of support they could garner from different entities throughout the state. Raby said the goal is to either eliminate loopholes in the bill or do away with S.B. 258 altogether.
“We need your support as a community,” Raby said.