SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court will allow a vote to proceed on whether to incorporate a portion of Summit County into a new town.
In a unanimous ruling issued late Thursday, the state's top court sided with real-estate attorney Derek Anderson, who petitioned to incorporate "West Hills," between Kamas and Hideaway and ordered the issue on the 2026 ballot.
Under Utah law, a series of hearings must be held. During the first one, landowners in the area that would be designated within the municipal boundaries can then opt out. But a group of landowners sued Anderson, arguing that they had been added in after the opt-out period and they wanted out. A lower court judge sided with the landowners and Anderson appealed to the Utah Supreme Court.
But the justices overturned that decision, allowing the incorporation decision to proceed to the voters. They ruled that the Lt. Governor had satisfied the requirements under the law for feasibility studies.
"Any potential for gamesmanship is mitigated by other safeguards—such as feasibility requirements and the incorporation election itself. And while we acknowledge Landowners’ frustration that they will not have the same exclusion rights enjoyed by their neighbors, the legislature had to draw the line somewhere," Justice John Nielsen wrote in the opinion.
Read the Utah Supreme Court opinion here:
