Marriott wants to form township ? Residents say this would give them more control over their community's future By GREG KRATZ and BRYON SAXTON Standard-Examiner staff Bill Marriott Morris shares his middle name with his hometown. The bond between the man and the town - a small area sandwiched between Ogden and Interstate 15 near 12th Street - is strong. That is why Morris and more than 100 other Marriott residents want to become part of a township. "I've grown up in Marriott all my life," Morris said Monday before turning in a township petition at the Weber County Clerk/Auditor's Office. "The community has really done a lot for me, and I wanted to do something in return to preserve it." Marriott has fewer than 400 residents, but Morris said those people want to control their community's future. Six more areas in Weber County may soon follow their example, and some Davis County residents are already taking steps to form a township there Morris said a law passed by the 1996 state Legislature lets such unincorporated areas vote to form townships. Approved townships keep their boundaries and county services, but they get their own, seven-member planning and zoning boards. And that makes it easier to avoid annexation. Marriott resident Randy Phipps was also at the county clerk's office Monday. He said he supports the township proposal because he does not want his home annexed into Ogden. Marriott annexation worries heated up in 1993. As new businesses like the Pilot Travel Center opened, several residents started a move for incorporation. They said they did not want Ogden City to annex Marriott's commercial property. But the area was not incorporated, and the Ogden City Council voted in January 1994 to keep a "hands-off policy in dealing with Marriott. "This new law is wonderful," Phipps said. "It gives us the power to avoid any annexations. ... It's being able to control your own destiny." Attorney Duncan Murray helped Marriott residents take their first steps toward gaining that control. He got involved in the petition drive because he also wants his home area of Warren to form a June 18, 1996 July 2, 1996 The long road to a township Marriott is one of many Weber County areas seeking township status, but it has only taken its first step, said Weber County Clerk/Auditor Linda Lunceford. The complete process to form a township is more complex. Residents must file a township petition with signatures equal to 25 percent of all votes cast from the area in the previous congressional election. The county clerk and attorney check the petition. The petition goes before the county commissioners, who set a date for a township election. State law says township status will be granted if a majority of all of the registered voters in the area approve it, as opposed to a majority of people who actually cast votes. But the sponsor of the township bill, Rep. Sue Lockman, R-Kearns, said that language is the result of a drafting error. According to an informal opinion from the attorney general's office and from the Salt Lake County attorney, a township will be formed if a simple majority of people who cast a ballot say they want it, she said. Lunceford said the process in Weber County could be a little different if commissioners approve a proposed township ordinance. It would: Set up a 90-day waiting period from the time the application went to the commissioners until they could set an election date. Further delay a vote until the next state-approved election date after another 90-day waiting period. If the ordinance passes, Lunceford said, the earliest a township election could take place is February 1997. However, she said, any move to annex an area will be stopped once a township petition is filed. - Greg Kratz WEBER COUNTY: Slaterville files for township status SLATERVILLE - Residents of the Slaterville area have joined the growing number of people seeking township status for their hometowns. More than 220 of Slaterville's approximately 400 registered voters signed a township petition that was filed with the Weber County clerk Monday. Marriott residents filed a similar petition two weeks ago A law passed by the 1996 Legislature allows areas to form townships, which keep county services but can avoid annexation and make their own planning and zoning decisions. Local attorney Duncan Murray, who is helping several communities with township petitions, said not a single person who was asked to sign the petition refused in Slaterville, a community of about 900 people located just south of Farr West and west of Interstate 15. "That, to me, is incredible, because on any petition drive you're going to have some opposition," he said, adding that the residents' main concern is to keep a "solid community identity." The petition drive was led by H. Orvil Holley, Keith Butler and Kim Slater. Weber County commissioners may put the Marriott and Slaterville township proposals on the November general election ballots in those areas. Murray said other areas, including Warren, West Weber, Taylor and Hooper, may also file township petitions. 52