Document Page 1 of 2 Tribune Archive 1997 TOWNSHIPS REVIVED WITH NEW LIM... 07/17/97 Salt Lake Tribune Types: Utah Published: 07/17/97 Page: B1 Keywords: UT Legislature, Communities, Laws-Regulations Townships Revived With New Limits; Townships Revived by Legislature Byline: BY LINDA FANTIN THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Utah's townships are back in business, albeit without the power that made them attractive to residents in the first place. House Bill 2001, passed during Wednesday's special legislative session, restored 14 of the 15 townships created by voters last year and subsequently dissolved by the Legislature months later. Lawmakers excluded the North Shore Township in Utah County because it was not contiguous when created. The new bill, however, does not restore the ability of those communities to protect their borders from nearby cities trying to expand. HB2001 does: -- Give township residents more say on development issues through the creation of planning and zoning boards. -- Retain the residents elected to those boards in 1996. -- Require that cities planning to annex land within a township notify the affected township planning board, which then can make written recommendations about the annexation to the county commission. -- Make it easier to create new cities by reducing from one-half to one-third the number of landowners who must sign incorporation petitions. -- Force feasibility studies on incorporation proposals to consider the full cost of providing municipal services to a new city, including overhead. "There is no such thing as a perfect piece of legislation dealing with annexations and incorporations," said House Speaker Mel Brown, sponsor of the bill. "But I hope this gives some comfort to those people who worked hard to create townships." It was quite a departure from the 1997 general session, when the Union-area Republican muscled through HB363, nullifying township elections. Brown argued that giving parochial planning boards final authority on development decisions -- including the power to freeze community borders -- would encroach on the rights of landowners to develop their property. He also was sympathetic to county commissioners who accused township activists of trying to form "nations" and control everything from speed limits to water rights within township jurisdictions. Emigration Township resident Karen Crompton said the latest bill is a compromise that "puts to rest once and for all the misconceptions about what townships are all about." Townships were, and still are, just a tool to help residents have more input on planning and zoning issues, she said. "Although we did not get everything we wanted, we were involved in process, and consulted about any changes," Crompton said. 89