SB 258: Preliminary Municipalities Live

A city with no people

A 2024 Utah law lets up to three owners of land ask the state to make that land a preliminary municipality. It is a new kind of local government, with the zoning power of a city. It can get that power before anyone lives there.

CITY LIMITPRELIMINARY MUNICIPALITYPOP. 0
3owners or fewer can ask for one
0residents needed before it gets zoning power
4 of 5board members named by the owners

Chapter 1

The usual way, and the shortcut

When a developer wants to build far more homes than the county zoning allows, the usual path runs through the county. The county planning commission holds a public hearing, and the elected county council or commission decides. County staff review the roads, sewer, and water, and county inspectors check the work. A preliminary municipality goes around the county. Its own board, on which the owners designate four of five members, takes over these local decisions.

The usual wayCounty voters elect the body that decides.County voterselectElected county council or commissionVotes on each zoning changeA preliminary municipalityIf the petition complies, the state shall incorporate the area.All owners request a studyStudy passes the 5% testPublic comment heard, no votePetition and guarantee filedLieutenant Governor: compliesINCORPORATEDA checklist. Part 5 sets no vote on whetherthis preliminary municipality should exist.The usual wayCounty voters elect the bodythat decides.County voterselectElected county council or commissionVotes on eachzoning changeA preliminary municipalityIf the petition complies, the stateshall incorporate the area.All owners request a studyStudy passes the 5% testPublic comment heard, no votePetition and guarantee filedLieutenant Governor: compliesINCORPORATEDA checklist. Part 5 sets no vote on whetherthis preliminary municipality should exist.

In the usual way, the elected county council or commission votes on each zoning change, and it may say no. Under SB 258, the state creates the preliminary municipality when the petition complies, with no vote. Then its board makes the zoning decisions, and the owners designate four of its five members.

Utah Code 17-79-502(2)(b), 17-79-503(1), 10-2a-502(5), 10-2a-504(5), 10-2a-506, 10-2a-507(1)(f) and (h), 10-2a-508(1), and 10-2a-509(4)(b)(iii)

Five county stops, side by side

A development in the county passes five county stops, from the zoning change to the building permits. With a preliminary municipality, most of these decisions move from the county to the new board. The table shows what happens at each stop, without a preliminary municipality and with one.

Part 5 does not mention state permits, such as for wastewater and drinking water. The board has the same authority as another municipality to make zoning and land-use decisions (Utah Code 10-2a-509(4)(b)(iii)).

StopWithout a preliminary municipalityWith one, under SB 258
Public hearing The county planning commission holds a public hearing on the zoning change and makes a recommendation. Since September 15, 2026, the county council or commission may act without waiting for it in some cases.Utah Code 17-79-502(1) and (2)(c), and 17-79-503(2) The county planning commission does not hear the plan. A preliminary municipality has the powers and duties of a municipality, with some limits, and Title 10 requires each municipality to set up a planning commission. The Echo Canyon board put an ordinance to set one up on its June 12, 2025 agenda. The state holds a public hearing on the feasibility study, and another after each supplemental study, with no vote.Utah Code 10-1-104(5)(c), 10-2a-506, 10-2a-509(4)(a), and 10-20-301. Echo Canyon board agenda, June 12, 2025
Decision The elected county council or commission adopts or rejects the zoning change. Only the legislative body can change a zoning district.Utah Code 17-79-502(2) and 17-79-503(1) The board makes the zoning and land-use decisions. The owners designate four of its five members.Utah Code 10-2a-507(1)(f), 10-2a-508(1)(b)(i), and 10-2a-509
Roads The county may require engineering plans for the roads and other required improvements of each subdivision. It reviews them against its own ordinances.Utah Code 17-79-703(3)(a) and 17-79-706 The preliminary municipality has the same authority as another municipality to make zoning and land-use decisions, and it reviews each plat under its own ordinances. To get county services and utility connections, it must follow the county specifications for local improvements. It must maintain the roads in it, next to it, and within half a mile that connect to it. Part 5 does not ask for a traffic study.Utah Code 10-2a-504(3), 10-2a-509(4)(b)(iii), (5), and (6), and 10-20-803(3)(a)
Sewer and water Before the county approves a plat, the culinary water authority, the sanitary sewer authority, and, where needed, the local health department must approve it.Utah Code 17-79-703(3)(a) Each plat needs the same approvals, under Title 10. The state creates the preliminary municipality, with its zoning power, after a study that asks whether there will be enough water, with no standard for enough. Part 5 does not ask the study whether the wastewater can be treated.Utah Code 10-1-104(5)(c), 10-20-803(3)(a), 10-2a-504(3), and 10-2a-508(1)(b)(i)
Inspections The county issues building permits and inspects the work, under the State Construction Code.Utah Code 15A-1-202(7), 15A-1-204(1)(a), and 15A-1-210(2) Part 5 does not say who issues building permits or inspects the work. Before the preliminary municipality petitions to become a town, it must select an independent third-party engineer to review and approve all building permit applications.Utah Code 10-2a-509(7)

Chapter 2

How a preliminary municipality starts

SB 258 added Part 5 to Utah Code Title 10, Chapter 2a. These are its steps, in order. The section of the law is under each step.

  1. The owners ask the state

    Up to three owners file a feasibility request with the Lieutenant Governor. All the owners must agree. The land must be in one piece and in one county. It must be at least a quarter mile from any city, town, or other municipality. At least half of the land must be undeveloped. The law does not apply in a first-class or second-class county.

    The law allows only two requests each calendar year in the whole state. The first two requests that owners file in a calendar year fill that year's limit. A request does not count against the limit if the owners withdraw it. It also does not count if the state rejects it, or the study stops it, and the owners do not fix it within 90 days. The owners can amend a request once after a rejection, and change its boundary once after the study stops it. If that fix fails in the same way, the request does not count.

    Utah Code 10-2a-502, 10-2a-503(7), 10-2a-504(5), and 10-2a-505(1) and (3)

  2. The state checks the request

    The Lieutenant Governor has 45 days to accept or reject the request. Within 20 days after the state accepts it, the Utah Population Committee checks the map against the population, density, and one-piece rules. If the map fails, the state rejects the request. The state reviews requests in the order that the owners file them.

    Utah Code 10-2a-503

  3. A consultant studies the money and the water

    The state hires a consultant with no tie to the owners or the county. The budget test treats the land as a town of 100 people. It uses the services that the area around it gets today. Revenue must beat costs by more than 5%. If it does not, the process stops, unless a changed boundary passes a second study. The study must also say whether there will be enough water.

    Utah Code 10-2a-504 and 10-2a-505

  4. The public speaks, and no one votes

    The Lieutenant Governor holds a public hearing near the land. People can speak, and they can ask the consultant questions. Part 5 gives neither the public nor the county a vote on whether the preliminary municipality is created.

    Utah Code 10-2a-506 to 10-2a-508

  5. The owners file a petition

    Within one year after the hearings, the owners file a petition. It names the board chair and three of the four other board members. It comes with a bond for the main roads and pipes, which the owners must finish within six years. The owners also pay the costs of the state.

    Utah Code 10-2a-507(1)

  6. The state creates it

    The Lieutenant Governor has 45 days to review the petition. If the petition is complete, the state incorporates the preliminary municipality. It appoints the four board members that the owners named. The county then appoints the fifth member.

    Utah Code 10-2a-508 and 10-2a-509(1)

  7. The board runs it

    The preliminary municipality has the powers and duties of a municipality, with some limits. Its board makes zoning and land-use decisions with the same authority as a city. Board members do not have to live there. If it pays the usual rates and fees, and follows the county rules for building and connecting improvements, the county must, as needed, give it the same services and utility connections as other areas.

    Utah Code 10-2a-509

  8. Voters take over, or it ends

    When more than 99 people live there, a petition goes to the Lieutenant Governor. The county then holds an election for a mayor and council. It uses the next municipal or regular general election that is at least 65 days away. The board serves until the new officers take office. If that does not happen in time, the state dissolves it.

    Utah Code 10-2a-510 and 10-2a-507(3)

Chapter 3

Who sits at the table

The board has five members. Until residents elect a mayor and council, the owners name four of them.

  • Named by the owners
  • Named by the county
  • Elected by residents
  • A house on a chair: a resident whom the owners pick

When it starts, the owners name four members, with the chair. The county names one. No member has to live there.

Who names the board members at each stage
StageNamed by the ownersNamed by the countyMust a member live there?
The state creates it4, with the chair1. If the county does not act within 30 days, the other four pick this member.No
After the first home is finished4. The owners must replace "the board chair or a board member" with a resident whom they pick. The deadline is the next municipal or regular general election that is at least 30 days away.1. The text does not say whether the member that the county named can be the one replaced.One member must
After the first electionNone. Voters who live there elect a mayor and council.Yes, under Utah Code 10-3-301

A home is finished when it gets the first residential certificate of occupancy. The owners' board serves until the elected officers take office. Utah Code 10-2a-507(1)(f), 10-2a-509(1) to (3), 10-2a-510, and 10-3-301

Chapter 4

What the feasibility study covers, and what it does not

The feasibility study is the main test in Part 5. The law lists what the study must cover. A check mark means that the study covers the item. A half circle means that it covers the item with a limit.

In the study

  • Covered: The population and density at full buildout, and of the area around the land
  • Covered with a limit: Five years of costs and revenue, as if the area were a town of 100 people, with inflation and growth. The costs cover public services, such as roads, sewer, water, fire, and police. The level of service is what the area around the land gets today.
  • Covered: Risks, new revenue sources, and the tax burden for each household
  • Covered: The fiscal impact on the county, other municipalities, and special districts
  • Covered with a limit: Whether there will be enough water at full buildout. The law sets no standard for enough.
  • Covered: Talks with each service provider, which can comment on a draft

Utah Code 10-2a-504(2) and (3). Utah Code 10-2a-102 lists the public services.

Not in the study

  • Not covered: A finding that the wastewater can be treated and permitted
  • Not covered: A traffic study of the roads that lead to the land
  • Not covered: A wildfire evacuation plan
  • Not covered: A finding that the project can be built as planned
  • Not covered: A check that the promised affordable homes get built. The owners must only intend that 10% of the housing is affordable.

Utah Code 10-2a-501(1), 10-2a-502(2)(e), and 10-2a-504(3)

The study for an ordinary new city or town has the same limits. The difference is that in an ordinary incorporation, registered voters who live in the area sign the petition and then vote. A preliminary municipality needs neither.

Utah Code 10-2a-205, 10-2a-208, and 10-2a-210

Chapter 5

If residents never take over

If residents have not elected a mayor and council by

4 yearsafter the first home is finished
or
6 yearsafter the owners file the petition to incorporate
  • Roads and other infrastructurego to the county
  • The landgoes back under county rule
  • The ownersare liable to the county for damages that the dissolution causes

The Lieutenant Governor then dissolves the preliminary municipality. Part 5 calls the step that it missed the change to a town. The law does not say which clock controls. The bond for the main roads and pipes is in favor of the preliminary municipality, not the county. If that work is not done in six years, the part of the bond not yet refunded goes to the preliminary municipality. The Wasatch County report raises a concern about owners that are limited liability companies. It says that such a company can dissolve or declare bankruptcy, and leave the county with the costs.

No preliminary municipality has reached either deadline. The state created Echo Canyon, the first one, on June 9, 2025.

Utah Code 10-2a-507(1)(h), 10-2a-507(2), and 10-2a-507(3). Wasatch County report, September 2, 2026

What the law does require

  • The preliminary municipality may not tax, and it gets no sales tax or gas tax.
  • It may not take land by eminent domain.
  • The map must show that the first phase is projected to have at least 100 residents when it is done.
  • The owners post a bond for the main roads and pipes, and pay the costs of the state.
  • The consultant may have no tie to the owners or the county.
  • The law allows only two requests each calendar year in the whole state, with some exceptions.
  • The county appoints one of the five board members.
  • It must maintain the roads in it, and connected roads within half a mile.
  • Before the petition for its first election, the board must select an independent engineer to approve building permits.
  • If the state dissolves it, the owners are liable to the county for damages.
  • Utah Code 63I-1-210 repeals Part 5 on January 1, 2031, unless the Legislature acts first.

Utah Code 10-2a-502(5), (6), and (7), 10-2a-504(2), 10-2a-507, 10-2a-509, and 63I-1-210

What supporters point to

Chapter 6

Where it is happening

Seven requests are on the state list, and news reports describe an eighth. Four of the seven are in Wasatch County or Summit County. One request has become a preliminary municipality. The 5% test stopped one, and the state has rejected requests and petitions that did not meet the rules.

Echo CanyonWillowMorganCity of Nine SpringsSummitPark City TechLost Creek, news report onlyWasatchWasatch HighlandsTown of Bear CanyonSmooth Hollow, news report only
  • Created, 1
  • In process, 4
  • Not processed, 1
  • Ended, 2
  • The law does not apply

The box on the right zooms in on the Wasatch Back. Each dot sits in its county, not at the exact site. A dashed ring marks a request that only news reports describe. Part 5 also does not apply to land in or within a quarter mile of a municipality. County outlines: US Census Bureau.

1Created
4In process
1Not processed
2Ended
Preliminary municipality requests and their status
RequestCountyStatus
Echo CanyonGrandCreated
City of Nine SpringsMorganEnded
WillowKaneIn process
Park City TechSummitIn process
Wasatch HighlandsWasatchIn process
Town of Bear CanyonWasatchEnded
Lost CreekSummitIn process news
Smooth HollowWasatchNot processed news
See Every Request Get the Toolkit

Who has asked for repeal

The law calls itself a pilot. These local governments have voted to ask the Legislature to end it.

The Wasatch County report names five problems with the law. Read the resolution and the report.

Sources