EDEN — A contingent of Ogden Valley residents is looking into the idea of incorporating the vast area on the east side of Weber County, or at least part of it.

It’s been talked about for maybe a year among some in response to increased development in the area and complaints by some locals that they don’t have enough say in managing the area’s growth and deciding the big issues.

“I think the point of having a city is you have local control by citizens who are elected and reside in the city,” said Nick Dahlkamp, who lives in the Ogden Valley and is helping. A handful of meetings have already been held to discuss the issue, where he’s sensed “very good support.”

If the area or a part of it is incorporated, a governing structure — perhaps a city council and mayor — would be created to oversee and manage the zone, with the leaders elected by local residents. Huntsville is already a town and would not be included in any new city.

It’s too early to say where exactly the effort will go, though Dahlkamp foresees a pathway to incorporation by 2025 if the support is sufficient. For now, the focus is on gathering signatures on petitions asking the state of Utah to carry out a study to determine if incorporation would be financially feasible, if the area’s tax base would support such change. That’s the first step in the process as set out in state law.

Dahlkamp and others have approached Weber County officials for their feedback. The three Weber County commissioners are the elected officials who now govern the area, aided on zoning and development matters by the Ogden Valley Planning Commission, an advisory body appointed by county commissioners.

“From the commissioners’ standpoint, we’re strictly taking no position,” said County Commissioner Gage Froerer. “It’s strictly up to the people to get the feedback, look at the numbers and make their decision.”

Ogden Valley residents carried out a similar effort in the early 2000s, but it never led to incorporation. “This is not a new issue,” Froerer said.

Similarly, a contingent in western Weber County pursued incorporation in 2020 in the unincorporated West Weber and Taylor areas, north, roughly, of West Haven and west of Marriott-Slaterville and Plain City. The incorporation proposal ultimately went to a vote of the public that year — as required in state law — and was shot down by a 56%-44% margin.

As in the Ogden Valley, some in western Weber County voiced concern that they didn’t have enough say in growth and development. Weber County commissioners, advised on development issues by the Western Weber Planning Commission, also govern unincorporated western Weber County.

Dahlkamp said the sort of support the initial petition effort yields would help map the area to be potentially incorporated in the Ogden Valley. Organizers have reached out to the owners of the three ski resorts in the area, Nordic Valley, Snowbasin and Powder Mountain, to gauge their interest.

Growth is a big issue in the Ogden Valley and the incorporation talk stems from a sense that locals don’t have ample say in the many development issues emerging in the increasingly popular area, home to Pineview Reservoir, the three local ski resorts and more. Operators of Nordic Valley and Snowbasin are mulling expansion around those operations, including new housing. Likewise, the operator of Wolf Creek Resorts, an Ogden Valley housing development, is hoping to build new homes.

A county development plan is in place to guide development, crafted by county officials with input from local residents. But Dahlkamp said some complain that provisions meant to assure “sustainable growth” aren’t followed and many regularly speak out on development issues to county commissioners and planning commissioners.

“I think the general consensus of the valley here — that agreed-to plan is not being followed,” he said. He is not opposed to growth “but it needs to be done sensibly,” following the general plan for the area.

If enough signatures are gathered in the initial petition drive — Dahlkamp hopes to complete that process by next January — the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office would carry out a study looking into the financial feasibility of incorporating. A key consideration would be the tax base and the ability of the area to generate the tax revenue needed to cover the cost of managing the area.

Among the services a new city would have to provide are road maintenance, planning, engineering and more.

If that study deems incorporation is feasible, a second petition drive would be required to put the question of turning the area into a city on the ballot. Then voters in the area would make the final decision.

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