OGDEN VALLEY, Utah, Sept. 8, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Lt. Governor’s Office has placed the proposed question of incorporation of Ogden Valley City on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.
If approved by the voters in Ogden Valley, population 7,600, the resulting city, so far simply called Ogden Valley City, would encompass 63.3 square miles, according to a feasibility study commissioned by the Lt. Governor’s Office.
Ogden’s 87,000-plus residents are squeezed, comparatively, into 27.5 square miles.
The incorporation initiative was originally proposed by a group of private citizens living in the unincorporated area known as Ogden Valley, located ten miles up Ogden Canyon straight east of Ogden City. The area currently has only one incorporated city, Huntsville, and is home to three ski resorts and Pineview Reservoir. The Nordic Valley resort is included in the newly proposed city limits, but not Snowbasin or Powder Mountain.
The Lt. Governor’s announcement in late August said the official ballot question would read simply: “Shall the area described as Ogden Valley City be incorporated as Ogden Valley City?”
But the Lt. Governor’s office, in its Aug. 20 proclamation also invited those on both sides of the question to submit pros and cons on the question by Sept. 3 for a voter information pamphlet to be prepared by the Weber County Clerk/Auditor’s Office.
Both sides have organized and created dueling websites after proponents’ petition drive raised the required signatures earlier this year.
Opponents reject the feasibility study’s conclusion that incorporating an Ogden Valley City would not raise the area residents’ taxes.
If incorporated, Ogden Valley City would not be the largest Weber County town in terms of square miles, according to the feasibility study. That distinction belong’s to Hooper, with 88 square miles for its 9,362 residents.
Ogden’s 27.5 square miles is No. 2
Third, is Plain City, with 12.2 square miles for its 8,230 residents.
The county’s second largest city by population is Roy, featuring 39,575 sharing 8.2 square miles, with North Ogden next with 21,490 residents nestled in 7.5 square miles.
A simple majority is required for incorporation to occur, which is defined as “one vote over 50%.”
To learn more about the issues surrounding incorporation check out the links below:
For: https://www.ogdenvalleyinc.org/
Against: keepourvalleyfree.com
