ST. GEORGE — A petition to annex more than 1,400 acres east of the St. George replacement airport site into Washington City is illegal, Washington County Administrator John Willie said Friday.

"As far as we're concerned, this annexation creates a county island and that's illegal," said Willie. A letter outlining the county's decision was sent to the property owners, Washington City, the county commission and St. George, which had filed a formal protest of the annexation.

According to Utah Municipal Code 10-2-402, which addresses annexation limitations, unincorporated county property cannot be annexed into a municipality if it would create an island of unincorporated county property.

That's exactly what would happen if the annexation petition were allowed to proceed, he said.

"I looked at the petition and had it plotted on a map using the legal descriptions provided, and the current property lines would have created a county island or peninsula," said Willie. "You can't do that."

Annexation of the property has created division and tension between Washington City and St. George. Officials for the two cities each say they could best provide services to the property in dispute, while the property owners are divided when it comes to which city they prefer.

Scott Peterson, a Las Vegas developer who owns or represents owners of about 500 acres in the affected area, did not respond to messages left on his cell phone Friday. It is his petition to annex land into Washington City that was thrown out by the county.

Washington City Manager Roger Carter said he received a copy of the county's letter Friday afternoon and would have to discuss the decision with the property owners next week.

If another petition to annex all 1,436 acres is filed, the petition could fall under a new law that would give St. George the right to refuse the request to annex into Washington City. HB362 gives a city with a commercial airport the right to approve or disapprove annexation petitions on land within a two-mile radius of the airport.

Washington City Mayor Terril Clove and Carter, who charged that St. George officials pushed the legislation in a move to grab land around the airport site, said they would challenge the new law.

St. George Mayor Dan McArthur argued that the city must control the land around the airport so the city can recover some of the expected $60 million it will cost to build the regional airport.

St. George City Attorney Shawn Guzman said Friday he hasn't been able to review the county's letter, although he is aware of the statutory reasons cited by the county in its dismissal of the annexation petition.

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