Towns' border goofy — but here to stay

It's erratic and arbitrary, and Cedar Hills says its border with Pleasant Grove is downright goofy.

But for now it looks like the maze-like boundary between these north Utah County cities will stay the same.

Both cities recently attempted to correct the meandering boundary that joins Pleasant Grove and Cedar Hills, but an ensuing stalemate has prompted Cedar Hills to send an official proclamation to residents of about 60 homes to try to make progress toward a solution.

"Desiring peace, harmony and good will in our communities, despite the goofy and illogical political boundary that exists between (Pleasant Grove and Cedar Hills), we do hereby officially proclaim to our Pleasant Grove and Cedar Hills neighbors ... that it is the policy of the city of Cedar Hills to provide municipal services to all residents who reside within the legal boundaries of the lawfully incorporated city of Cedar Hills," the proclamation says.

The statement may seem like a proclamation of the obvious, but to the 60 homes that sit in islands and peninsulas in Pleasant Grove and Cedar Hills, the issue of municipal services is exactly what has left the boundary as is for the past 20 years.

Some residents of the affected "Manila" area of Pleasant Grove are forced to use septic tanks because the city does not have sewer lines that run to their neighborhood. Cedar Hills can provide that service, but some residents refuse to join the city.

Other residents have managed to connect to Cedar Hills' sewer line without joining the city, but that has caused some problems for the small town. Some residents regularly neglect paying their fees for the connection, but Cedar Hills has no recourse to force the residents to pay their sewage bills.

"Since (the Pleasant Grove residents) get their water through Pleasant Grove, we are unable to shut off their water, like we would with a Cedar Hills resident who won't pay their bill," Cedar Hills City Councilman Jim Perry said. "Our options are significantly more limited than with Cedar Hills residents. We're going to have to develop a special policy for this handful of residents."

Pleasant Grove and Cedar Hills had meetings in April to talk to residents about changing the border, but the talks didn't get very far. State law says residents can prevent a boundary change if an appropriate number of people oppose the annexation shift.

It was clear to Pleasant Grove Mayor Mike Daniels at the spring meetings that the cities would not be successful in convincing residents of the area that a change should be made.

"There was no way it would even make sense to proceed forward as cities and try to create a boundary line adjustment," Daniels said. "It would have been defeated by the volume of people objecting to the adjustment."