Willowcreek: Another area tries to escape Salt Lake County

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Residents in the ritzy Willowcreek neighborhood are trying to ditch county tax rolls and join up with Cottonwood Heights.

The Willowcreek annexation effort started when Cottonwood Heights incorporated five years ago, according to petitioner Joe Staples. The change left 715 homes and a private country club in Willowcreek stranded between Sandy and Cottonwood Heights.

About a year ago, Staples and his neighbors started looking for an arrangement that made more sense. Their effort to collect signatures from the homeowners in question has recently been bolstered by a proposed county fee for police services.

To annex, owners of half the property's acreage and a third of its assessed value must consent.

The working group of neighbors looked at both Sandy and Cottonwood Heights but chose the latter due to the new city's receptiveness. For either city, bringing on the neighborhood would be revenue-neutral, officials from both cities said.

Residences are usually costly to annex due to a property tax break, but because homes in Willowcreek are worth between $189,900 and $3.2 million, receipts will be higher than average, said Sandy assistant chief administrative officer Korban Lee.

Finances aside, a letter sent by Staples and the working group to their neighbors says Willowcreek would be a "bigger fish" in Cottonwood Heights than in Sandy.

From the Cottonwood Heights perspective, a higher population would boost the bottom line because state tax distributions are based on population.

"We believe that our city kind of wraps around this area," said Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore. "We think there's a good connection there, and frankly, from just a selfish perspective, the golf course brings a lot of open space."

The Willowcreek Country Club is aware of the planned annexation but its board of directors has yet to make a decision on supporting it, said general manager Alex Nicolaidis. The board's ultimate decision is likely to reflect the preferences of club members.

In Sandy, elected officials are slightly miffed that they were not the first choice for the proposed annexation, but the city has made information — and staffers — available to the homeowners looking to ditch the county.

The larger city even posted a property tax calculator on the "What's New" section of its Web site, sandy.utah.gov/whats-new.html, comparing Sandy, Cottonwood Heights and the county. Representatives of each entity has said the figures are correct.

Meanwhile, elected officials are set on encouraging self-determination.

"If residents want to come into Sandy, we are supportive and would welcome them into our community," reads the city Web site.

e-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com