Stansbury Park's stalled township drive may not be dead just yet, particularly if newly elected Stansbury Park Service Agency Chairwoman Christy Achziger has her way.
Achziger would like to see her growing community push for township status in order to better control its future growth.
Earlier this year, Stansbury Park began a petition to draw its boundaries and become a town — a task that requires 10 percent of the current population's approval, according to service agency trustee Scott Totman. It's a process that Totman says takes time — time that the Service Agency is hoping to find in 2008. However, the final township title may still be two years down the road due of a series of hearings and meetings that have to take place following a completed petition.
Nearly 10 years ago, Stansbury Park attempted to skip over creating a township and move directly to incorporation, before local leaders decided the community's small tax base at the time couldn't support the estimated $140,000 yearly cost to fund full-time employees and contract out services such as law enforcement and road maintenance, according to Greg Copeland, current Tooele County Republican Party Chairman and vice-president of the Stansbury Park Community Association during that time.
Copeland said lackluster support from residents at the time was probably due to concerns that taxes would be hiked to make up for the cost of incorporation.
Establishing township before incorporation is beneficial because it allows the park to create a proposed development plan.
"Township is the first step in the right direction," Totman said. "We need to learn to walk on our own."
Defining Stansbury Park's boundaries and creating a township wouldn't dissolve any of the current governing boards or districts, Achziger said. Instead it would add a planning commission, giving the park more localized control in planning and development.
"It puts down on paper what we want in the park and gives us a vote on development." Totman said. "If we think a building is really inappropriate we can say so."
Former and current Stansbury officials agree that a township would help create the legwork for the park to eventually incorporate in four to five years, which could cost between $750,000 and $1 million now, estimates Totman.
The community's current form of government can be difficult to understand, even for those who reside there.
The Stansbury Service Agency was established in 1981 by the Tooele County Commission. Originally, two service areas were created — greenbelt and recreation. Then, in August 1992, an interlocal agreement was signed to combine the two areas in order to save on costs. Also in the mix of the park's governing entities are the Stansbury Park Improvement District, Stansbury Park Community Association, Agricultural Control Committee, and the newly created Stansbury Park/Erda Cemetery Board.
The service agency has responsibility for developing and maintaining the clubhouse, swimming pool, greenbelts, parks, Stansbury Lake and the golf course — and only those things. The Stansbury Improvement District handles the approval of new water applications, engineering reports and well/lagoon issues. The Stansbury Park Community Association, in coordination with the Agricultural Control Committee, helps maintain the park-like atmosphere that draws many homebuyers in. And, at a Nov. 6 County Commission meeting, the commission moved to create a new Stansbury Park/Erda Cemetery Board, which will oversee the development and maintenance of a new cemetery located between the two communities.
For a community whose interests weigh heavily toward aesthetically pleasing greenspace/residential areas, an abundance of parks, and golf course and lake management, having special service districts that specialize in these areas is important, said Nicole Cline, Tooele County economic development advisor.
"Stansbury Park is defined by the people within the community," Cline added.
Combining special service districts causes them to become so diluted that they lose their specialization, Cline said.
"Once you've created a special service district, it is very difficult to add functions to it," she said. "It is sometimes easier to create a new district than to overhaul the old district. It's a custom-fit type of thing."
Stansbury officials agree that, while confusing, having many special service districts gives them much-needed localized control.
"It's hard for the county to keep tabs on everything, and having special service districts takes the headache away from them," Achziger said.
While other outlying unincorporated areas in Tooele County have substantially smaller populations — compare Ophir's 10 full-time residents to Stansbury's 8,400 current — many still have chosen to draw their boundaries and organize themselves as a township.
Drawing in the public's support is the first big step for Stansbury Park officials, but should things eventually pan out the way they would like, Stansbury Park should be a full-fledged city with in the next decade, according to local leaders.
Jamie Belnap: jamieb@tooeletranscript.com
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