Willowcreek: Another area tries to escape Salt Lake County

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS (Deseret News) — 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.

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