Willard Council tables proposed boundary adjustment with Perry City after residents and council raise drainage and mapping concerns

Willard City Council opened a public hearing Jan. 8 on a proposed municipal boundary-line adjustment with Perry City that would shift several parcels as shown on the draft plat (Exhibit C). Mayor Travis Earl Mote said the city would accept oral comments and read a written statement from a nearby landowner who objected to inclusion of his parcel.

The hearing drew multiple residents and landowners who raised concerns about compensation, lot sizes, and stormwater impacts. Fred Barker of Barker Fruit and Dairy submitted a written comment read into the record stating he “is not in favor of my property being included in this annexation” and that he saw “no benefit to Willard City.” Resident Rue Wiley urged the council to “vote against it,” saying the change felt like “giving the land away.” James Suttlemeyer and Chad Brager, both landowners in the area, described existing utility connections and property investments that informed their views.

Council members and staff clarified that the proposal is a boundary-line adjustment governed by Utah Code 10-2-4-19 (not an annexation) and discussed technical questions about flood-control district boundaries, the railroad and UTA corridor, and how stormwater drainage from new development might affect downstream parcels. Council members asked for clearer, broader maps and a GIS overlay that show the Willard and Perry boundaries, the rail lines, and the inland-port area to provide context beyond the recorded plat.

Several council members, citing repeated objections from Fred Barker and unresolved drainage concerns raised by a county engineer, moved to postpone final action. The council voted to table consideration of Ordinance 26-01 to the next meeting and directed staff to: (1) provide an expanded map overlay showing regional context (railroad, UTA corridor, inland port and flood-control lines); (2) analyze how the adjustment would affect the Box Elder County Willard City Flood Control District; and (3) evaluate removing Barker’s parcel from the proposed change so an affected owner is not included against his will.

The council made the motion to table and carried it by voice vote. The city clerk will place the ordinance back on a future agenda after staff returns with updated maps and drainage analysis.

The public hearing record includes a written comment from Fred Barker opposing inclusion of his property and in-person testimony from multiple landowners. The council did not vote on the boundary change itself and no property transfers will occur until after any subsequent public hearing and final ordinance adoption.

What’s next: staff will produce the requested maps and drainage/flood-control analysis for the council’s review at the next meeting; the ordinance will not advance until the council is satisfied that affected landowners and flood-control ramifications have been addressed.