Willard council tables boundary-line adjustment with Perry City after residents raise drainage, lot-size and compensation concerns

Willard, UT — The Willard City Council voted to table an ordinance that would adjust the municipal boundary with neighboring Perry City after several residents and council members raised concerns about drainage, lot-size changes and whether affected landowners would receive compensation.

At a public hearing opened Monday evening, the council read a written statement from Fred Barker of Barker Fruit and Dairy opposing inclusion of his property in the boundary change. Barker warned that recent Perry-installed storm drainage "directing more water and contaminants my way" could harm his land. S7 read Barker’s letter into the record as written public comment.

Several residents spoke in opposition. Rue Wiley (S10) told the council she objected to "giving the land away," arguing the transfer looked like changing rules to benefit developers without compensation. Janine Jensen (S14) urged the council to preserve larger lot minimums to retain a rural character rather than allowing dense subdivisions immediately. James Suttlemeyer (S13) said he supported the change for his property, noting Willard’s rules on accessory dwelling units would be more favorable than Perry’s for his plans. Chad Brager (S12), a landowner, described infrastructure investments he had made on the parcel and warned that sewer-lift-station models and future maintenance costs could burden a few homes if not planned carefully.

Mayor (S1) framed the ordinance as a boundary-line adjustment under Utah Code 10-2-419 and told council members he wanted to address concerns about whether the inland port, Union Pacific rail line and the proposed UTA corridor would remain in Willard. Council members (S7, S11) and staff discussed whether to remove Barker’s property from the proposed adjustment, whether the flood-control special service district boundaries would be affected, and whether the map exhibit needs a broader GIS overlay showing adjacent railroad and Perry boundaries for context. Engineers and staff were asked to prepare a clearer exhibit and to review drainage and flood-control ramifications.

After extended discussion, Councilor S7 moved to table the ordinance until the next meeting so staff could provide a redlined map, clarify how the inland-port and railroad corridors are shown, and examine flood-control impacts; the motion passed by voice vote.

What’s next: Council directed staff to prepare a larger-context map exhibit and to revisit options for excluding Baker’s parcel or otherwise addressing his concerns ahead of a future hearing. The item will return on a subsequent council agenda for further action.

Attribution: Quotes and specific statements above come from the public hearing and council discussion as recorded in the meeting transcript; public commenters are named where they self-identified during the hearing.