SB 199 triggered an election whereby the residents of each of the six current unincorporated townships voted to incorporate as either a city or as a new form of municipality – the Metro Township. To shore up the unprotected community boundaries and tax base, and to eliminate the policy of piecemeal annexations, the legislature passed Senate Bill 199 – the Community Preservation Act, in 2015. In summary, the status quo was an unsustainable model for the remaining unincorporated areas. In the end, this increased the burden on township residents, who were left footing the bill for municipal services without the help of sales and other tax streams. As such, they were targets of piecemeal annexations that stripped away much of the most economically valuable commercial retail properties, sometimes while it was being developed, and left behind the housing, which only generates minimal revenue.

Historically, what were the unincorporated townships of Salt Lake County had very limited boundary protections.

What is township