Independence, Utah

Independence
Town
Location in Wasatch County and the state of Utah
Coordinates: 40°23′37″N 111°17′32″W / 40.39361°N 111.29222°WCoordinates: 40°23′37″N 111°17′32″W / 40.39361°N 111.29222°W
Country	United States
State	Utah
County	Wasatch
Incorporated	June 5, 2008
Founded by	Melvin McQuarrie
Area[1]
• Total	30.6 sq mi (79 km^2)
• Land	30.6 sq mi (79 km^2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km^2)
Elevation[2]	7,073 ft (2,156 m)
Population (2012)[3]
• Total	169
• Density	5.5/sq mi (2.1/km^2)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	84032
Area code(s)	435
GNIS feature ID	2547778[2]

Independence is a town in Wasatch County, Utah, United States. Lying just east of U.S. Route 40 southeast of Heber City, Independence was incorporated in 2008 under a controversial, short-lived state law. The population was 164 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Independence is a sparsely populated rural community in Daniel's Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains. It consists of farmland^[4] and wooded mountain slopes. Just to the southeast of the young town of Daniel, Independence lies on a popular recreational corridor between Heber City and Strawberry Reservoir.

History

In 2007, the Utah State Legislature unanimously passed H.B. 466, a bill that amended the state law on petitions to incorporate a town. The new provisions allowed a petition for a new town with 100–999 residents to be filed with just the signatures of the owners of a majority of the land area,^[5] even a single majority landowner.^[6] If the petition met the conditions of state law and its signers owned the majority of the land by value, the new law required the county government to grant the petition and appoint a mayor and town council from a list of individuals approved by the petitioners.^[5] In July 2007 Ruby's Inn, in Garfield County, became the first to take advantange of the law, incorporating as Bryce Canyon City.^[7]

A group of Wasatch County landowners led by developer Mel McQuarrie filed the first petition to incorporate Independence on October 12, 2007, but county officials denied it for an incomplete land survey. Some residents who would have been included in the original boundaries of the proposed town petitioned to be annexed into nearby Daniel, rather than be included in Independence. The incorporation petitioners re-filed on December 17, 2007.^[6]

In its review of the second petition, the Wasatch County Council allowed some potential Independence residents to opt out of the proposal on February 6, 2008, then denied incorporation again on February 13, 2008, this time for insufficient population.^[8]

By March 2008, the Legislature had amended the law again, unanimously passing H.B. 164, which required a petition for incorporation to have the support of half the residents, and provided for an elected mayor and town council.^[9] There must also be at least five petition sponsors, who were not allowed themselves to own more than 40 percent of the land.^[10] An effort to make the new law retroactive failed, and petitions filed under H.B. 466 went forward.^[9] Among those grandfathered in were the third Independence petition, which had been filed just before the repeal,^[11] as well pending requests for the town of Hideout, also in Wasatch County, and Powder Mountain in Weber County.^[12]

The Wasatch County Council finally granted the petition to incorporate Independence on April 2, 2008.^[4]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
2010	164		—
Est. 2015	169	[13]	3.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]

At Independence's incorporation, the Utah Population Estimates Committee produced an official population estimate of 117.^[15] Many of the residents live on land that has been in their families for generations.^[8]

As of the census^[3] of 2010, there were 164 people residing in the town. There were 66 housing units. The racial makeup of the town was 98.2% White, 0.6% Asian, 0.6% from some other race, and 0.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.8% of the population.

References

1. "2010 Census U.S. Gazetteer File for Places: Utah". Retrieved May 23, 2011.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Independence
3. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
4. Rebecca Palmer (April 9, 2008). "Wasatch County town of Independence to be incorporated". Deseret News. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
5. "H.B. 466—Incorporation of a Town Amendments". Bills and Resolutions. Utah State Legislature. 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
6. Joseph M. Dougherty (December 18, 2007). "Petition filed to create 3rd new city in Wasatch". Deseret News. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
7. Martin Stolz (July 24, 2007). "In Utah, a 'Company Town' Means Just That". The New York Times. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
8. Rebecca Palmer (February 14, 2008). "Wasatch County Council votes against creation of 2 new towns". Deseret News. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
9. Christopher Smart (March 5, 2008). "Senate OKs town-incorporation bill". The Salt Lake Tribune.
10. "H.B. 164—Town Incorporation Process Amendments". Bills and Resolutions. Utah State Legislature. 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
11. "Mayor, town council selection delayed in Wasatch County". Deseret News. May 8, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
12. "Background". Powder Mountain Citizen's Rights Coalition. 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
13. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
14. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
15. "GOPB DEA Sub County Estimates". Governor's Office of Planning and Budget – State of Utah. 2008. Archived from the original on September 1, 2009. Retrieved September 29, 2009.

External links

• Official site (under construction)