A land tale of 2 cities

AMERICAN FORK — Two cities are fighting over Lorraine Sager's 30-acre parcel of land.

Sager, a 75-year-old American Fork resident, sold her property, which is in unincorporated Utah County, to Trophy Homes for development.

Developers of that project, which will include the Liahona Academy, a private, LDS-themed school, want to annex the land into Pleasant Grove.

American Fork officials, however, also want the land, creating a tug of war between the cities.

"We were not happy about this property going to Pleasant Grove," American Fork planning commissioner Karen Schaack said at a meeting Tuesday.

Schaack said American Fork's planning commission had "already approved a developer" for the land and felt "committed" to that developer — even though, on its face, the city has no legal claim to the area, and the owners of the land in question have voiced a preference to annex to Pleasant Grove.

A week ago, American Fork's planning commission voted unanimously to deny a proposed development agreement with Pleasant Grove and Trophy Homes that would allow the project to continue in Pleasant Grove.

On Tuesday night, after discussing whether the property could annex to American Fork or Pleasant Grove, American Fork's City Council voted to send the agreement back to the planning commission for more discussion.

The council also voted to host a meeting with both city's councils and planning commissions to discuss the proposed agreement, which Pleasant Grove's council had previously voted to accept.

A date for the meeting has not been set.

"I was a little surprised that three members of the council didn't support (the agreement)," said American Fork Mayor Heber Thompson. "My feeling is that we're really not much in control of this situation."

Although a development agreement with American Fork is not necessary for annexation to Pleasant Grove, the agreement, which was originally proposed by American Fork officials, was seen as a good-faith effort by all those involved to be good neighbors.

The agreement would have required Pleasant Grove to make sure adequate park space was provided, among other limitations to the project's density. The agreement also would have required Trophy Homes to complete a portion of road access along 860 East in American Fork.

"Right off the bat, we want (the development) in American Fork," said American Fork City Councilman Rick Storrs. "But our worst nightmare is, if we don't come up with some kind of agreement, Pleasant Grove will annex this, and we won't have a say in what's going to happen."