The Salt Lake County Council declared its intention Tuesday to leave 80 acres of pristine foothill land as open space, in case North Salt Lake wins a court battle.

The move came just weeks after Salt Lake County voters overwhelmingly approved an initiative to raise their property taxes to fund a $48 million open-space bond.

"When they voluntarily agreed to tax themselves, the voters of Salt Lake County said they cherish open space," Ashton said. "I think it is the will of our constituents that we maintain and not erode the open-space opportunities that are left."

A battle has been brewing for more than four years between North Salt Lake and Salt Lake City leaders. North Salt Lake owns 80 acres of land within Salt Lake City's borders. North Salt Lake wants to develop portions of the land, while the capital city wants to keep the foothills free from development.

North Salt Lake will go to trial in February to ask the court to disconnect the 80 acres from Salt Lake City. That would clear the way to possibly annex the land into North Salt Lake.

The county's decision Tuesday could thwart North Salt Lake's intention, however. The non-binding resolution says that if North Salt Lake wins in court and the land ends up in unincorporated Salt Lake County, the council would block any efforts by North Salt Lake to annex the land, and the council would keep the land zoned as open space.

The resolution will have no bearing on the upcoming trial, said Karl Hendrickson, the county council's attorney.

Ashton said North Salt Lake condemned the land approximately 50 years ago in an effort to protect its watershed.

But North Salt Lake Mayor Shanna Schaefermeyer said no matter what Salt Lake County residents think about open space, the council is violating the county's private-property rights.

"County residents said they like open space — they didn't say they liked that open space," Schaefermeyer said of the disputed 80 acres.

Other North Salt Lake leaders were upset because they believed the County Council didn't give them a fair shake in the process. City Manager Collin Wood said the city had no discussions with the council about the issue.

Representatives from the city, however, did speak to the full council at a public meeting in September.

Wood said the city is working with several developers on plans for the property. When pressed, he said the city has not yet made a decision on how much land would actually be covered with homes. But plans by a Bountiful developer obtained by the Deseret Morning News in April 2005 showed the city planned on including 25 acres of homes, and another 22 for a cemetery, with some left over as natural open space.