Salt Lake City and North Salt Lake have reached a compromise on 80 acres of foothill land, after five years of back-and-forth bickering over open space on their border.

The Salt Lake City Council on Thursday and the North Salt Lake City Council on Friday each voted unanimously to approve a settlement that would keep most of the land untouched but would let North Salt Lake develop some of it.

Last year, the two cities sued each other over control of the 80 acres owned by North Salt Lake but lying within Salt Lake City's boundaries. North Salt Lake's lawsuit sought to disconnect the land into the Davis County city and had been scheduled for a hearing next Tuesday. Salt Lake City's lawsuit sought to condemn the land so it could not be developed.

The deal will end the pair of lawsuits.

"It's one of the real important things I've done on the council," said Salt Lake City Councilman Eric Jergensen, whose district includes the disputed land, after the Salt Lake vote.

In 2002, North Salt Lake began seeking to have the land annexed into its borders, but Salt Lake City denied a disconnection attempt in 2004. Salt Lake City wants to preserve the pristine land — remnants of the prehistoric Lake Bonneville shoreline — and North Salt Lake wants to sell some of it for development.

The deal will allow 13 acres to be developed as North Salt Lake wishes. The rest will remain untouched.

The North Salt Lake border will move southward to encompass about 21 acres currently in Salt Lake City. The 13 developable acres and about eight undevelopable acres will become part of North Salt Lake.

That would leave North Salt Lake free to do what it wants, although 6.7 acres of steep slope would be placed under a conservation easement.

North Salt Lake has said in the past it wants to use the land for a cemetery, a park, trails and perhaps some homes. City Manager Collin Wood said Friday that the city doesn't yet know what it will do with the land obtained under the agreement.

Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County will jointly buy the remaining 60 or so acres from North Salt Lake for $3.5 million, with half coming from each entity. The Salt Lake County Council agreed to the deal Tuesday.

"We've reached a good resolution," North Salt Lake Councilwoman Lisa Watts Baskin said. "We are happy to see that the land will remain open space for our residents to enjoy. Salt Lake City and County have spent their money well."

North Salt Lake leaders emphasized that their fight has not been against open space. City attorney Mike Nielsen said that in his three years on the job, the city has bought about 115 acres to be preserved as open space, as well as more than 400 acres west of the planned Legacy Parkway that will be preserved.