Draper city and a group of residents took their battle over a voter referendum on a Draper light-rail TRAX line to 3rd District Court on Wednesday, where they made arguments over the number of petition signatures.

If the court determines the number of signatures is valid, Draper residents could vote on the location of a new TRAX line.

Judge Leon Dever said he would submit his decision on the case in writing.

Justin Heideman, attorney for Citizens for Responsible Transportation, which organized the petition drive, said the number of valid signatures was sufficient.

"It would be inappropriate to not let that referendum be voted by the public," he said.

The activist group formed late last year in opposition to a proposed light-rail line that cuts through low-density neighborhoods. The TRAX line would run on former Union Pacific Railroad tracks, which were purchased as a right-of-way by the Utah Transit Authority in 1993.

After a year of studies, the Draper City Council voted unanimously in November 2006 for the route. But opponents, many of whom live along the rail corridor, have pushed for an alternate alignment on State Street, along Interstate 15.

CRT filed for a referendum to take the issue to a citywide election. After 122 signatures were marked as insufficient, CRT appealed and eventually took the issue to court, accusing the city of wrongfully dismissing signatures.

At Wednesday's hearing, CRT asked that Draper stop all negotiations on the TRAX line until Dever makes his ruling.

"Do we want to have a chilling effect on those trying to exercise their referendum rights?" Heideman asked. "It has an obvious taint."

However, Doug Ahlstrom, Draper city attorney, said the decision on certifying those signatures is not up to the county clerks and the courts.

Since Draper straddles two counties, both Salt Lake and Utah counties checked and certified the petitions and sent them back to Draper Recorder Kathy Montoya.

Ahlstrom argued that the two county clerks and UTA should be named as parties in the lawsuit.

"The first point that I have to make to the court is Draper is not constructing the TRAX line. UTA is. Draper is not expending funds for the project," he said. "Bottom line is, your honor, they were short on the number of signatures that were required."

Ahlstrom also said that CRT is protesting an ordinance Draper passed, not a law. "You have to challenge a law," he said.

UTA, meanwhile, has said the referendum doesn't affect its plans because the dispute is over the city's ordinance.

Construction on the line could begin as early as 2009 and finish by December 2010.

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