Foes of a Wal-Mart big-box project on Sandy's gravel pit came up short Tuesday as they tried to take the development to a citywide referendum vote.

Save Our Communities group members opposed to the Boyer project failed to collect the needed 7,940 signatures to put a controversial zone change on the city's next ballot. Sandy city leaders announced Tuesday that petitioners had only 6,425 verified signatures, far fewer than the 9,000 valid names group leaders had estimated.

"I'm just shocked. After all this effort, it's just unbelievable that those signatures weren't valid," resident Gary Forbush said. "It's going to be sad if the voters don't get to have their say."

The Save Our Communities group asked for a recount of the signatures today, as well as a detailed account of how the county came up with the signature standard.

One problem, Forbush said, is that Sandy city has several unincorporated county islands within its boundaries whose residents did not count as valid signers.

"I'm having a hard time believing it. We were careful to ask people if they are Sandy residents and registered voters," he said.

Robert Hughes, Save Our Communities attorney, said the group will consider filing a lawsuit if they find discrepancies in the city's numbers. The opposition group already filed one suit against the city earlier this month asking the court to halt the Boyer project until the referendum was complete.

"Everyone is sort of stunned that it came in so low. That leaves me a little bit perplexed," he said. "If they did it right, then it is over, I think."

Sandy city attorney Walter Miller said the signatures were verified by Salt Lake County clerks and then recounted by the city recorder several times. Although Miller expects a recount demand and possibly litigation from the Save Our Communities group, he said the referendum petition is likely finished.

"We don't anticipate there's an error with these numbers," he said.

The Save Our Communities group has led the attack against the Boyer big-box development since May and initiated the referendum effort after a zoning change by the City Council in November opened the door for the project.

The Boyer plan includes a Wal-Mart, a Lowes and high-density housing on the 107-acre gravel pit at 9400 East and 1300 South.

Throughout that fight, opposition leaders faced criticism from council members that they were simply a "vocal minority" and that the majority of Sandy residents favored the big-box project. Councilman Scott Cowdell also said most residents did not want to spend money on the regional park pushed by Save Our Communities members.

Cowdell said the petition's low signature count is proof that most residents wanted the zone change and embraced the Boyer plan.

"Even though it was a heated, hot issue, it still boils down to where it was a concentrated group of folks," Cowdell said. "The fact is, most people do agree that the economics is important to our city."

Cowdell added, however, that he admired the opposition for going through the referendum process and giving residents a voice.

"These people put forth a good effort and tried hard," he said. "They followed the process, and the city never tried to stop them on any channels. There's still 6,000 people unhappy though."

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