Timeline: Sandy's gravel pit site

• 1988 — A ski-connect road is built near 1000 East and 9400 South. The Sandy City Council creates a zoning category specifically for a gravel pit on the site. The special zoning permits nine uses and prohibits 26 — one of which is a "hardware/building/home improvement store or a combined drug/variety/garden center."

• Jan. 22, 2004 — Wal-Mart officials ask the Sandy City Planning Commission to remove from an agenda the application for a store at 2000 East and 9400 South, saying that the company would "continue to work on the development so that we have a better project."

• April 2004 — The Boyer Co. requests a zoning change to allow a large commercial development to include a Wal-Mart, Lowe's Home Improvement store and other retail.

• May 20, 2004 — The Sandy Planning Commission delays a decision on the zoning change after roughly 500 people show up to a public hearing to complain about the project.

• Oct. 7, 2004 — The planning commission officially recommends the retail zoning change for the 107-acre gravel pit lot after considering a study that said Wal-Mart would bring $10 million to city coffers over 15 years.

• Nov. 9, 2004 — Residents fill a council meeting, protesting the zoning change and proposed project. The council delays a decision on the project.

• Nov. 23, 2004 — The Sandy City Council approves the zoning change with a 5-2 vote, clearing the way for the development.

• Jan. 7, 2005 — Save Our Communities, a residents' advocacy group, turns in a petition to the Sandy City recorder with more than 8,000 signatures of people who support a referendum on the zoning change.

• Jan. 14, 2005 — Save Our Communities files a lawsuit in Third District Court to stop the development.

• Jan. 25, 2005 — Sandy announces that Save Our Communities collected only 6,425 verified signatures for its referendum petition. The city maintains that the group needed at least 7,940 signatures for the petition to be valid.

• Feb. 4, 2005 — Save Our Communities requests a decision from the Utah Supreme Court about the signature dispute, among other legal issues.

• July 1, 2005 — The Utah Supreme Court rules that Sandy must accept the petition signatures and hold a voter referendum on the zoning change. The future of the Boyer Co.'s project is unclear.