North Salt Lake rebuffs bid to dismiss suit

In the latest volleys in the lawsuit between neighboring cities, Salt Lake City filed a motion this week to dismiss the pending litigation over the 80 acres of foothill property.

North Salt Lake filed back a firm "no," saying that its neighboring city's motion has no grounds.

"Certainly they would love to have it dismissed, but I think they've forced us into this thing so we have to follow through with it," North Salt Lake Mayor Kay Briggs said.

For the past year, Salt Lake City has denied North Salt Lake's repeated petitions for control of the property, which is owned by North Salt Lake but sits inside Salt Lake City's borders. North Salt Lake hopes to put housing on 20 of the acres, use 10 for a cemetery and build groomed trails on the rest. Salt Lake City wants the land, located in the foothills, to be preserved as open space.

In May, the Salt Lake City Council denied a request to disconnect the property from Salt Lake boundaries, an action that would have allowed it to be annexed into North Salt Lake. The council also directed staff to create a new zoning classification that would forbid any development.

Those actions were compounded by a lively rally in June when Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson announced he would petition for a condemnation order on about 13 of the 80 acres.