The city bought the land from the previous owner for $40 million after purporting that the land was eligible for condemnation. According to the lawsuit, only a small portion of the land was condemnable for the widening of 11400 South to accommodate Daybreak and The District, a nearby Boyer commercial development.

After the city condemned the land, the South Jordan City Council signed off on a transfer agreement with Boyer, selling the land and allowing an average housing density of 14 units per acre — "several times more than the average density the city granted to Daybreak," according to the suit.

It is this density that Kennecott worries will hurt the viability of Daybreak, often advertised as an oasis of open space with a community feel.

In addition to accusing South Jordan of breaching its agreement with Kennecott Land, the lawsuit decries the process that led to the land deal as illegal. Varela said it was done with a "lack of transparency."

"The manner it's been handled by the city is not transparent and not consistent with what the citizens of South Jordan should expect in terms of being involved in public discussion of what's going on in their city," Varela said. "It's a real violation of public trust."

She said Kennecott Land had to file a Government Records Access and Management Act request to learn the details.

"We started asking questions at the end of August. We couldn't get answers to our questions, so we had to go through a GRAMA process to understand the transactions that have been agreed upon. We have a strong belief in the importance of transparency," she said, pointing to Kennecott Land's recent west-bench planning process, which has involved city and county officials, community representatives and others.

Varela said Kennecott Land has attempted to work with city staff, including Mayor Kent Money, to resolve the dispute, through "dozens" of conversations over the past few months but to no avail." However, she said the company hopes that once the details of how the deal was made are revealed, the City Council will change its mind and the lawsuit can be dropped.

"We're optimistic that now that the City Council understands the problems, they will rescind this illegal condemnation," she said. "It's a solvable problem."

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E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com