Annexation issue going to trial

The city of North Salt Lake has made an advance in its yearlong battle with Salt Lake City over foothill open space.

The matter will now go to trial, after a judge earlier this month granted North Salt Lake's request for a court to decide whether to disconnect 80 acres of land from the boundaries and jurisdiction of Salt Lake City. The land, located in the foothills, is owned by North Salt Lake but within the borders of Salt Lake City.

North Salt Lake wants to develop a portion of the land, while Salt Lake City wants it to remain open space.

In granting the request for a trial date, 2nd District Judge Darwin Hansen denied a motion by Salt Lake City's attorneys to throw out the case. The trial is set for Feb. 20, and should last a week, said Brent Hatch, the attorney representing North Salt Lake.

During the trial, both cities, in making their arguments on who has right to the land, will also be asked to prove who can best provide services such as fire and police protection to the property. If the judge rules in favor of North Salt Lake, then Salt Lake City would be unable to to preserve the land as open space, or condemn it in an effort to then purchase the land in order to preserve open space, Hatch said.

The decision could be appealed, however.

"The problem is, when you condemn property that is not in your boundaries, you can only do it if you need it to provide public services to your city," Hatch said. "The standard then becomes a lot harder."

Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson has filed a separate lawsuit in 3rd District Court to condemn 13 of the 80 acres. By condemning the land, the city could then get a judge to set a price for the property, and the city could try and purchase the land to preserve it as open space.

In past interviews, city officials said they were unsure what would happen to the remainder of the 80 acres if the condemnation order went through. No date has been set to hear the case.

Salt Lake City attorney Edwin Rutan did not return a call for comment.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com