Legal battle over Maple Mountain development rages on

PROVO — Wendell Gibby wants a judge to reverse a decision in the landowner's long legal battle with Mapleton over development of Maple Mountain.

Gibby's attorney has filed a motion requesting that Judge David Mortensen reverse his 2008 ruling that city officials had complied with the terms of a memorandum of understanding in an attempt to settle a series of lawsuits over the proposed subdivision. Gibby also is appealing the judge's decision to award the city $78,000 in attorney fees.

Additionally, Gibby said he spent more than $100,000 on that issue in attorney fees, and he wants the city to reimburse him.

If he wins, city attorney Eric Johnson said he expects Gibby to ask for attorney fees. However, Gibby's motion is about six months premature, Johnson said, and may be baseless.

A Utah Supreme Court decision in February may allow Friends of Maple Mountain to move forward with a referendum aimed at reducing the number of lots in the subdivision from 47 to 23. The grass-roots group challenged the city's rezoning of the property in 2007 that allowed the 47 lots.

In January, the City Council gave final approval for the subdivision.

But after the high court ruled in favor of the Friends of Maple Mountain, the project was stopped pending the outcome of a referendum challenging the zoning.

Because of that, Gibby says he no longer has a subdivision and never did, and he wants Mortensen's enforcement action to be halted. However, Johnson said the specific zone was valid when Mortensen made his ruling, even though it's now in question.

Meanwhile, Judge Darold McDade hasn't yet ruled on a motion Johnson filed to clarify how many signatures are required to force a referendum under the Supreme Court decision. Friends of Maple Mountain had signatures of 29 percent of Mapleton voters, but city officials are questioning whether 35 percent of voters should have signed.

e-mail: rodger@desnews.com