Final arguments given in Gibby land lawsuit

AMERICAN FORK — Final arguments were presented Thursday in 4th District Court in Mapleton's attempt to enforce an agreement getting Wendell Gibby to drop a series of lawsuits against the city over Maple Mountain land he wants to develop. But a ruling won't be handed down until December, Judge David Mortensen said.

Attorney Lyle Fuller argued for the city that the medical doctor and land developer agreed in May 2007 to drop several lawsuits in exchange for getting his property on Maple Mountain rezoned so he could split his 120 acres into 47 lots and also relocate a series of power poles. The agreement also included Gibby granting the city trail and water easements across his land.

But Gibby refused after he disagreed with the way the city rezoned his property and after his attempts to cut a utility road to move the power poles was stopped, city attorney Eric Johnson told the Deseret News. So the city filed suit to enforce the agreement.

To complicate matters, as the city was to take the final step in meeting Gibby's demands last year, a citizen's group, Friends of Maple Mountain, that is intent on preserving the mountain from development, filed an injunction stopping the city's action in October 2007.

The residents wanted to vote on the rezone. In late February, 4th District Judge Darold McDade ruled against the citizen's group, but the temporary restraining order wasn't lifted until May this year. That's when the city completed the rezone and asked Gibby to drop his lawsuits.

"We've rezoned it, doubling the value of the land," Fuller said.

Gibby's attorney, Dayle Jeffs, said the city hasn't complied with all the provisions of the settlement, which he said has since expired. Both parties are claiming the other breached the contract.

"This was to be a global settlement, but it's become a disaster," Jeffs said.

Jeffs also contended that the city stalled in completing its portion of the agreement earlier this year, a pattern he claimed the city has followed for years in Gibby's attempts to develop the land. City leaders adopted a policy several years ago to protect the mountain from development.

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