Two Val Verda residents whose property recently was annexed into the city want out. And they'd like to take 173 of their neighbors with them.
Vernal Thompson and James Szatkowski have filed a lawsuit against the city over its annexation of the area last year. The pair want a judge to declare the action void and make the city return any franchise taxes it has collected from the area.If victorious, property owners between 2900 to 3100 South and Orchard Drive to Davis Boulevard would again be served by Davis County and not the city.
But the case is far from settled. "We just don't see any merit to it," said Mayor Bob Linnell. "It's more of a nuisance than anything."
The lawsuit contends the petition for annexation never had a clear and legal majority. The city is required by law to consider any petition if more than 50 percent of an area's property owners sign. The area's original petition had 58 percent.
But, the lawsuit states, 18 of the 166 signatures on the original petition weren't on 1992 assessment rolls for Davis County and therefore weren't eligible to sign.
That number combined with 11 people who took their names off the petition would lower the 58 percent majority to a 48 percent minority, the lawsuit states.
Residents of the area who like being citizens of Bountiful say they believe the petition was legal. "We expect the judge would rule as such," said proponent Fred Crawley.
But, if for some reason the court decides not all of the signatures are valid, Crawley and a committee that supported the annexation are prepared to work to validate the process, he said.
The lawsuit opens again an argument that divided the neighborhood for more than a year.
Opponents and proponents clashed briefly after last year's City Council meeting, accusing each other of lying throughout the process.
Before that, residents favoring annexation tried to move the neighborhoods, as part of a larger area, into the city, but opponents mounted a successful campaign to remove signatures from the petition.
Thompson led that drive and promised after the successful annexation last year that he and others would oppose it in court.