North Salt Lake Mayor Kay Briggs said Thursday that he will resign by year's end because of a job transfer to the Dominican Republic.
Briggs is just seven months into his second term as mayor. He works for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a managing director for temporal affairs. He will be overseeing the day-to-day business operations of the church in the Dominican Republic.
"I have really enjoyed being mayor," said Briggs during a phone interview Thursday from Florida. "That is going to be the hardest thing for me to leave."
As mayor, Briggs has overseen several new housing developments in the city and the formation of the South Davis Recreation District. He also has waged a very public fight against Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson over 80 acres of open space.
The two cities sued each other last year for control of the land, located in the foothills. It is owned by North Salt Lake but is within the boundaries and jurisdiction of Salt Lake City. Both lawsuits are still pending trial.
Briggs said the city can handle the issue without him.
"I just wish that Mr. Anderson would accept the fact that our position is right and agree to resolve it," he said. "In fact, I better call him up and say, 'You and I better get together and shake hands, before they get someone in there (as mayor) that's tougher than I am.' "
Potential candidates for replacing Briggs as mayor include councilmen Lynn Ballard and Conrad Jacobson, said Briggs. Juan Arce-Larreta, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor last November, said Thursday that he would consider submitting his name to be considered as mayor but doubted that the North Salt Lake City Council would select him.
By law, the City Council gets to choose a replacement for Briggs when he resigns. The new mayor will then be in office until the next municipal-election cycle.
"I've certainly been discussing the situation with a few people," said Arce-Larreta. "My understanding is that the council gets to choose who serves, and while I'd like to think that I'm not necessarily their public enemy number one, I don't believe this council sees entirely eye-to-eye with me."
Arce-Larreta has been an active opponent of North Salt Lake's fight with Salt Lake City over the 80 acres of open space. He wants the land to remain untouched by development, while Briggs said he wants to put houses on about 30 acres.
Arce-Larreta used to serve as Mayor Anderson's environmental advisor. He was fired by Anderson in May 2001.
E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com