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"Arbitrary," "capricious" and "illegal."

That's how South Jordan describes West Jordan's actions in a lawsuit it filed to force a resolution to the two cities' ongoing property dispute.

"West Jordan has always been a good neighbor, and we work well with them," said Tina Brown, South Jordan spokeswoman. "So hopefully this matter will be taken care of soon."

Brown said she couldn't discuss specifics because the litigation is pending. However, she said the suit so far has not damaged the good working relationship between the two cities.

One example of their intercity cooperation came last summer, when a West Jordan councilman was accused of drunken driving and hit and run. To avoid the obvious conflict of interest, West Jordan police called in South Jordan officers to investigate. (Councilman Jeff Haaga resigned last month after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident.)

The two cities are at odds now over a piece of property South Jordan owns straddling its boundary with the neighboring city and unincorporated Salt Lake County.

West Jordan's Planning Commission had given preliminary approval to South Jordan's request to rezone about five acres it had acquired using the threat of eminent domain in hopes of developing a 5-million-gallon water tank and buried pipes to provide its residents with culinary water. The plan would include an asphalt access road from the Old Bingham Highway, 10200 South, and a chain-link fence to secure the site.

But, in January, all seven West Jordan City Council members voted against the rezoning measure .

West Jordan Mayor Kim Rolfe said the city had discussed a different kind of project on the property in question — one that would be more beneficial to his municipality.

"Several members of this council have been involved in talks about development at this particular parcel with a developer," Rolfe said at the Jan. 25 council meeting. "And I think doing this particular rezone would impact future talks for that site."

Two days before South Jordan filed the lawsuit last month, West Jordan Councilman Chris McConnehey made a motion to bring the development question back before the council in May. Until then, both cities are in limbo, waiting to see how the situation will move forward as they tiptoe around the dispute.

"This is really weird and really unique," McConnehey said. "You've got a city next to us who's trying to locate some of their infrastructure within some of the borders here. We've never seen that before."

Some council members raised questions about the necessity for land in West Jordan to house South Jordan public works. But Don Tingey, South Jordan's strategic services director, told the council that the site "was determined based on engineering needs for the water tank."

During discussion of the measure in January, council members discussed how a decision to block South Jordan's project could cause tension between the cities.

"I recognize how important it is for us to be good neighbors — it's kind of our city motto," said Councilman Zach Jacobs, who then declared his intention to vote to deny the requested rezoning. "That said, I want South Jordan to know we still love you."

South Jordan argued in its lawsuit that West Jordan council members had presented no evidence "to provide any factual or legal basis" in their denial of the rezoning plan.

In contrast, South Jordan said the water project it hopes to build "is necessary and essential" to its ability to "continue to provide culinary water to its residents that meets all state and federal drinking water standards."

West Jordan City Council will likely reconsider its denial of the project in its last May meeting.