Farmington » Layton homeowners near the 19.8-acre Mutton Hollow regional detention basin protested Davis County's recent move to install a 6-foot fence along the basin's edge.

"This fence would mar the property, it would reduce the beauty," Robert Ellison told the County Commission during its Tuesday meeting.

The county owns the land near the Layton-Kaysville border.

A fence should have been installed more than a decade ago when it was designated a detention basin, said County Public Works Director Kirk Schmalz, but now residents are used to their back yards extending into makeshift trails and wetlands.

It could pose a liability to the county if someone were hurt at the basin, Schmalz said, adding a fence is "the best way that we've found to secure that area."

But a dozen residents who attended the meeting said the land is treated as open space. Their unofficial park is a popular place to take Scout troops, many neighborhood children play there and it's great for bird watching, they said.

"Yeah, we've broken the law here, to greater or lesser degree," said Matt Hickman, acknowledging some residents have extended their landscaping into the basin and there are occasional posted signs against trespassing. "But each of us here cherish this bit of land as a remarkable bit of heaven."

Mostly, residents were irked they didn't receive notice until late last week that a fence could soon be erected.

Kelly Sparks said residents just want dialogue.

Commissioners said they want to speak with residents and Layton City about possibly creating trails or a park in that area. But the first step, said Commissioner Louenda Downs, is negotiating with the fencing company to delay construction of the contracted $80,000 project.

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