Lundberg, one of the leaders of Friends of Maple Mountain, said Sen. Chris Buttars has proposed legislation dealing with referendum questions on zoning issues and critical environmental zoning.

Those issues are at the heart of the dispute between Mapleton and Gibby.

"It is a way for Wendell Gibby to go back and strong-arm the city into creating another agreement," Lundberg said. "I have to concede to Mr. Gibby that he is a tenacious fellow."

But Gibby said Buttars, whom Gibby has talked to about his ongoing fight with Mapleton, is not trying to coerce Mapleton into allowing him to develop his property. He said he had spoken to Buttars about the issue, and Buttars had prepared the blank bills as placeholders, not knowing that Rep. Mike Morley, R-Spanish Fork, was working on legislation to address critical environments not just in Mapleton but other cities.

Lundberg said it was Morley's 2007 bill, which would have curtailed cities' ability to declare areas as sensitive environmental zones, that forced Mapleton to settle with Gibby and allow him to build 47 homes on Maple Mountain.

Gibby did tell the City Council this week that if he and Mapleton couldn't reach a settlement, there were lawmakers prepared to resolve the situation through legislation.

dmeyers@sltrib.com