The sale of the block of Main Street between South Temple and North Temple to the church in 1999 left a bad taste in many Salt Lakers' mouths, and it is doubtful that any bargain could wash that taste away. But, imperfect though it is, we still believe that the "land for peace" compromise, in which the city sold its pedestrian easement across the plaza in exchange for land and money to create the Unity Center adjacent to the Sorenson Multicultural Center, is a good one.

Now that the federal appeals court has given its blessing to the bargain, that should be the end of it.

We wish, though, that the Anderson administration would pull its act together and get the Unity Center built. That would help to salve old wounds because it would demonstrate what the city got in exchange for giving up the easement.

You may recall that the easement was the crux of the appeals court's first ruling in 2002, in which it held that the city could not retain the easement, yet deny the public the rights of speech and assembly protected by the First Amendment as if on a public sidewalk. The court wrote, "If it wants an easement, the city must permit speech on the easement. Otherwise, it must relinquish the easement so the parcel becomes entirely private."

Those were the package directions. To follow them, Mayor Rocky Anderson first proposed that the city allow speech and demonstrations on the easement, subject to restrictions about where, when and how they could take place. But the church rejected this out of hand, and mounted a public relations offensive to pressure Anderson, and especially the City Council, to give up the easement.

That's when Anderson offered the "land for peace" compromise: The city would give up the easement in exchange for LDS Church real estate and pledges of $5 million from the church and other donors to create the Unity Center.

A new lawsuit challenged that deal, but the plaintiffs now have lost in the federal trial and appeals courts. We hope this is the end of that road.