It appears lawyers and a judge will be deciding if and how Salt Lake City sells 4 acres of land near downtown to aquarium developers.

City Council members don't want the aquarium promoters to buy the prime parcel west of Pioneer Park. But Thursday, they said the sale could go through - with a whale-sized catch, according to Councilman Eric Jergensen: The city will try to impose a deadline for having the aquarium built.

"I guess we go to court," responded aquarium Director Brent Andersen. "We've got a black-and-white contract. We'll have to get a judge to enforce it."

Officials for the proposed aquarium believe that once they buy the land, their only requirement is to build a water attraction. But the city's Redevelopment Agency believes it must be constructed by June 2007.

"There's a sense by [council members] if they're not going to build an aquarium within a given time frame, we want to get the [land] back," said Jergensen, chairman of the RDA Board, which is the City Council. "If we present them with [a condition] they don't agree with, they can litigate."

By contract, the aquarium has a right to purchase the land that it has been leasing since 2001. The RDA bought the parcel for Living Planet but has since questioned the company's ability to get the attraction built. The land is now mentioned as a possible parcel to swap to build a Major League Soccer stadium elsewhere downtown.

Living Planet has missed its past two fund-raising deadlines, though it recently opened a preview exhibit at The Gateway and attendance has exceeded expectations.

While the aquarium could meet this month's donation milestone - it has raised $6.5 million, according to Andersen - promoters would rather buy the land and be released of the RDA's rule.

To purchase the RDA land, the aquarium must come up with $3.8 million - the price the RDA paid for it - by Dec. 12 and sign the agreement. But Andersen said his attorney already told the RDA that if a construction time frame is included in the contract, he will go to court. Subsequently, the council met for 1 1/2 hours behind closed doors with its attorney Thursday night.

The aquarium now must persuade Salt Lake County to ask voters to bond for the project, probably on the 2006 ballot.

Mayor Rocky Anderson said that won't happen and predicted the aquarium won't even buy the property next month. "I received indication the majority of the County Council currently are opposed" to bonding, he said. "It would be the greatest scam on taxpayers."

Jergensen suggested the aquarium should agree to "walk away from the property" if a county bond is rejected.

Aquarium Director Andersen said that if the bond fails, "We'll buy the land and if it takes 20 years [to build], it takes 20 years. Who cares what Rocky says? He doesn't motivate me or dissuade me."

hmay@sltrib.com