Save Our Communities has asked the Utah Supreme Court to declare that the residents' group gathered enough signatures to put the issue on November's ballot.

On Jan. 25, it appeared the group's efforts had failed when only 6,425 of nearly 9,000 signatures were deemed valid.

That left the group 1,515 names short of the necessary 7,940 signatures.

In its court filing, Save Our Communities argues that Utah's referendum statute sets out two different signature quotas for residents to reach when trying to get an issue on a ballot. The statute says residents needed signatures that total either 10 percent or 20 percent of those who voted in the most recent governor's race.

In Save Our Communities' case, Sandy officials used the higher percentage.

"Certainly their interpretation is valid," said Rob Hughes, an attorney representing Save Our Communities. "We just disagree."

Walter Miller, Sandy's attorney, declined to comment on specifics of the case until he has talked to attorneys representing the developer, The Boyer Co.

The future of the gravel pit has been much-debated in Sandy. The City Council agreed to rezone the area, paving the way for the construction of a Super Wal-Mart and a Lowe's home improvement warehouse. Boyer also plans to bring more than 450 housing units and other businesses to the 100-acre site, near 9000 South and 1000 East.

The referendum, if successful, would ask residents to return the land to the previous zoning.

jsantini@sltrib.com