"We think we have done all we can to get our point across that they are going back on their word," says Cynthia Long, who helped instigate an unsuccessful petition that would have put the issue on the November ballot.

The Sandy City recorder declared the petition invalid in February, citing a Utah law that requires claims against land-use matters to contain the number of names equal to 20 percent of the voters within the city who voted in the past gubernatorial election. Save Our Community accumulated 6,425 signatures in December - around 1,500 short.

Robert Hughes, attorney for Save Our Community, argued that the measure did not fall under the land-use category and that the City Council and Planning Commission acted administratively, not legislatively, in changing the zoning ordinance.

"The people deserve to have their voice heard, unfiltered by elected officials," Hughes told the high court.

Attorneys for the Boyer Group, which is proposing the Wal-Mart development at 9400 South and 1300 East, filed a motion Thursday declaring the question moot since the company has had proprietary rights to the property for some time and the project is already under way.

"This area, just over 100 acres in size, was already going to be zoned large-scale - hotels, light-industrial - anyway," attorney Jeff Williams said, claiming that the city was within it's rights to update the ordinances "to include those things not previously covered."

Justice Ronald Nehring questioned whether the update went against city policy that defines the business district at 9400 South and 700 East.

"The Planning Commission did not find any conflict between this and any of the city's long-range planning," Williams said.

The court is expected to rule on the matter within four to six weeks.

lorib@sltrib.com