"I would if I could," said Chris Dugan.

Dugan is talking about the home he has lived in for the past four years on 11800 South. Across the street, walls for retailers, restaurants and a 20-screen theater - whose presence promises hordes of shoppers and their automobiles - are rising out of the The Boyer Co.'s 116-acre development known as The District.

The big plans aren't the only thing that has Dugan and other neighbors here wanting out: They feel like they are voiceless, stuck in a municipal no man's land. The District's approval is in the hands of South Jordan's leaders. These residents all live in Riverton.

"I don't get the benefit of more police, a better fire department because I live in the wrong city," Dugan said. "But, I get all the impacts."

In addition to more cars, noise and lights, Dugan and his neighbors fear declining property values.

Some residents who live on these three streets, which run between 3700 West and 3900 West, are wondering who can represent them on this issue. Their own city has little say, if any, in South Jordan's plans. They worry that South Jordan officials have little reason to help them; they don't pay taxes there and they don't have a vote in municipal elections.

"We really think we get a deaf ear at South Jordan," said Jim Allfrey, one of Dugan's Riverton neighbors.

But South Jordan officials don't see it that way.

"Anytime you have cities bumping into one another, you have these issues," said South Jordan City Manager Ricky Horst, who insists that his officials have listened to Riverton's residents.

He says officials notified residents within 300 feet of the development, both in their city and in Riverton. They also have listened to the affected Riverton residents during public meetings.

Some on the Riverton side say the notifications only hit a handful of homes because most of the subdivision is farther than 300 feet from The District.

This cross-boundary spat started in mid-2004, when The Boyer Co. unveiled plans to develop the acreage between 11400 South and 11800 South, 3600 West and Bangerter Highway (4000 West). The plans called for a 20-screen megaplex near the center of the development. Smaller shops and restaurants will make up a retail village - as big as Salt Lake City's Gateway shopping district - between the theater and 11400 South.

On the eastern and western edges will be big- and mid-box anchors, such as Target and Harmons.

Initial plans included some housing along 11800 South - something the Riverton residents view as an acceptable buffer. But that idea was scrapped early, and The Boyer Co. is planning on additional commercial development on the 26 acres that make up the development's southern edge.

"Our ultimate plan is to expand the project," said Scott Verhaaren, a partner with the Salt Lake City company.

The Riverton homeowners make it clear they are not opposed to the project. They just want their concerns addressed.

"We don't want to stop it, bulldoze it and put all the [demolished] housing back," Allfrey said. "But we also need to look at the reality" of the impacts on the neighborhood.

What that means for these homeowners is a plan to protect their neighborhood from the The District's traffic, noise and light.

As an example of how his city has responded to the Riverton residents' concerns, Horst points to the city Planning Commission's vote to reduce the height and brightness of a spire planned to sit high atop the theater.

But the primary concern is traffic. Plans call for 11800 South - it initially was envisioned as the development's backside - to expand from two to five lanes.

"What's the back door?" asks Allfrey. "What's the shortcut? It's 118th."

People have tossed out ideas such as a sound wall on South Jordan's side of the street, a berm on the Riverton side or the construction of a boulevard, with landscaping on both sides and in a raised median.

Boyer officials say they are willing to listen.

"As a general rule, we would look at traffic mitigation," Verhaaren said.

For South Jordan, it's hard to say what 11800 South will become. The road is owned by both cities, but because it will become a major east-west corridor, the Utah Department of Transportation eventually will take control.

"I'd hate to see us go in [with a boulevard or other improvements] and see the state come in later and tear it out," Horst said.

In hopes of getting mitigation, the residents have recruited the Riverton City Council to intervene with South Jordan. Letters have passed back and forth between the communities, and now city officials are sitting down to talk.

South Jordan also has requested time during a Riverton City Council meeting to talk about traffic and the plans to handle it.

With the road needing to be expanded, Riverton could be on the hook for half of the costs. South Jordan has offered to pay the full tab because the The District project is causing the immediate traffic impacts and South Jordan is reaping a sales-tax windfall.

Horst says he understands the concerns. But, "I can assure you [The District] is going to look beautiful," he said.

Dugan isn't so sure. But chances are, he will still be in his house when The District opens up.

"I just don't know what else to do but wait," he said.

jsantini@sltrib.com