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KSL/AP -- Former Mayor Wayne Mortimer and former City Council member Morris Clark say they know the site planned for the fifth Salt Lake County temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it's in Bluffdale.
Church President Gordon B. Hinckley announced plans for the temple in October but did not disclose its location.
"It's a beautiful site," Mortimer said Tuesday. "It's sitting on a knoll looking over the entire valley."
Clark said officials from Sorenson Real Estate pointed out the spot on a map.
"They showed me the area it was going to be built," Clark said. "They left no doubt in my mind the area was in Bluffdale."
But late today a spokesman for the Sorensen companies said the company has no knowledge of church plans for a temple in the area.
Church representatives declined to comment, saying announcements of new temples are made only by the First Presidency of the Church.
President Hinckley announced at the church's fall conference that two additional temples would be built in the "west and southwest areas" of the county. He said one would be built in South Jordan's Daybreak development. He did not reveal the other site.
Clark, who along with Mortimer left office this month after losing re-election bids, said the church may be waiting to divulge the Bluffdale location because the land is embroiled in a lawsuit and could be disconnected from the community by early February.
Sorenson Real Estate, which owns 1,200 acres on Bluffdale's foothills, and Development Associates have been involved in disputes with residents and city officials over housing density for years. The developers want to build segments with up to 18 units per acre, while some in Bluffdale want only one-acre lots.
The developers have taken their fight to 3rd District Court and are seeking to de-annex the area. A trial is set for Jan. 30.
(KSL Contributed to this report.)
