- Grantsville filed a lawsuit against Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson over annexation delays.
- The Utah Supreme Court previously sided with Grantsville, dismissing Erda's opposition claims.
- Mayor Heidi Hammond emphasizes annexation's importance for future development and tax revenue.
GRANTSVILLE — A yearslong battle over land annexation in Tooele County has reached a new boiling point.
The city of Grantsville filed a lawsuit this week against Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson over a delay in certification for nearly 8,000 acres of land it has been trying to annex.
It comes after a ruling late last year in which the Utah Supreme Court sided with Grantsville and rejected claims opposing the annexation, according to the complaint filed on Tuesday.
The lawsuit states that in August 2020, a petition came before Grantsville's elected officials to annex over 7,800 acres of land — including Six Mile Ranch, located near state routes 112 and 138 — into the northeast part of the city.
When the landowners initially approached Grantsville about annexation, neighboring Erda was still in the midst of its incorporation process.
At a Grantsville City Council meeting in November 2021, the council voted to accept the annexation application. When Grantsville tried to move forward with its annexation intentions in early 2022, it was met with protest by the city of Erda — which by then had been incorporated, the complaint states.
"There was a statutory provision that permitted a landowner to petition to annex into a city, even assuming another city had that land within its proposed incorporated boundary. And that's what occurred here," Robert Mansfield, the attorney representing the city of Grantsville, told KSL on Wednesday.
Erda's protest of the annexation was heard by the Tooele County Boundary Commission, which later unanimously voted to allow Grantsville to proceed with the annexation.
"This annexation has already been challenged through two unsuccessful lawsuits and by an unsuccessful, and later abandoned, protest by the city of Erda," a press release issued by the Grantsville attorney's office on Wednesday stated.
In October 2022, Grantsville City Council members voted to pass an ordinance approving the annexation, with an overlay zone that could be designated for the property at a later date.
According to the complaint, as Grantsville sought to have the annexation certified by the lieutenant governor's office, another lawsuit opposing the plan was launched by "a special interest group."
That special interest group is the Erda Community Association, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the city's rural and agricultural lifestyle, according to its website.
The 3rd District Court in Tooele County dismissed its case, "concluding among other things that the sponsors need but lack statutory standing," the court filing reads.
The Utah Supreme Court heard the case in December 2024 and, on Nov. 20, 2025, issued an opinion affirming the district court's dismissal of the challenge to the annexation.
In its background information on the case, the Supreme Court, as part of its opinion, wrote that "sponsors of those who led the campaign to incorporate the city of Erda want to keep the young city's boundaries intact. In this case, they hope to prevent nearly 8,000 acres from being annexed out of Erda and into Grantsville City."
Although the district court dismissed the case, it ordered a stay of the annexation "through entry of a temporary restraining order," according to Grantsville's lawsuit.
Despite the obstacles, and following the Supreme Court decision, Grantsville continued to take steps toward finalizing the Six Mile Annexation, but Henderson's office has not certified the annexation within the statutory time frame and "has not responded to the city's requests to do so," the complaint alleges.
"It's hard to say why she isn't doing it. I don't see any legal basis for her not to do it," Mansfield said.
Grantsville Mayor Heidi Hammond said absorbing the land is important to the city, and it "is unwilling to abandon the annexation."
The litigation comes just weeks after Hammond took office. Prior to being elected as mayor, she served on the Grantsville City Council, but she says the origins of the annexation began before she stepped into city government.
Hammond told KSL on Wednesday that the city is not anticipating any immediate development of the land it looks to annex but wants to be prepared in the event of any future opportunities should the parcel owners decide to develop.
Though the land sits in a rural area of Tooele County, it's also within close proximity to two highways, which Hammond believes, if annexed, could invite commercial development that benefits Grantsville's tax revenue.
"Because this does border the I-80 corridor and is also adjacent to the Midvalley Highway, we can obviously tell that there will be opportunities at some point that would be good for Grantsville city," she said.
She said, ultimately, Grantsville's goal is to control growth within the city and new business opportunities.
Hammond also shared that the property is owned by three brothers, one of whom is her father. While she added that "this is very complicated for me," Hammond stressed that she doesn't stand to gain anything personally in the annexation.
"The city has previously concluded, and still believes, that the Six Mile annexation is a benefit for the city and its inhabitants, and for those reasons is pursuing litigation," she said.
In a statement sent to KSL, Henderson said, "This is an issue of complicated, yearslong litigation between the parties. We are hopeful that the legal questions will soon be answered once and for all."
While the city of Grantsville stands defiant in seeking the Lt. Governor's certification of the annexation, it may continue to face opposition.
During an emergency meeting held on Jan. 12, a majority of members of the Erda City Council voted to join another lawsuit that was filed in December "relating to the annexation statutes, provided that the city will not incur or be responsible for any financial obligations for such action and all cost, fees, and expenses of any action that is associated with this ordinance will not be the responsibility of the city, an ordinance filed by the city of Erda states.
