The woman behind an application for a group home for recovering drug addicts in an upscale Eagle Mountain neighborhood says she plans to sue if the City Council doesn't approve the facility at its April 7 meeting.

"We're just waiting for Eagle Mountain to make a decision," Boberg said. "I'm hoping that they'll understand, that they'll really open up and listen. I don't know what they're afraid of. I honestly don't. They've got people in their neighborhoods that need help."

Since the last meeting, Boberg said she has been complying with the council's requests to draw up professional site plans for the eight-bed facility and clarify some aspects of her proposal. A state inspector walked through the property Tuesday and said the Ark meets licensing standards and will be granted permission to open if the city approves the permit Boberg has been seeking.

"I will sue them if I don't have a license by April 7," she said. "There will be no second chance."

Council member David Lifferth said the Daily Herald's call was the first he'd heard of the threat, but it isn't unusual. He said housing laws do appear to apply and may limit the council's discretion to some extent, but resorting to litigation is premature.

"She's definitely got the cart before the horse by threatening a lawsuit before she's gone through some of these expected legal steps for approval," Lifferth said. "On a very regular basis, there are people that threaten to sue the city for whatever reason. I don't know if she's justified in that."

Boberg said a similar facility in Sandy, The Ark of Little Cottonwood, faced similar legal issues before opening. Last year, Highland residents fought a similar proposal for a group home. After the applicants threatened to sue, the city acquiesced. In 2005, Eighth District Judge John R. Anderson reversed a Duchesne County Commission decision to deny a conditional use permit for a residential treatment center for teenage boys.

Council member Nathan Oschenhirt, who voiced the strongest opposition to Boberg's legal argument during the March 17 meeting, declined to comment for this story.

• Ace Stryker can be reached at astryker@heraldextra.com.