Attempts to "Brigham Young-ify" the streets in Elk Ridge had residents hoping to set out on their own pioneer efforts, away from the grid system.

Their hopes were dashed Tuesday night, when the City Council voted to keep the grid system and change the addresses of 162 properties. Elk Ridge's grid system was organized 33 years ago, before most of the city was built.

Now the homes will match up to a system that, according to resident Russell Adamson, makes some homes in a world of their own. The grid crosses through homes and streets, instead of following them. The center of the grid is not the intersection of Main Street and Center Street, as in most cities that follow Young's system. Instead it is in a resident's front yard.

City attorney David Church told council members Tuesday that they could decide on any address system they like.

The decision Tuesday means that 133 residents will have to notify friends, family and bill collectors -- and change the number on their houses, which for many is a costly struggle because the address is cemented on. The rest of the properties are vacant.

Most addresses will change one number. Adamson's house number would change from 32 West to 33 West.

Addresses have been assigned wrong on various homes for 14 years, Mayor Dennis Dunn said while holding up a tattered, 33-year-old map of the city's grid system, the only documentation of that plan.

The city sent letters to the 162 property owners in August, before the council voted, telling them their new addresses, after notifying the post office, city utilities and emergency systems about the change. Dunn said in April the council had informally agreed to the changes.

The problem was discovered in April, when an ambulance was lost because too many streets had the same, or similar, names. Those safety concerns were addressed in April with street name changes -- streets with similar names that intersected each other were changed. In the examination of street names, Dunn discovered the misnumbered properties.

Odd and even numbers on the houses are opposite the city's grid, and now residents will have to switch them. Dunn said that safety is a big problem because when an ambulance is rushing to find a home, its driver should be able to use the grid, not have to search through a map.

Adamson said that safety concerns stem from dead-end streets and hidden house numbers, not house numbering.

Residents are upset that there was no council vote or public hearing on the issue before the address changes happened.

"The outcry of no public input in this matter has seriously impaired public trust in city leadership," Adamson said. "Whatever direction you end up going, you have some rebuilding to do."

Dunn said that residents should have had a public hearing to change their addresses from the grid system when they built their homes. Residents said that they had no idea their addresses were wrong because they were given with the building permit.

At the public forum, the council heard from one person -- Adamson. He showed several homes and their cement block addresses, and expressed residents' concerns. Though several hands were raised in the audience, Dunn closed the public forum without a noted motion or second from the council members.

The main theme of Adamson's presentation followed part of the advice that Church gave: If it's not necessary, don't do it. Adamson said there are 12 homes with confusing addresses, where odds and evens are on the same side of the street. Those should be changed, he said.

Council members said they think all the changes are necessary to prevent further confusion.

"What we're dealing with is a system that is already in place," Dunn said to residents. "Our duty and responsibility is looking for inconsistencies. This was not your fault, this was an issue that became apparent this past April."

The council voted on a resolution confirming the decision Tuesday, with only Councilwoman Mary Rugg opposing it.

Council members said that they researched the cost of changing an address and found some companies that will make the brick for $51 and charge $100 to remove the old one and put in a new one. Contact Elk Ridge at (801) 423-2300 for more information.

Natalie Evans is available at 344-2561 or nevans@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.