As Spanish Fork's population continues to grow, its city limits may see some substantial expansion soon as well.

A group of landowners submitted a petition to the city requesting that it annex 479 acres of mostly vacant land on Spanish Fork's east side. If approved, the annexation would add nearly one square mile to the city -- room for untold numbers of homes for the thousands of new residents Spanish Fork is expecting to move in over the next several years.

"There's a lot of land and people want to build new homes here," said Mayor Joe Thomas. "And you're going to see a lot more. There's annexation petitions right and left."

The 2000 Census listed Spanish Fork as having 20,246 residents. Today that number is nearly 30,000, and the city has issued enough building permits to accommodate another 10,000. By 2050, the city's population is expected to be nearly 56,000, according to Spanish Fork's Web site.

Most of the city's recent annexations and new subdivisions have been in this area, near 400 North and 1500 East, according to Assistant City Manager Seth Perrins. The adjacent city land is zoned residential, meaning that is likely what will go up if the land annexed.

The city will not be able to annex the entire parcel until it redraws its growth boundary, though. The city cannot annex land outside the boundary, which rubs through the 479 acres, but discussions to move the line are already underway. All things considered, it may be as long as three months before the annexation request is approved.

The ball is rolling, with a public comment period now underway. Protests must be from people who live within a half mile of the proposed annexation and they must be submitted to the city and the Utah County Boundary Commission by May 16.

Location, location, location is an old saying in the real estate business, and the location of the 479 acres may make it a prime area for new houses. The area will be near the site of Maple Mountain High School, which will open in fall 2009 to serve students from parts of Spanish Fork and Mapleton.

Several months ago, the City Council and Planning Commission met to discuss which areas the city would focus on for new growth, and the area near the high school was deemed one of the top priorities.

Jesse Conway of LEI Consulting Engineers, who is representing the 20-plus landowners who submitted the petition, said he is still talking with the city about what will be permitted on the land if it is annexed. But there's no doubt that the new high school is driving growth, and new residents who move to the area for the high school will need homes.

"With the high school and everything there's a lot of stuff that's out that way," Conway said.

Along with potential zoning designations, Conway and the landowners are discussing utilities. Water, sewer and electricity services will need to be added if developers are going to start building heavily on the land.

"It's really, really, really preliminary in the process," Conway said.

Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or jduda@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.