While new subdivisions are sprouting like weeds after a storm all over southern Utah County, growth in Salem and Mapleton has been subdued. But the rain may be coming soon.

Salem Mayor Lane Henderson said his city's building restriction on subdivisions, which was enacted more than a year ago, may end this year.

"I would think you'd see them lifted probably within six months," he said.

Similarly, Mapleton's moratorium on new homes and subdivisions will expire in May, said city administrator Bob Bradshaw, clearing the way for a 1,000-home subdivision that is awaiting approval from the city.

The impetus for the Salem restriction is the potential strain new subdivisions could put on the city's power grid, a problem the city is working to alleviate. Henderson said the city has ordered two transformers and is making plans for a new substation.

One hindrance has been the long wait for the transformers. Due to increasing steel prices and high demand, new transformers take about a year to arrive, Henderson said.

"These are really tough. We've looked at refurbished ones. We've looked at rebuilt engines and all that kind of stuff. But you just never know what you're going to get," Henderson said.

The transformers cost about $750,000 apiece, and Henderson said the substation as a whole could cost $2-3 million. The city is hoping it can avoid taking out bonds to pay for the project by having developers pay the costs up front and then recouping the money through impact fees once the building restriction is lifted.

Mapleton's building moratorium was enacted last year with a six-month time limit. Bradshaw said it was implemented to keep residential growth from exceeding the capacity of Mapleton's infrastructure.

While the moratorium is in place, the city is overhauling the impact fee structure for water, sewer, public safety, roads and recreation. Bradshaw said the city is also recalculating sewer capacities, identifying new water supplies and looking at required pipeline diameters and streets for the 1,000-home subdivision that will be built on the south side of Mapleton.

"We're not going to be sitting on our hands while the moratorium runs out. We're at an advanced stage completing those exercises," Bradshaw said.

Bradshaw said the moratorium is part of the normal process of ensuring that development does not get ahead of the city's planning for growth.

"We don't want to do it on an ad-hoc basis. We want to make sure that the plan stays ahead of the development proposals," he said.

Henderson also cited the need for cautious planning. While Salem has experienced high residential growth over the past several years, the commercial growth has lagged behind, he said.

Salem is promoting commercial growth, which is not covered by the building restriction, and Henderson said there are four or five commercial developments in the works. Developers are also looking at land near Interstate 15.

"The biggest thing we're looking for is a grocery store and the strip malls that would accompany that anchor store and those type of things. We're big enough now that we really need to concentrate on a commercial center," Henderson said.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.