LAURA GILES - North County Staff | Posted: Saturday, March 17, 2007 11:00 pm
Pleasant Grove, to avoid confusion with other cities' gateway developments -- Salt Lake City and Saratoga Springs -- changed the name to The Grove.
Pleasant Grove City Council members approved an overhaul of the Gateway Zoning District earlier this month. The first change was the name of the area.
"From the mayor to city staff and citizens, everyone felt if we maintained the Gateway name, it would confuse and conflict with the Gateway in Salt Lake City. We wanted our own identity," said city planner Sean Allen.
"Other changes made are in anticipation of what will be happening in the area in the next two years," he added.
Those changes include changing the zone from five to three subdistricts. One of these is the Grove Interchange, formerly called the Interchange. This now has greatly expanded borders.
The second subdistrict is the Grove Mixed Use, formerly the Blues. The third is called the Grove Commercial Sales. This is a combination of the Pleasant Grove Boulevard, 2000 West, and State Street subdistricts.
One proposed change that caused much discussion among council members was to allow automobile sales in the new Grove Commercial Sales subdistrict.
While some council members were initially concerned that allowing automobile dealerships would reduce the quality and aesthetic appearance of the area, it was ultimately agreed to allow auto dealerships.
"With the cost of $400,000 an acre, it is unlikely to get a shabby car dealership," said Mayor Mike Daniels.
Another major point of discussion was the proposal to allow apartments in the new Grove Mixed Use subdistrict.
Councilman Lee Jensen said, "Because occupants are transient, they may not uphold the conditions on the inside and out."
Area resident Tammy Bezzant agreed that apartments should not be allowed in the area because residents of apartments are short-term.
Daniels expressed concern that young people have a place to live when starting out on their own.
"There are other places in the city where apartments are permitted," pointed out city attorney Tina Peterson.
Ultimately, the council voted to not allow apartments in the area. The 59 pages of amendments to the zone also included the addition of a garage requirement for single-family homes, decreasing the maximum density for multi-family developments from 18 to 14 units and decreasing the acreage available for residential developments by 42 percent.
"The scenario of quality of development is not changing," said Ken Young, community development supervisor.
"This is pretty impressive," Daniels said of the changes to the district. "This is several hundred acres in the city."
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1.