After five months of deliberation, American Fork's Planning Commission has approved zoning that they say will protect the city's lake shore from unwanted forms of development while creating a resort area.

City Council members are expected to vote on the zone proposal sometime next year.

According to the ordinance, the city will apply it to property "adjacent to the Utah Lake shoreline in locations where adequate transportation routes are available, where existing residential development is minimal ... and where land ownership is in relatively large blocks permitting flexibility in design and development."

Permitted uses include boat launches, boat marinas, golf courses, horse stables and arenas, camping and picnic facilities, boat storage areas, group lodging, recreational housing and eating establishments.

The ordinance is important for determining how development will happen around the American Fork Boat Harbor, said commission Chairman James Hansen, noting commissioners worked to refine the ordinance for four or five months.

"We've been working on what should be permitted," Hansen said. "The key is that it allows some permitted uses and regulates them."

The ordinance is intended to allow development of private facilities that enhance the use of the boat harbor for guests, he said.

Those wishing to develop along the lake will be required to go through the normal planning process with the city and be consistent with the city's established general plan, he said. The ordinance also has provisions to protect and preserve open space.

Hansen said there has been a request for annexation in the area already and the city could see development there in about a year. A boat storage business is proposed for the annexation area.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D3.