By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Nephi will see the addition of one new business, the expansion of another and a reworking of the city's sign ordinance all in the near future.
Glenn Greenhalgh, city planning commission chairman, gave an update on the recent and upcoming activities of the planning commission to city council members on Tuesday.
He also thanked Wade Gee, council member, for his years of service with the planning commission.
"We will miss Wade Gee," said Greenhalgh.
Gee has represented the city on the planning commission and has been a great liaison, he said.
"He has done an excellent job," Greenhalgh said.
"This has been a busy summer for the planning commission," said Greenhalgh.
Of course, the planning commission had worked through the details of the Hometown Shopko that will open this fall with the Painter Family and the owners of the business.
Now they are working on two new projects.
He said that, when the planners of a project proceeded into the final stages of the planning with the commission and the planning was on the planning commission agenda, the item became public information. Therefore, it was now possible to talk about two businesses that were planning projects in the city in the near future.
The city will have an O'Reilly Auto Parts store, a chain of parts stores, and this would be one of over 4,500 auto part stores throughout the U.S.
The Painter Family, owners of Painter Motor Company, at 1100 North Main Street, did a one lot subdivision earlier in the year in order to allow Shopko Hometown to build a new store in north east Nephi.
"This time, we suggested they do a subdivision and plat for two lots," he said.
He said one concern for the close proximity of the Shopko and O'Reilly stores was the entrance to the properties. The planning commission wanted the parts store to line up ingress and egress in such a way that there would not be too many entrances and exits in a short distance.
"We did not want the entrance to become a traffic safety issue," he said.
The access to O'Reilly, Greenhalgh said, will be arranged so that there is the necessary space for shoppers to get into and out of the two businesses safely.
Terrel Seely, President of Seely's Enterprises, owner of Mt. Nebo Market, has also made plans for remodeling that business. Categorized under Independent Grocery Stores (IGA), the owners plan to move the loading dock from the south side of the store to the back.
"They plan to extend the building to the east," said Greenhalgh. "They will add a drive-up window for the pharmacy to the front of the building and one to the side for a financial institution."
He said the market will lose a few parking spots, going from 150 down to 145, but still had ample parking to meet city requirements.
There will also be other items which will be improved during the remodeling process. One of those will be the roof.
"They have received preliminary site approval," said Greenhalgh.
No date has been listed for the project to be completed but Greenhalgh said the owners were anxious to move forward.
IGA is helpful to its members in offering help with planning and design.
Greenhalgh said that there have been requests for the planning commission to look at the city's sign ordinance. The land use code would need to be changed in order to make it more up-to-date with the needs of the city.
"If you do not own the property," he said, "you are not allowed to put up a sign."
Signs not specifically authorized are prohibited, including, but not limited to, the following: Political signs in public rights of way or public property, signs announcing the proposed development of property prior to site plan approval or after issuance of certificate of occupancy, signs mounted, attached or painted on trailers, boats or motor vehicles when parked for extended periods of time on or near the premises, roof signs, or signs that project above the highest point of the roofline or parapet of the building, any sign with intermittent or flashing illumination, animated or moving signs (message centers may be allowed), signs that emit sound and outdoor advertising (billboards).
"We need to rework the sign ordinance and we will bite that off this winter," said Greenhalgh. "The ordinance we are using was adopted in the early 1980s."
Mark Jones, mayor, asked if so called "stacked" signs were also prohibited. Those are tall signs at the entrance of malls that advertise more than one business on the same standard.
They are not currently allowed. That is one of the items the planning commission will address.
Nephi's sign ordinance had been drafted for a much larger jurisdiction than Nephi and did not work as well as it should for a city the size of Nephi.
The city ordinance does specify that, at the time new buildings or developments are presented for site plan review, proposals for all signs to be installed on any buildings or premises are to be reviewed and will require planning commission approval.
Signs to be added to existing buildings or uses, or signs that are to be enlarged, changed or substantially modified, must also be reviewed and approved.
Recently the planning commission and the city had worked through a general plan and a recreation plan but had run out of funding before the land use code could be revamped.
"The sign use ordinance is part of the land use code," said Greenhalgh.
A local government must adopt a "general plan," which is a general guideline for future development. In addition, local governments must establish planning commissions and appeal authorities. The Land Use, Development, and Management Act (LUDMA) also has mandatory notice requirements when planning and zoning decisions are made.
"The constitution only recognizes two jurisdictions—the nation and the state. We are a political subdivision," said Greenhalgh.
The Commission is charged with guiding land use and development in the city. The planning commission makes recommendations to the city council concerning the zoning ordinance and zoning maps, and reviews major development proposals and redevelopment plans.
