SPANISH FORK — The City Council Tuesday lifted a ban on Sunday beer sales in Spanish Fork.

The vote to start allowing stores in the city to sell beer on Sunday didn't pass without protest. Folks who believe Sunday beer sales run counter to the standards of the Utah County city turned in stacks of petitions against it.

Residents who attended the City Council meeting Tuesday at City Hall were not allowed to speak against the measure, however.

The switch to allow sale of beer on Sunday comes four months after the council, when first approached with a proposal to change it, voted to reaffirm the ban.

At that time, Robert Pittelli, owner of Jack Rabbit Gas and Groceries at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon, asked for the change because he believed the ban was hurting his business.

Pittelli said he had been trying for two years to get the law changed.

He had to stop selling beer at midnight Saturday and could not sell beer again until Monday at 6 a.m.

When the new law comes into effect, which city officials say will take about three weeks, the city's 10 stores that sell beer must stop selling it at midnight Saturday but can resume beer sales at 6 a.m. Sunday.

Only 5 percent of his business comes from beer sales, Pittelli said, but he was losing Sunday sales of other items to stores in neighboring towns because of the beer restriction.

It wasn't until Albertsons managers asked city officials to look at a study the grocery store had conducted that the council decided to revisit the issue.

The Albertsons study, which was given to city leaders last month, indicated its Spanish Fork store lost $77,000 a year to stores in Springville and other neighboring towns that allow Sunday beer sales.

Sales tax revenues also were going to other towns.

"They went for the money. If Albertsons is willing to do this to my city then I'm willing to boycott Albertsons," said Jenni Broomhead, a resident. "I feel that Spanish Fork is a city that is steeped in family values. . . . This is a step backward."

"I see this as (another) way of tearing the family apart," said Gae Grunander, another resident.

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E-mail: rodger@desnews.com