Spanish Fork delays action on subdivision

SPANISH FORK — A decision on a controversial Spanish Fork subdivision has been postponed for a month to resolve concerns over what city officials called an unwise intersection design.

The Y-shaped intersection is part of an 80-acre project near 900 South.

Developer Richard Mendenhall last week asked members of the City Council to give preliminary approval to the 205-lot project.

The intersection, which would connect with 900 South, raised the ire of residents, who complained the new street would shepherd hundreds of cars daily onto the narrow country road.

The planned neighborhood is north of Del Monte Road, which residents said would make a better access road in and out of the subdivision because it is wider and is a more direct route to I-15.

Homeowners also complained about potential flooding and said the subdivision would change the character of the area.

The plan includes a new 80-foot bridge spanning the Spanish Fork River near a new sports park that was built by volunteers a few years ago.

The river area has a history of flooding.

Glen Larsen, who has lived in Spanish Fork for 79 years, said he has witnessed flood waters in the area at least four times in the past 50 years, including land that is now planned for houses. "If you're thinking about building homes there, you'd better listen to an old man," Larsen said.

Larsen recalled water breaching the river's banks in 1952, 1972, 1983 and 1984.

Farley Eskelson, an engineer hired by Mendenhall, contends the flooding issue has been resolved. He said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has ruled the area lies outside a flood zone because of new water flow controls upriver from the proposed rows of homes.

None of the homes will be built on land considered a flood plain, Mendenhall said.

But city planner Emil Pierson recommends that if city officials decide to allow the homes to be built, Mendenhall should be required to take steps to insure against flooding in the area.

Mendenhall and Eskelson defended the intersection as the best design for the hilly terrain. The subdivision design "conforms to the requirements of the city," Mendenhall said.

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