Town may ban alcohol sales

CEDAR HILLS — The days of prohibition may be long gone, but at tonight's City Council meeting, the bedroom community of Cedar Hills may become the third city in northern Utah County to ban all alcohol sales.

Alpine and Highland already have such ordinances on the books, and many Utah County cities prohibit alcohol sales on Sunday. For Cedar Hills, banning alcohol sales could jeopardize some commercial development in the city, specifically a Smith's grocery store in a planned development near Lone Peak High School.

"It was written specifically in our contract by Smith's that (an alcohol ban) would make our contract, at their discretion, voidable," said project developer Mark Hampton.

Smith's Food and Drug pulled out of a planned development in Highland following that city's decision to ban alcohol sales and require Sunday closings. A Smith's spokesman could not be reached for comment Monday, but some believe the chain elected to build a store in Saratoga Springs instead because of Highland's ordinances.

Cedar Hills council members voiced strong support for the proposed ordinance at their last meeting Feb. 15 but decided to hold off on adopting it until an enforcement section could be added.

Smith's representatives reportedly walked out of the meeting, but Hampton said no decisions have been made.

"I had a call from Kroger, who owns Smith's, and they expressed their desire to wait and see if the ordinance is passed before they make any decisions," Hampton said.

City Councilman Rob Fotheringham said he supports the ordinance because of the negative impacts alcohol has on society.

"Alcohol is involved in the deaths of over 100,000 Americans a year, making it the third leading cause of preventable death, and alcohol problems cost our economy about $200 billion (per) year," he said. "Alcohol might begin as a personal issue, but it is clear that its negative impact is not contained at that level. From a public policy standpoint, it seems prudent to try and counteract that negative impact by prohibiting sales within the city."

Councilman Darin Lowder said while he supported the ordinance two weeks ago, comments from some residents have made him think twice.

"Some residents approached me and said, 'Look, Darin, this city's got to move on; we need the money, we need the convenience. We need to let people run their own lives and worry about themselves. Let's not try to legislate morality,' " he said.

Lowder said while passing the ordinance could increase public safety, he must weigh commercial concerns as well.