Cedar Hills won't ban the sale of alcohol

CEDAR HILLS — After hearing nearly equally divided and lengthy public comment, members of the Cedar Hills City Council voted 3-2 against passing an ordinance that would have prohibited alcohol sales in the city.

The bedroom community of about 7500 would have become the third Utah County city, along with Highland and Alpine, to pass such an ordinance.

In a Feb. 15 City Council meeting, all five members seemed ready to approve the ordinance if certain changes were made to the language.

But three of the five City Council members ultimately felt that the ban was not justified.

"It is not the responsibility of government to legislate all that is good," said Councilman Darin Lowder, who spoke out first against the ordinance.

Council members Jim Perry and Melissa Willie also expressed a few concerns at the outset and ultimately sided with Lowder in voting against the ordinance.

"When it comes to government, less is better," Perry said. "I have to ask myself, what improvement would it offer the community? And I'm not convinced that I've seen enough evidence of a negative impact on the community to warrant more regulation."

Councilmen Rob Fotheringham and James Parker, who participated in the meeting via a conference call, each expressed concern about how alcohol sales would affect the community.

"Even if you can only save one life by making alcohol more difficult to obtain, that is sufficient justification (for banning alcohol sales)," Parker said, eliciting applause from several residents.

Several members of the council expressed a desire to avoid making the ordinance a morality issue and to center on the issue of public safety instead.

"The predominant religion shouldn't play a part in this, no matter how large a majority they are," Perry said. "The question is, is it going to increase DUIs?"

Residents who commented before the council discussion offered a variety of opinions.

Some cited the religious beliefs of the majority of residents as a reason to pass the ordinance.

"We need to set a high standard as community leaders," said resident Gary Duncan. "It is incompatible with the values of the majority and would conflict with our family atmosphere."

Others said they thought the majority's beliefs shouldn't limit the choices of the minority.

"I feel it's crossing a line to tell people what they should and shouldn't buy," said Jane Brady.