American Fork talking 'resort'

AMERICAN FORK — A proposed annexation of 17 acres just north of the American Fork boat harbor has prompted plans for a joint work meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission to see if a "resort" designation might be a good option for the area.

The land is owned by American Fork resident Ruben Adams who says there are no current plans for the land but indicated he has some "personal preferences" in mind. He declined to elaborate.

"We're trying to understand which direction is the proper direction to go," Adams said. "There's nothing that has been proposed right now."

Currently, the area surrounding the boat harbor has no specified zoning. The city's land use plan highlights an area surrounding the harbor and refers to a resort area. City planners refer to the highlighted area as a "resort overlay zone."

"The land-use plan is more of a visioning document," said Wendelin Knobloch, American Fork's assistant city planner. "Zoning is the law that actually provides for different regulations of what can be built there."

Discussions regarding what the land could be used for have included a parking lot for the boat harbor, an area for boat storage, commercial uses or short-term lodging. Planning Commission members say there is currently no favored option for the area.

"This is a more complex situation than many other situations," Knobloch said. "That's why the Planning Commission has problems finding a consensus."

The Planning Commission has several concerns about the area, including a lack of parking for the existing boat harbor and flooding potential for the area. Interfering with an existing shoreline protection area that borders the lake is another concern.

The shoreline protection area refers to locations where, because of steep slopes, wetland conditions or the potential for flooding or other damaging situations exist, development should be discouraged, Knobloch said.

While most of Adams' parcel lies within the highlighted "resort" area on the city's land-use map, uses allowed by the zoning for the remaining area could have an impact on the protected areas. Those impacts could create complications in the future with other zoning questions, Knobloch said.

The Planning Commission plans to hold another public hearing on the matter after the work session with the City Council. The work session has not yet been scheduled.

"We want a nice facility, and we are trying to catch a vision of what that might be," said James Hansen, a Planning Commission member. "To hear from the public will help us determine the best alternatives."

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Contributing: Stevie Stewart

E-mail: achoate@desnews.com