Request to expand business may lead to vision for Spanish Fork

SPANISH FORK — Rocky Giles has been changing tires and servicing cars from his Main Street shop for 11 years.

Recently, Giles bought a defunct bowling alley next door and now wants to expand his business. But city leaders have dug in their heels, although reluctantly, because as long as the American Car Care Center has been there, it hasn't fit the zoning for the area. Non-conforming uses can't be expanded, said Spanish Fork city planner Dave Anderson.

Now, city leaders are wondering if they should tinker with the zone to accommodate Giles. The issue sparked a discussion Tuesday about identifying a vision for the downtown district.

One of the problems in coming up with a unified look is that downtown has two zones, a historic downtown zone with no requirements how far buildings are set back from the street and a new commercial zone with requirements that are more modern.

If design standards are going to become more solidified, city administrator Dave Oyler suggested preserving the architecture of the historic buildings. Right now, they are unprotected from development.

— Rodger L. Hardy