Changes in downtown Provo?

PROVO — Possible zoning changes for downtown Provo could allow two-family homes while banning new tattoo parlors, tobacco stores, escort services and pawnbrokers.

However, Provo community development director Gary McGinn said he plans to tell city planners to ignore Tuesday's request of the City Council and make their own recommendations to the panel. Changes in zoning law usually begin with the planning department and Planning Commission, but the council took the initiative to begin the process as it works on revitalizing Provo's central business district.

If the law changes, existing businesses on the banned list won't be affected, council attorney Neil Lindberg said. The list also includes blood banks, drug and alcohol treatment centers, bail bondsmen and payday lenders,

Because the City Council initiated the changes, applications for such businesses fall into the category of pending legislation and could be halted for six months or until final action on the proposed change is taken, city officials said.

One- and two-family homes will need to be attached to a business or exist as of Tuesday. One such landlord has a hearing scheduled before the city's Board of Adjustment on July 16 to determine if he can legally rent his home and basement apartment separately.

The state ombudsman in May sided with Scott Davidson after the city rejected his application to rent the building as a two-family home. Davidson says the home has been rented that way continuously before the 1974 law that stopped two-family homes in that zone.

State ombudsman Brent N. Bateman wrote in his opinion that the zoning law conflicts with state law because it because it asks property owners to provide more evidence of nonconforming use than state law requires.

Council Chairwoman Cynthia Dayton also asked Mayor Lewis K. Billings' staff to look at other potential changes in downtown land use, including building height and parking as the council works on its plan to revitalize downtown.

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