Springville planning commission approves conditional use permit for Hooked on Utah powder coating

The Springville Planning Commission voted to grant a conditional use permit for Hooked on Utah Powder Coating to operate at 2498 West 700 South in the Highway Commercial (HC) zone.

The permit was approved after planning staff described the conditional-use review standard in city code (section 11-7-201) and a business owner described powder-coating operations, safety measures and waste handling. Commissioners asked questions about air quality, ventilation and fire-safety controls; staff said those topics would be enforced through the building-permit and business-licensing inspections.

Staff member Carla explained the commission’s role and said the conditional-use standard requires that uses not be “detrimental to persons or property” and that conditions in the city code be satisfied. Carla said the applicant, Gary Winterton of Hooked on Utah Powder Coating, had selected a site at 2498 West 700 South that sits among other vehicle- and fabrication-related businesses. She told the commission the city’s fire inspector had reviewed the proposal and that typical business-licensing inspections would cover required fire controls.

Gary Winterton, owner of Hooked on Utah Powder Coating, described the business as a small-scale, custom powder-coating shop serving wheels, brakes, furniture and similar parts. Winterton said the shop would be low-volume and employ two or three people, with normal hours of roughly 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. “We’re using…you take clean metal, a clean metal part, like these chairs are powder coated right there. They get stripped down, sandblasted, then they’re put in an oven,” Winterton said, describing a curing cycle typically run at about 350–400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Winterton said the ovens are electric, self-contained convection units and do not require an external vent because they do not produce toxic exhaust. He said powder-coating booths have internal filtration that captures powder particulates; booth filters are replaced regularly and disposed of as ordinary waste. For parts that arrive already coated, he said the shop would use a biodegradable stripper product called EcoStrip kept in a sealed drum and, when spent, shipped to a Salt Lake company for disposal. Sandblasting would take place in a sealed cabinet with a vacuum filtration system; Winterton said the cabinet does not vent to the outside.

Commissioners asked about air quality, ventilation and fire protection. Planning staff said occupancy classification and building-code requirements related to use and equipment would be determined during the building-permit review and business-licensing inspections. Staff read a note from the city’s fire inspector stating that portable fire extinguishers meeting the fire code section for extra-hazard occupancies must be provided at roughly 75-foot intervals and of the required rating, and that the fire inspector did not identify a requirement for a sprinkler system solely because of the powder-coating activity.

No members of the public spoke during the opened public-hearing period. After discussion, a commissioner moved to grant the conditional use permit for Hooked on Utah Powder Coating at 2498 West 700 South in the HC zone; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote with no opposition recorded.

Votes at a glance: the commission approved the meeting agenda and minutes by voice vote earlier in the session; it closed public comment on the conditional-use item by motion before debate; and it approved the conditional use permit by motion and voice vote. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn, also approved by voice vote.

The permit approval means the applicant may pursue tenant improvements and business licensing; required building-code and fire-safety inspections will occur as part of that subsequent permit process.