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Council denies text change sought to keep Old Dominion fence where built
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Summary
The Spanish Fork City Council voted to deny a zoning text amendment that would have allowed an 8-foot security fence closer to the front property line at the Old Dominion freight site, citing aesthetics and precedent despite planning commission support and the company’s safety rationale.
Spanish Fork — The City Council on Monday denied a proposed zoning text amendment that would have allowed taller security fences closer to the street in a limited industrial zone, a change the applicant said is needed to protect employees who park overnight.
Dave Anderson, the city planner, told the council the amendment ‘‘would allow for fences that are taller than 4 feet … as close as 10 feet’’ to the property line in the Industrial‑1 zone that surrounds the airport, narrowing the existing setback by 15 feet. He said the development review committee had recommended denying the change on aesthetic grounds while the planning commission later recommended approval with the 10‑foot limitation.
Hiram Bosterman, representing Old Dominion Freight Line, said the company needs to fence employee parking so workers who leave or return in the middle of the night ‘‘don’t face any sort of safety issues.’’ He described the fence as a safety measure, not an attempt to bypass approval processes, and said similar fencing is routine for trucking and warehouse operations in other cities.
Councilmembers pressed staff and the applicant on two points: whether the city would be comfortable authorizing a narrowly tailored carve‑out for certain industries and how the change would affect the long‑term appearance of a road that city leaders expect to become a prominent gateway. Staff reiterated that its primary concern was aesthetics and that the site — now on the fringe — will become more visible as development along State Road 77 continues.
Councilman Carden moved to deny the proposed text amendment and Councilman Euler seconded. After discussion, the council took a roll call vote and the motion to deny carried. Council members said they were sympathetic to Old Dominion’s safety concerns but were not comfortable changing the city’s zoning code retroactively for a single built fence without further vetting or a different approval path.
The denial means the company must either reconfigure the parking and fence to meet existing setbacks, install a lower fence that complies with the code, or pursue a different, code‑based remedy. Staff and the applicant indicated they would continue to discuss alternate solutions and the council said the applicant may return with a different proposal.
