This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
DRAPER - When the LDS Church unveiled plans for a hillside temple, Draper welcomed the idea with eagerness and enthusiasm.
Same can't be said for church-owned Deseret Indus- tries.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has visions of building one of its thrift stores east of Interstate 15 near Draper's main drag.
Trouble is, the City Council is considering an ordinance that would restrict large secondhand-stores (more than 5,000 square feet) to a commercial business park zone west of I-15, away from Draper's retail heart.
"I'm not sure [shopping at the DI] is a service a lot of our residents are looking for, given our demographics," Councilman Jeff Stenquist said.
But Jon VanWagoner, who represents LDS welfare services, says the church wants stores in "retail nodes."
"We will be successful on 12300 South, just east of the freeway," VanWagoner said. "If you go a few blocks west, it could be very detrimental."
The church reportedly has its eye on five acres near 12300 South and 300 East.
But council members worry about traffic flowing to and from the 38,000-square-foot store, which would include family services, an employment center and a donation drop-off station.
Earlier this year, the council ordered city staffers to look at creating a zone to regulate secondhand-stores. The result: a proposed ordinance that would prohibit large outlets from all but the business park zone. And thrift stores - with outdoor storage and nighttime drop-off - would be barred from Draper altogether.
The city's Planning Commission endorsed the plan in January.
Still, some city leaders and residents wonder why the city is pursuing the ordinance.
"In what way does a large secondhand-store differentiate itself from other retail businesses that preclude it from being in that [commercial] zone?" Councilman Pete Larkin asked. "If we don't have something specific, then we are acting arbitrarily."
Draper resident Nick Raymond wonders if charities such as DI are being banished from prime commercial land because they wouldn't stoke the city's tax coffers. Or, he asks, is it because the city worries about a store's look?
But Councilwoman Stephanie Davis argues DI isn't like other retailers. The store accepts donations and ships out up to 80 percent of those goods as part of the church's humanitarian-relief efforts.
"We are talking about distribution, which is completely different than retail stores," Davis said.
That's similar to the new post office, Larkin counters, and that operation is near the church's proposed DI site.
"How many vehicles are coming in and out of there?" asked resident Lori Bird. "We have trucks bringing mail in. We have trucks taking out the mail."
The church insists secondhand-stores are "no different" from other retail outlets and that the proposed ordinance is unconstitutional.
"The exclusion of large secondhand-stores, but the inclusion of retail establishments that share similar design features, violates the equal-protection clause," wrote Steven Whitehead, an attorney representing the church's presiding bishop, in a letter to the Planning Commission.
Davis maintains that plopping the store west of I-15 would make make it more of a regional facility with easier access from neighboring communities.
In the end, council members didn't vote this week on the proposed ordinance. Instead, they asked for a map that would show possible locations for the store, including spots east of the freeway.
"We should have a place for them that works for us," said Councilman Bill Colbert.