Nearly 150 people signed up to speak against the city's "Downtown 2020 Action Plan" during a Planning Commission meeting Thursday night. After hearing from many of them, the commission tabled any decisions until its next meeting on Feb. 13.

The city proposal includes everything from pedestrian paths and public plazas to fountains and raised crosswalks in an 18-block section that many call the heart of the city.

But many residents fear other elements: high-density housing and mixed-use development that could strip the city's turn-of-the-century charm. They don't want the plan to increase traffic and crime rates nor strain the city's infrastructure.

"I don't know, after tomorrow, whether I'll be living in Pleasant Grove, Utah, city of trees, or little New York, city of towers," said resident Carol Gifford.

The plan also includes a sweeping zone change that would alter the ground beneath much of the 18 blocks of downtown-adjacent homes from residential to commercial and increase the maximum building height to 65 feet. Buildings could rise taller with a conditional-use permit.

The plan could also pave the way for developer Joe Spencer to build a 160-foot-high mixed-use project towering over mostly single-story homes. Many also fear that, along with similar projects, would block their views of the mountains.

Spencer, who has said he would try to mitigate as many concerns as possible with his not-yet-proposed development, said there are two groups of people in Pleasant Grove: "a group that wants to protect what used to be, and a group that wants to promote what could be."

But resident Laurel Riddle asked residents in the crowded auditorium Thursday to stand if they felt they had not been heard. She turned to see almost the entire audience on its feet, clapping and whistling.

Said resident Ashley Hendrickson: The Planning Commission "will never hear anyone's voice, our concerns our worries - we'll never get a chance to make a vote. It falls upon you, and you've already made that decision."

sgehrke@sltrib.com