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Show ‘MINGO’S FLOWN SOUTH FOR THE WINTER! CHECK BACK FOR HIS RETURN THiS SPRING. WASATCH COUNTY Historic Foot Dragging? = Heber officials put off historic — _ Heber struggles to keep downtown vital preservation ordinance TIM WESTBY COURIER STAFF TIM WESTBY COURIER eber STAFF hirteen months ago, a Heber real estate agent and a state official with the Division of State History stood before the Heber City Council and pitched the idea of creating an historic preservation ordinance. With over 80 cities and counties ‘across Utah adopting similar measures, the pair saw the idea as a relatively painless way to score federal money and matching grants from the state to help protect the town’s older buildings. The pitch also came at the perfect time: just as Heber residents were showing strong support in restoring the Old North School. So what happened to the idea? “We haven’t discussed much about it,’ says Heber City Planner Allen Fawcett. “I’m still researching it.” To the state official, the city’s foot dragging is frustrating. “Heber is one of the few towns of its size that’s not participating. It’s a little frustrating. It’s not like Heber is testing the waters,” says Roger Roper, who heads up the Certified Local Government Program for the Utah Historic Preservation Office. The for Business; Closed to Parking City is gearing up to make downtown a prettier place. By Halloween, new sidewalks, lampposts and a virtual forest of trees will make the town’s core a more pleasant place. But with a dearth of parking and - escalating rents, will it be enough to keep downtown businesses from picking up stakes and heading to the nearest strip mall on the edge of town? Yes and no, says Heber City Planner Allen Fawcett. The Main Street Benliieseet Project will go a long ways toward attracting new businesses, but those new businesses. will need upwards of 200 more parking slots between 200 “PHOTO BY TIM. WESTBY — a This city/county block is one of the iow ith: a 2 urplite of paridne spaces. North and 200 South in order to sus- tain themselves, says Fawcett. That _. estimate is based on.a city ordinance complete that requires a business to have three slots for every 1,000 square feet. Once the beautification project Fawcett’s is office will begin tackling the parking issue. Parking, he says, will be the “number one priority.” “We're way, way under where we For business owners, the attention should be. That’s why there are so won't come soon enough. While most existing businesses have backed the many vacancies downtown,” he says. | bettas project, many others lhave either folded or moved within the last two years. And those owners are more likely than not to fault the lack of ee as the main reason for — PARKING continued on ¢ Ad - Dressed Up with Nowhere to Go > Despite long-awaited beautification project, businesses fleeing Main Certified Local Government Program, or CLG, helps local govern- ments document and protect historic sites and buildings. The CLG works HISTORIC continued on A4 ‘ PHOTOS BY KIRSTEN SHAW Craft Mall leaves Main in a hurry. PHOTOS BY TIM WESTBY Twist Cafe rolis out of town. DEREK. JENSEN MANAGING EDITOR rps Repc fits he battle, it seems, to spruce up Heber’s — long-neglected Main Street may be lost before. it even begins. The problem however, is not that planners can’t secure enough trees, cobblestone and fancy lampposts to make _an Italian villa jealous, rather, by the time the beautification is complete, there may not be enough business to patronize. Over the course of this winter ‘NEW COURIER WEBSITE ‘COMING SOON already, several merchants have either closed up shop, or the very stretch of to invigorate. The face of predictions moved away from town officials hope exodus flies in the that an expansive Main Street overhaul would help revitalize the core of town. . | “We definitely want to keep Main Street vital,” Heber Mayor Lynn Adams told the Courier before the unveiling of the Main Street Beautification Project last month. “I don’t think Main Street has ever looked as good asit will when we're done.” _ Check that. Coffee drinkers had lit- . _PHOTOS BY KIRSTEN SHAW Radio Shack relocates to strip mall. Café decided to pour its last cup just after Turkey Day. The closure followed a series of disputes between the owner and her boyfriend, which escalated to break-ins and police interaction. é4 4 ( t DRESSED continued on AS POSTAL PATRON Presorted ¢ Standard ‘U.S. Postage Paid Heber City, UT Permit No. 32005 tle to be thankful for when the Twist MARRIOTT LIBRARY, ARCHIVES | 295South 1500 East Salt Lake City, UT, 84112 ¢ ; f‘ : |