Cedar Hills initiatives are assailed
Residents tell City Council 2 ordinances are exclusionary
That's what one man called proposed initiatives that would ban the sale of any alcoholic beverages in Cedar Hills and prohibit most business in the city from operating on Sundays.
Cedar Hills residents showed up at a Tuesday City Council meeting to speak out against two initiatives that will appear on a special-election ballot on June 28.
"These initiatives go too far and should not become part of the city's ordinances," said Gretchen Gordon.
The initiatives are on the ballot because of a citizen petition sponsored by a group called Coalition to Preserve Cedar Hills.
Residents who oppose the initiatives say they would prevent the city from attracting the commercial enterprises needed to build the city's tax base and provide the services people expected to find in Cedar Hills but have been forced to do without.
If passed, the only businesses that could operate on Sunday are emergency services, media outlets, care and lodging facilities and funeral homes.
"It makes good, strong fiscal sense for our community to have a commercial zone," John Ostrom said.
And while their comments brought grumbles and murmurs from some supporters in the crowd, no one who spoke at Tuesday's meeting spoke in support of the proposals.
"I believe these ballot issues infringe on the rights of the minority," Ostrom said.
Jon Woozley maintains citizensofcedarhills.org, a Web site dedicated to the defeat of the two initiatives.
"There is a large consensus among those who aren't members of the predominant religion that we don't want them and are trying to rid ourselves of them," Woozley said.
Many at the meeting identified themselves as members of the predominant religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, those who spoke said they didn't believe the initiatives are in harmony with their beliefs or the teachings of the LDS Church. Zonda Perry said her initial response to the initiatives was favorable, but she changed her mind when she really thought about it.
"When you stop thinking selfishly, you realize that even though it doesn't affect you, it does affect other members of the community," she said. "I want the people who aren't members of the majority religion to know . . . their rights are just as important (as everyone else's)."
E-mail: jtwitchell@desnews.com
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