NORTH OGDEN -- The city of North Ogden is looking to add an entertainment overlay zone in its business district to give entertainment businesses more options for different ordinances and advertising.
The planning commission is getting close to a solid ordinance to send to the city council after several months work, planning commissioner Dave Hulme said at a recent city council meeting.
The exact area for the zone hasn't been decided but will likely run along Washington Boulevard from the south city limits around 1700 North to about 2400 North. It may also include an undeveloped business area on the corner of 2600 North and Washington Boulevard.
One of the ideas behind the zone is to give businesses more leniency in regard to signs. One of the larger businesses in that area is Walker Theaters, which has been asking for a larger, marquee-type sign to advertise movies, but the process has moved slowly. Hulme said if the entertainment zone is put into effect it will give the theater bigger sign options that currently are not available.
City Councilman Wade Bigler expressed frustration that the matter with the theater hasn't been settled sooner, but Mayor Richard Harris assured him the process takes time.
Incentives to locate in the zone also could be offered, and the city would like to look into extra money options or grants that could be offered to businesses in those zones, not necessarily from the city but from outside groups. The city has already changed three parts of the sign ordinance: allowing outside displays, allowing A-frame signs, and allowing banners. All these changes are coming about because of the city's economic development committee, which is made up of business owners, residents, the mayor and some council members.
Many of the suggestions have come from that committee, and the planning commission and council are putting those into action, he said.
The entertainment overlay zone is also a suggestion of the EDC.
"It just creates a more unique entertainment business district," Harris said.
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