SPRINGDALE, Utah — Surrounded on three sides by the soaring red rock cliffs of Zion National Park, this town of about 500 has the kind of charm one would expect from a tiny tourist burg in a scenic location.
A 2008 Forbes magazine travel article included it among the "20 Prettiest Towns" in America.
"They haven't been homogenized, they still have their local character — and the charm is real," photographer Bob Krist wrote.
Striving to protect that charm, town officials crafted an ordinance that bans "formula restaurants" from opening within the city limits. A group of eight investors challenged that ordinance, suing Springdale, 16 town officials and the town's attorneys for what the plaintiffs say is their constitutional right to open a Subway restaurant franchise.
"We knew of the ordinance by the time we contracted with Subway, but my clients looked into it and absolutely believed that ordinance was unconstitutional," says David Stucki, the attorney representing the investors, who are incorporated in Utah as Izzy Poco. The ordinance has been in place since 2006. The suit was filed June 17 in U.S. District Court.
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Photo by Brian Passey, USA Today