October 2021 Recap of Ivins City Council Activities

Hello –
It’s been another busy month for Ivins City Council, here’s the update for October:

Election – It’s time to VOTE!

Hopefully, you’ve received your ballot, be sure to mail it by Nov 1st or put it in a drop box by Election Day which is Nov 2nd, I believe the closest drop box is at the Washington County Library, Santa Clara Branch. You MUST sign the back of your ballot for it to be counted.

Black Desert Items –

Height Variance Special Exemption Request –

You might be wondering why the height variance request was on the agenda again after being denied in September. The reason is that Black Desert agreed to remove the elevator shaft from the rooftop and to create a deed restriction stating that there was “no public access to the rooftop”. My reason for voting against the initial request was because of the public access to the rooftop of the hotel which would generate noise and light pollution and as such didn’t comply with Ivins’ Height Variance criteria:
(d)   The special exception will not have a materially adverse effect upon the character of the area or the public health, safety and welfare.
(e)   The special exception will not result in the destruction, loss or damage of natural, scenic or historic features of significance.
(f)   The special exception will not cause air, water, soil or noise pollution or other types of pollution.

The maximum height is now 45 ft which is 10 feet higher than the standard 35 ft height limit for commercial buildings. However, given that the building is set back 1000 ft from Snow Canyon Parkway, the 10 ft difference is barely noticeable. In my opinion, Black Desert now meets the criteria listed above and as such, I voted to approve the height request.

Development Agreement –
I asked numerous questions about the proposed Development Agreement which resulted in changes to the Agreement that I think are favorable to Ivins. My concerns centered on:

Water –
The Development Agreement includes Ivins standard water shortage statement:
“WHEREAS, the Developer understands that the entire State of Utah, and Washington County in particular, has been and still is suffering from an extreme drought resulting in the potential shortage of culinary and secondary water in the City and further understands that building permits will be issued only upon the availability of water;”
I asked for water features to be prohibited and that request was incorporated into the final version. I also requested Ivins be able to limit public pools but I wasn’t able to achieve that however, I did get this statement included:
“Developer agrees that it will work closely with the Washington County Water Conservancy District, third-party consultants and the City with respect to water planning and waters use formulas throughout the Project in an effort to meet or exceed the standards set by the District for conservancy. The implementation of a pool for the sole benefit of a single residential unit within the Project shall be subject to and planned as a part of the water conservancy planning contemplated by this section..”

Conservation Easement –
I wanted to ensure that no structures could be built on the land under conservation easement. This clause was added to the Development Agreement:
“The limited development activities shall include the ability to construct structures and facilities attendant to the conservation uses such has trails, trailhead parking, and trailhead restrooms for hiking and biking.”

Golf Driving Range – tall nets that could impede views were a concern of residents so Black Desert wrote into the agreement that it will be a “netless driving range”

Building Height and Setback – The height limit is discussed above and is included in the Development Agreement. In addition Black Desert agreed to a 60 ft building setback along Snow Canyon Parkway and any buildings within 185 ft of Snow Canyon Parkway will be limited to 16 ft in height (which means single story buildings!). This is very important because it lessens the impact to the view from Snow Canyon Parkway and also for residents of The Reserve.

Fire Stations Update –

I want to restate what I mentioned in September, it’s important for all Ivins residents to be aware that we no longer have a manned fire station on Center Street. The decision was made within the Fire Department to relocate the manned station to Rachel Dr in Santa Clara. In addition, the station that was in the Art Village was closed a few months ago. That wasn’t a manned station but there was equipment located there in the event of a fire in Kayenta.

Discussions are continuing between Ivins and Santa Clara (for those who aren’t aware, we have joint police and fire departments) and the potential exists for a manned fire station on Kwavasa.

Water –

As a follow-up to our discussion on water conservation, we are awaiting the final proposed ordinances from the WCWD for consideration. It’s my hope that we will receive these in November so they can be approved and take effect immediately.

Dry Wash update – Chuck Gillette, Dir of Ivins Public Works, stated that discussions are ongoing between Terry Marten/Lance Anderson and the WCWD regarding the location of a reservoir to hold irrigation water for Ivins. There is currently a 6-month building moratorium on Dry Wash to allow discussion and consideration of alternative reservoir locations. It’s probable that the moratorium will be extended for another 6 months. The pickleball trails go through Dry Wash so they would be impacted if a reservoir is constructed.

Accessory Dwelling Units Ordinance – 

The State requires each city to implement an ordinance permitting rental of Accessory Dwelling Units (such as casitas). However, in areas where they are prohibited by HOA’s the ordinance does not apply (such as Shonto and Taviak in Kayenta). The ADU ordinance requires a minimum 30 day rental period, I’m hopeful this helps our challenges with affordable housing in Ivins.

Zoning Change Request – 7 acres corner of 200 W and Hwy 91

The Planning Commission recommended Council consider changing the zoning from LDR (low-density residential) and RA-1 (residential agricultural, min lot size 1 acre) to HDR (high-density residential) and R-1-5 (single-family residential, min lot size 5000 sq ft). The landowner had requested a Multi-Family zoning so that they could build townhomes. This issue received many comments at both the PC Public Hearing and at the Council Public Hearing. After listening to public comments, three council members (me, Derek, and Dennis) stated support for MDR, medium-density residential, zoning. In fact, Derek and I voted for medium density and R-1-7.5. Dennis supported waiting until the next meeting to allow the developer to reconsider their proposal given that Council has expressed support for MDR. The motion to delay the decision until next meeting passed.

I want to get into the details of zoning change requests because they can be confusing. The parcel at 200W and Hwy 91 has what I refer to as a “placeholder” zoning. Meaning that when the City was initially zoned, the consultant suggested giving some parcels RA-1 and RA-5 zoning which would require the landowner to come before the City to request a zone change. The idea was that it was impossible to forecast exactly how the city would build out so by using 1 acre and 5-acre parcel zoning, future Planning Commissions and City Council’s would be better equipped to determine appropriate zoning. Apparently, the placeholder zones worked well until the building boom really took off. In my opinion, the placeholder zones create confusion because when you look at the land use/zoning map, you are misled by the placeholder zones. Granted, I think it would be wonderful to have 1 acre lots with only 7 homes on the parcel but that isn’t realistic given how Ivins has grown. So, I’ve requested Dale mark all the placeholder zones with an asterisk and have a legend that explains this zoning is a placeholder and is designed to be changed. The landowner can request any zoning. The ball in then in PC and CC’s court to come up with a decision that is consistent with the Land Use and General Plan.

Thanks much –
Sue