Planning Commission

Copy of the City of Ivins record for Planning Commission, preserved by OwnUtah.com Ivins Meetings. Official source: City of Ivins Granicus archive.

IVINS CITY
PLANNING COMMISSION
MINUTES
April 1, 2025
435-628-0606

1)	WELCOME AND CALL TO ORDER

CHAIRMAN AND COMMISSIONERS: The meeting was called to order at 05:30 p.m. All present included Chair Pam Gardiol, Commissioner Dave Robinson, Commissioner Doug Clifford, Commissioner Brandon Weight, and Commissioner Perry Brown.

Staff Attending: Bryan Pack-City Attorney, Mike Haycock and Rob Dalley-Building and Zoning Administrator, and Sharon Allen-Deputy City Recorder.
Audience Attending: Jerry Armstrong, Bonnie Kline, Koko Head and Corey Jardine, as well as others who did not sign in.

A.	Acknowledgement of Quorum

B.	Flag Salute--Commissioner Brandon Weight

C.	Invocation--Commissioner Brandon Weight

D.	Disclosures--None.

2)	REPORTS, PRESENTATIONS AND APPOINTMENTS-

Chair Pam Gardiol stated that Council has reappointed her for another term. It is her honor to continue to serve. Mike Haycock stated he has taken a job with Washington City. It has been great working with the Commission. Rob Dalley will be taking over and he will do a great job. Chair Pam Gardiol thanked Mike Haycock for his service and wished him the best moving forward. Rob Dalley is our new Building Official Department Head, and interim Zoning Administrator. Rob Dalley stated he has been with Ivins City for a year this month. His background is that he came over here from Washington City after many years. He was in St George for two years and with Brian Head for ten. He has a diverse background in building and zoning. He is the Second Vice-Chair for the Utah ICC and is heavily involved with legislation.

MOTION: Commissioner Perry Brown moved to approve Pam Gardiol as Chair.
SECOND: Commissioner Doug Clifford

VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.

MOTION: Commissioner Dave Robinson moved to approve Brandon Weight as Vice-Chair.
SECOND: Commissioner Doug Clifford

VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.

3)	PUBLIC HEARING AND ACTION ITEMS-

Chair Pam Gardiol stated that the background on this item is that the original Class IV Conditional Use application for the placement of modular buildings was filed in 2021. The site construction in Black Desert Resort has progressed and requires a relocation of the modular buildings from these early sites. The purpose for our discussion is that moving these structures requires a Conditional Use Permit amendment and the Commission is to determine if there are any negative impacts on sight, noise, traffic, lighting or views to the City from the placement of these three modular buildings. If any negative impacts are identified, we are to define the measures to mitigate them. Koko Head stated he is the managing counsel for Black Desert Resort at 1500 East Black Desert Drive. The summary provided is excellent and explains how much has happened out there since 2021 in terms of the modular construction, buildings and storage buildings. We are now in the process of digging the pit for the four-story underground parking garage and it is requiring them to move some things around. They are seeking an amendment to the original Class IV Conditional Use Permit. He apologized to the Commission and the City regarding the timing of his filing of this application. He did not coordinate well with the construction team, and one building got moved before he could file. They schedule in advance the moving of these modulars. When we discovered it had been moved and the concerns of The Reserve residents, we immediately took steps to move it to a different location that also had power and water. We filed a revised plan on March 26th and relocated the one shown on the projector screen, further down to the southwest corner in between where the parking garage and the water park will go. That modular is gone. The other two buildings are located behind the brine building, directly across from and kind of hidden by the banquet area and that is for administrative support. It is not really visible from anywhere off property. Now that North Village subdivision improvements are in, we have a rock wall that is partially completed at the north end of the Parkway and a rock wall partially completed. As soon as they finish the rock wall on the south end it will cover that open area. We are putting in the temporary wrap fencing until it is eventually replaced with the rock wall. That trailer will then be almost completely hidden from view because of the topography. Those are the three buildings we are talking about. We have already moved some of the buildings and more will be moved by the summer as we get ready to clear out that area when the work on the water park commences. Rob Dalley stated that we want to amend the Conditional Use Permit for the locations described. Why it is happening, is a trailer at the roundabout that got put in was very visible, so we contacted them to remove that and amend the Conditional Use Permit to notify the city of where they are being relocated, as shown in the photos. The Conditional Use Permit is being amended because trailers are not a permitted use, so this gives them the right to put them on site. It is no longer an impact to where they have moved them now. He has been heavily involved in this if the Commission has further questions. Chair Pam Gardiol opened the Public Hearing. Jerry Armstrong lives in the Reserve and was one of the residents that made comment and sent an email in early on when the trailer was being set up. He would like to say thank you to the City and Black Desert Reserve for removing that trailer. He is on a safety and access committee for the Reserve and represents the homeowners in that aspect, and there have been a number of issues. It is the City's General Plan and the clear description of protection of views and vistas and particularly of the entrance into our City. His invitation is for the many good things that Black Desert Resort has done, to think forward to make sure what they are doing matches what the City desires. Bryan Pack stated there was no one on Zoom.

Chair Pam Gardiol stated that two of the trailers are a non-issue. The one in North Village is visible now, and the rock wall will be built. The topography does not drop enough, but it is a temporary trailer there for a specific purpose and it will not be there permanently. She sees no issue that could be of detriment to the City. Commissioner Dave Robinson stated he drives that way each day and he questioned when the trailer was moved to that location. He is glad that has been handled. The wall is progressing and shading that area. These are temporary during the time of construction, and he agrees with what they proposed. Commissioner Perry Brown stated he concurs. It has been placed in a place he wouldn't even know it is there, and same with the brine building. The third one at North Village is set back quite a way from the Parkway and it is temporary. The wall has it mostly covered. When vegetation and landscaping come in, if it is still even there at that time, it will be covered well. Commissioner Doug Clifford inquired what the timeframe is for the use of these trailers? Corey Jardine is the project director and stated that the HOA trailer on lot 17 in North Village will stay until that project is about 50% built out, then that will go away. The one on the projector screen will be there until the third quarter of 2026 and then they will need to move them to a different location. Chair Pam Gardiol inquired do you have an estimate? Corey Jardine stated that North Village will be about the end of 2026 to first quarter 2027. Chair Pam Gardiol stated that the other comment she has is the construction parking lot that has no fence, no shroud out in front as we drive the Parkway. These are three temporary structures, when there is a whole parking lot full of stuff right next to the Parkway. That is an incongruity overall. Corey Jardine stated the pods are going away and when they build the parking lots out, then those will move. In Golf Village, we need to have storage. We will try to address those next week, and take those conex boxes so they are not as visible. Chair Pam Gardiol stated there is a visual impact to the community. You have spectacular wall and have shrouded other areas of the development. Corey Jardine stated that we are working through a rock wall at our parking places, and we need to do some landscape and berming in that area. We can see what we can do to get the conex boxes away from Snow Canyon Parkway. Bryan Pack stated the trailer use is a conditionally permitted use. As far as construction, that impact is part of the process. As a City, we don't necessarily have the ability to mitigate that construction impact. This applicant is cognizant of the issue and is willing to do work through that, but just know there is a difference. Koko Head stated the area where the one trailer that has moved to North Village, we have taken that fence down so we can asphalt that entire parking area and hoping to be done by LPGA, then we will try to permanently landscape.

MOTION: Commissioner Perry Brown moved to approve a Class IV Conditional Use Amendment for Black Desert Resort Construction Trailers. Enlaw-LLC-Owner. Koko Head-Applicant, based upon the information supplied. These trailers are appropriate and fit the need, and are basically screened from Snow Canyon Parkway.
SECOND: Commissioner Dave Robinson

VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.

4)	DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS

MOTION: Commissioner Dave Robinson moved to approve the Ivins City Planning Commission Meeting Minutes for March 18, 2025.
SECOND: Commissioner Perry Brown

VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.

Chair Pam Gardiol stated some of the key things she took away from the Utah Land Use Institute Conference is the fast overview of what happened at the legislative session. There were a near-record number of bills, and of forty land use bills presented, twenty-five passed. There was a land use and zoning focus, and these things will impact us. The land use management and development act has grown to 760 lines this year. There will be land use implications. A comment made at the conference was that people keep coming to Utah and people keep having children. That is not going away. We are different from the Wasatch Front, but there is a theme going across the State. They talked about small-scale condo construction, labeled as the urbanization of Utah. They spoke of height restriction and addressing the reality of change. They talked about the challenge of going vertical without destroying the connection to place. They refer to "5 over 1" in metropolitan areas. It is one level parking so everything is contained. One thing that was sobering was the impact of delayed home ownership and the housing crisis. The current average age of our first-time homebuyer is now 38. This is a generation prevented from generational wealth creation and stability. We are currently paying for the housing exclusion practices between 1900 and 1980. We are now setting up the next exclusion practices that is younger generations. We are and will continue to pay for the failed housing opportunities. Exclusionary zoning practices was another discussion. It impacts the poorest among us, the most. Zone by density range and housing types rather than square footage, more points of usage in neighborhoods, and different kinds of uses rather than all one-kind of use. Lehi had an innovative moderate-income housing practice. Council sets a target price point and then a developer can create two or more concept plans on how to build to that price point early on. She doesn't know how it will play out, but it requires a different paradigm to what we want. What we have done, doesn't get us where we want to go. If we want community, we have to build it by changing the way we look at the entire process. How do we push ourselves to be innovative and still be respectful? Commissioner Dave Robinson stated that a study he read the other day talked about the median house size in 1930, which was about 600-800 square feet. Each decade it has increased. Now we are at 3k square feet. We lost homes that were affordable homes. His first home in Ivins was 900 square feet, three bed, two bath with a little addition on it. We are now looking too big, we fill every square inch with house. We need to go back to where we start at 900 square feet for starter homes. Commissioner Perry Brown stated that the price point design in Lehi, if that is where it was, was an interesting way to look at the marketing. The number of people per house has also decreased dramatically. Utah had more people per house, but we moved from 3.3 to 2.7 people per household, so it is going down nationwide. We are building bigger houses for fewer people. We have more people, so we need more houses. That is the driving shortage. Chair Pam Gardiol stated we need to have some discussions to address these things to align with the General Plan.

Rob Dalley stated he attended that land use conference as well. He was in a zoom meeting with the Governor on affordable housing if you have heard his vision on that, look it up. His own opinion is that kids want to leave our home and have exactly what took us 30 years to acquire. He can help he is a resource on the legislation. If he doesn't know, he will find out or knows someone who does. He watched 40 bills this session on bill tracker. Chair Pam Gardiol stated that may help inform some of the decisions we make. Rob Dalley stated yes if you want to blend housing styles, we could do that in an overlay. That is kind of where the State is trying to push us. Lehi wasn't affordable housing it was a pretty steep price point, but it conformed to their own vision. Commissioner Doug Clifford stated that he does not think the Governor was overly pleased with how everything turned out this session, but he is expecting that the legislature will make some inroads to what is still the biggest problem, which is where is the land to put this housing on. We will have big empty dinosaur homes unless we can turn those into multi-family residences, which we can look into. But we still have to look for land. It is a concern that NIMBY mentality makes it difficult to insert higher-density homes into existing neighborhoods or that they will hurt their property values. There are a multitude of concepts we can talk about, but we don't have the land. Another point is that not only are sales missing the low-end of the marketplace being able to purchase or rent, but the mid-affluent are not as excited to buy as to rent because it is financially cheaper for them to rent the home. Chair Pam Gardiol stated we will have an opportunity to have some in-depth discussions.

Chair Pam Gardiol inquired if we have an update on the Land Use 101 training. Sharon Allen stated she has emailed the Commission a reminder to click the link of the required yearly class that they need to take. They can do the free class online with that link for their required three hours. They used to issue a certificate at the end. Commissioner Doug Clifford stated there were other trainings on that site as well. Chair Pam Gardiol stated that the conference she just attended also counts for those hours. Sharon Allen stated yes, but the League classes do not.

MOTION: Commissioner Doug Clifford moved to approve ADJOURNMENT
SECOND: Commissioner Dave Robinson

VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.

Chair Pam Gardiol	AYE
Commissioner Dave Robinson	AYE
Commissioner Doug Clifford	AYE
Commissioner Brandon Weight	AYE
Commissioner Perry Brown	AYE