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
August 4, 2026
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 Perry Brown, Commissioner Dave Robinson, Commissioner Brandon Weight, and Commissioner Pam Gardiol.

Staff Attending: City Manager-Chuck Gillette, City Attorney-Bryan Pack, City Engineer-Tom Jorgensen and Deputy City Recorder-Sharon Allen
Audience Attending: Wayne Pennington, Bonnie Kline, Gentry Griffin, Aaron Olsen, Jerry Miyahara, Koko Head, Suzy Appel, Sharon Barton, as well as others that did not sign in.

A.	Acknowledgement of Quorum

B.	Flag Salute--Chair Perry Brown

C.	Invocation--Commissioner Dave Robinson

D.	Disclosures--None.

2)	REPORTS, PRESENTATIONS AND APPOINTMENTS-None.

3)	PUBLIC HEARING AND ACTION ITEMS-

Jerry Miyahara stated he is the COO for Rize Capital and EWD on behalf of the Retreat. This would be a good time to give a brief update on the project. They have been working diligently working with City Staff, Tom Jorgensen and Chuck Gillette on grading plans and construction drawings for the infrastructure and we are close to approvals for those. They are getting into the early stages of design work for the residential end products. Advancements in the project are that we have entered into an agreement with Cole West. They are a local homebuilder with a significant presence in both resort and residential. Gentry Griffin is the head of design and architecture and Aaron Olsen are both here and they head up our development. Another design company as well is working with Gentry Griffin and the Cole West team. Also we have executed our agreements with Reef Capital and Black Desert Resort and they will share more details of that exciting partnership in the future. There may be refinements as they market but it will be referring to the project as The Retreat at Black Desert Resort. What we are proposing is a very project specific amendment agreement to this development. We are requesting some relief on the front yard setbacks and height restrictions in the West residential area of The Retreat. This does not affect the East Resort side. This will be Southwest of Hamblin Parkway. The request is to be able to create variety and architecture to produce the best possible street scene and product that we can. Because of the density of the project there is a lot of monotony. They all have to be flat roofs to stay within the 25 foot height requirement. The front yard setback request on the garage side they will stay within the 20 foot setback. But the request is for the turn in garages, they'd like a 5 foot encroachment, and on the porches they would like an 8 foot encroachment. So we are asking for a 12 foot setback for front porches. He showed the 47 x 85 product, the 75 x 100 and is still a 20 ft setback for the garage and 15 feet on living spaces. The last image was for the 10,000 square foot lot zones. Same distances for the side turn-in garage and 8 feet on front porch. Solterra recently did a very similar amendment to their development agreement. This will bring the best end product we can deliver and on brand for the incredible Black Desert Resort. Everything west of Hamblin is non-nightly rental. Our request is to increase the height restriction from 25 to 30 feet except for the area in red. Those are 37,000 square foot lots we have already negotiated to be 25-foot, single-story, flat roof homes along that edge. The other zones are the area we are asking for a height amendment. He showed the 32 foot wide product. These exhibits come with a lot of market research and study with a lot of expertise. We believe that on the height of the ceilings, the market expectation is 10 feet on the first floor and 9 feet on the second floor and that can be accommodated with a flat roof in that 25 foot height requirement, but a 4 inch rise over a 12 inch run roof pitch is as flat as we would want. That gets to 27'6" to that peak. The 37 foot wide product with the same roof pitch is 28'4" and we would love to integrate architectural style and variations and go to a 5 inch rise over a 12 inch run roof pitch and that gets to 29'11" at the peak. That is why we are requesting 30 feet. We are very conscious of the concerns of what the view standpoint is for existing neighbors. We understand the General Plan and that we try to protect views as much as we can. With these pitches there is actually a greater amount of roof sections that are under the 25 feet requirement, somewhere around 20 percent is what would be above that. The street scene exhibit shows a visual representation of what we are trying to achieve. We would like to not be forced to do an all flat roof product, to create variety and interest and avoid monotony, especially in the RM zone where there is greater density. Chair Perry Brown opened the Public Hearing. Bryan Pack stated no one was on Zoom. Hearing no comments, Chair Perry Brown closed the Public Hearing.

Commissioner Pam Gardiol inquired on the development agreement the address shows 400 South and Cordero Drive. It also states elsewhere Puerto Drive. Chuck Gillette stated that either address would work. Both are adjacent to the project. Commissioner Pam Gardiol stated thank you for clarification. She loves that they are looking into how this architecture is being seen from the street. Well done. The garage is not the primary architectural feature of the house. In keeping with our General Plan, this is creating opportunities for connection and is very nice. The definition of a porch is a covered area attached to the front of the building that forms a transitional space between outdoors and indoors and serves as a front of house room. It is a small clearly defined seating cluster area where people can talk. Looking at the setback street scene, the fourth house over where the porch seems to have an arch and it looks like there could be chairs and closer to the street. It invites people to come talk with the neighbors. The other porches shown remind me of Seattle where the porch gets me out of the rain and into the house as quickly as possible. She hopes the wider porches are created, giving more opportunities for connection. Development Agreement Item #6 talks about walkout basements. Is that a feature in this development? Gentry Griffin stated that there are a few walkout lots on the west residential side. About 20-30 of them. They are interspersed daylight basements and the soil is conducive for that. Commissioner Dave Robinson stated he loves the front street scene. It breaks it up. Front yards get wasted and he likes that they are keeping the garages and driveways back. This maximum height of 25 feet has always been problematic. Being a contractor, he knows it is hard to get a two-story structure in without being 8 foot floors. He used to live in that subdivision and they dug the house in to meet the street view. He had the best view in Ivins. It will be gone now. He is afraid of raising those heights for the people already living in Padre Canyon. Why does this ridgeline City property not continue back in the back of these lots for a trail system to go back into the dry wash? It is just dead space now. It could be a single track not even fully graded. Chuck Gillette stated it is about a 2:1 slope. He would be hesitant to do that because he has been on that slope a lot because when it rains it brings sediment into people's backyards and it is considered an act of God because we don't do anything to improve that area. That would change if we added a trail. He would love to allow them to acquire the property. That has not been coordinated. He would have a hard time putting a trail there. Commissioner Dave Robinson stated he knows some areas are cliffs in people's backyards, but we just dead-ended it instead of putting it into the dry wash which is four lots away. Commissioner Brandon Weight stated he was thinking it would be a paved trail. Bryan Pack stated it may be helpful to create an exhibit identifying which setback would be on which lots. The height one we were just shown as well. The reason why this has come to you is it is contrary to our code. When that happens it first comes to the Planning Commission as a recommendation to City Council.

MOTION: Commissioner Dave Robinson moved to approve recommendation amending The Retreat Development Agreement, as amended to show the appropriate exhibits. Roll Call Unanimous.
SECOND: Commissioner Pam Gardiol

VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.

Tom Jorgensen stated that every once in awhile we do some updates to our standard specs and drawings and we have done minor updates over the past 15 years and the last major one was in 2010. We are going to a 2026 edition. The majority of the changes were listed on that first page. We can go through the whole hundred pages if you prefer. Chair Perry Brown opened the Public Hearing. Bryan Pack stated no one was on Zoom. Hearing no comments, Chair Perry Brown closed the Public Hearing.

Commissioner Pam Gardiol stated there are more text pages that were added that she has not reviewed. Tom Jorgensen stated that that is correct. You had the explanation in the first page, but he added those text pages to tell the Commission what definitions were changed. Commissioner Pam Gardiol stated she downloaded the packet before those pages were added so she is missing that verbiage. She is not prepared to respond to these changes. Commissioner Dave Robinson inquired if the red lines were showing what was being added? He has not reviewed the new verbiage. Commissioner Brandon Weight stated those revision clouds are showing what they already changed. Not what needs to be changed. Tom Jorgensen stated there are probably too many changes to go through them all this meeting.

MOTION: Commissioner Pam Gardiol moved to continue recommendation of amendments to the Standard Specifications for Design and Construction for Ivins City. Roll Call Unanimous.
SECOND: Commissioner Dave Robinson

VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.

4)	DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS

Sharon Allen stated that the Commission has the staff report. This development is proposing two additional flaglots to be created behind the main home. TRC discussed storm drain discharge, there will be a block wall around the development, meter placement and the shared access and easements. Fire confirmed that the driveway surface will be and that there is a turnaround. TRC recommended approval. Chair Perry Brown stated this is very similar to a flaglot we looked at last meeting. This has similar drainage and access factors to consider. Sharon Allen stated that these are actually the applicants that helped change our flaglot ordinance. Commissioner Pam Gardiol stated in the analysis section on the Staff report, the administrative review states we are solely applying existing law to the plan. Has the change to the flaglot ordinance now put this into compliance? Sharon Allen stated that is correct. They waited until that ordinance passed to apply for this Preliminary Plan. Commissioner Pam Gardiol inquired that the Staff report also states "verify that the plan materially conforms"? Sharon Allen stated that is a standard line in our Staff report. That just means we have looked at all our codes and that they are in compliance with all standards. Commissioner Pam Gardiol stated in Zoning District Purpose and Alignment, it states that we "check that the General Plan objectives of creating neighborhoods with a variety of housing options that meet diverse in financial and aesthetic needs." She feels that this is doing that. Chair Perry Brown stated that it is also using some unoccupied open space within the community. Sharon Allen stated that is right. We said we needed to see infill in the City, and this is a good example. Commissioner Pam Gardiol stated she feels this is doing that.

MOTION: Commissioner Pam Gardiol moved to approve McKenna Preliminary Plan, located at approximately 165 West and 300 North. Bart Taylor-Owner/Applicant, based on the findings discussed in the Staff report. Roll Call Unanimous.
SECOND: Commissioner Dave Robinson

VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.

Chair Perry Brown stated the land use map is a component of the General Plan. Updating the existing map is technical and implementation-oriented and involves questions about infrastructure, transportation, housing, economics, environmental constraints, design and development feasibility, and a lot more. We had a joint meeting with City Council on the 28th and looked at the land use map and the process, which has three broad phases. The first was designing the process and talking about the kind of data and data collection that needs to go on and then the analysis of options and scenarios to inform how we move forward in the community. Second, hold a set of community forums in an effort to solicit ideas and concerns from a broad selection of interest groups and individuals. Businesses, the arts community, our youth, Open Space Committee, developers to name a few. Third, after we have heard from everyone and get all the ideas sitting on the table, then we need to go in to the development and evaluation of land use scenarios and eventually a formal adoption of the land use map. Today, our focus is to identify data and information needed to help Staff develop for our consideration. Gaps or issues in today's environment in the current land use map and the General Plan and the development of land use issues and constraints that might be shared with various constituents. Our job is to come up with the kinds of information that we would like Staff to develop that we can use to move forward and eventually adopt a land use map that is in conformance with the General Plan. The list that follows is a list of data and information, needs and ideas that came out of that joint meeting. There are a number of things on that list that people have identified as things that we need to ask Staff or other appropriate person to help develop. This list has some ideas. In addition, he has more to add to that. Other members of the Commission may also have some to add. Sharon Allen also prepared a document that goes well beyond this list. That will be useful to us down the road. By next meeting the Commission may read that and realize some other data needs we may have. Two things he wanted to add was the open space map that Chuck Gillette developed that includes prospective parks, and also the fire risk map. Commissioner Dave Robinson stated we have developed our own. Chuck Gillette stated the State is not the official map because they asked us for feedback to make revisions. We funnel those comments through the County. Then our map is our WUI zone map where we would be enforcing that code. That is useful information. Commissioner Pam Gardiol stated that this list Sharon Allen gave is pretty comprehensive if all of this data is gathered. Commissioner Dave Robinson stated that he would like to see the population broken down into age group areas to see where families and our seniors are. Especially since we are talking about potential walkable communities. Chuck Gillette stated that may be available census data, but it may just list us as a single tract. We may be able to find that data with the church. Commissioner Pam Gardiol stated that we need to talk about walkability and where that is actually feasible and where it is not. Places that overlap could be a spot for neighborhood stores. Commissioner Dave Robinson stated he can look into the population and census data. As we expand Ivins, we also need to look at what is going to happen with annexation. We will start to see that form. So much of our community is built, that it is hard to manipulate what we have. Sharon Allen reminded them that Commissioner Doug Clifford sent in his comments and ideas regarding this agenda item. Since last meeting, we spoke with Kurt Dampf the building official in Washington County and he is working on numbers for next meeting. Brenda Pendleton in our front office printed off the list of business license registry so you can see where certain homes have what type of businesses. Someone had asked for traffic counts in specific neighborhoods, and Tom Jorgensen said that would be very difficult to do. Commissioner Pam Gardiol stated that we need an overlay showing which parts of the City have more collections of people have their businesses and maybe there is a reason there are more densities of businesses in an area than others. Chuck Gillette stated we don't have a great grasp on home-based businesses because that ordinance requirement was removed. But he is sure we have some information. Commissioner Perry Brown stated regarding businesses, Councilmembers Dillon Hurt and Sharon Barton put some questions together to ask existing business owners in the community what works and what doesn't. We would like to have one member of the Commission help them work on that. Commissioner Dave Robinson volunteered to help. Chair Perry Brown stated we will wait to get more data from Staff. Sharon Allen stated they will go down the list and see what we Staff can collect.

MOTION: Commissioner Brandon Weight moved to approve the Ivins City Planning Commission Meeting Minutes for July 14, 2026.
SECOND: Commissioner Dave Robinson

VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.

Commissioner Pam Gardiol inquired where we were with the 2026 calendar and reviewing key policies and code topics assignment? Sharon Allen stated that two items are with City Council, the RC and CN zones. We are waiting so we don't snowball them with another one just yet. We can update the calendar if the Commission wants. Right now, we will move down to the next item when we see the Council is making progress on the items they currently have before them.

Chair Perry Brown stated there will be another Joint meeting on Thursday at 4 pm to talk about alternatives to the annexation proposal. They have had a proposal for areas to do affordable housing and that will be held prior to the City Council meeting. Chuck Gillette stated the option is another place to do affordable housing. The options could be not to do affordable housing on SITLA or to do it in both place, or neither place. There are attachments to review in that agenda.

Sharon Allen stated there will be another Preliminary Plan coming forward named Ember Mesa sometime in the next couple meetings.

Chuck Gillette stated we are working on some ordinance changes based off State codes.

MOTION: Commissioner Pam Gardiol moved to approve ADJOURNMENT
SECOND: Commissioner Dave Robinson

VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.

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