Commission debates allowing residential parking in Springdale flood zone, weighs river corridor protections

The Springdale Planning Commission on May 7 reviewed a council request to reassess a town ordinance that currently restricts parking spaces in the special flood hazard area and to identify measures that would protect the Virgin River riparian corridor from ecological, water‑quality and visual impacts.

Staff framed the discussion around two distinct questions: whether removing the absolute ban on parking in floodplains is acceptable in principle, and what additional river‑corridor protections would be needed to avoid ecological and visual harm. "The town council agreed with the principle of that, and that it would help properties be developed in a more…sequential approach," a staff member said, while cautioning that the council "were concerned about some of the impacts that that could have on the river corridors. So ecological impacts, visual impacts, water quality impacts, all those sorts of things." (staff comment paraphrased from the meeting.)

Why it matters: Commissioners noted the ordinance change could allow property owners to shift uses (for example, add parking in lower‑lying parts of sites) and that additional parking near the river could increase pollutants and remove native vegetation. The planning commission asked staff to craft short‑term, enforceable restrictions for residential parking while the town considers a larger, multi‑year River Corridor overlay project.

Key points from the discussion

- Staff gave background that the town uses FEMA designations for the flood hazard overlay and that the River Management Plan (adopted 2019) contains recommendations to preserve the river corridor. Staff told commissioners the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) focuses on life safety and building protections and does not set standards for parking in floodplains.

- Commissioners recalled recent floods that damaged properties and some parked cars; staff said the town does not have a specific water‑quality analysis linking existing flood‑zone parking to measurable river contamination.

- The municipal code was cited in places: residential building floors in the flood hazard area generally must be 1 foot above the base‑flood elevation; some nonresidential enclosed areas used solely for parking must be designed to automatically equalize hydrostatic flood forces; and the current code includes a sentence that "no parking lot area or space shall be constructed or maintained or allowed within 10 feet of any special flood hazard area," language commissioners described as broad in effect.

Short‑term vs. long‑term work

Commissioners split the work into two tracks.

Short term (staff directed): prepare ordinance language that would allow limited residential parking in the flood hazard area subject to restrictions such as permeable paving, water‑quality treatment (stormwater filtration or catch basins), erosion control (swales, vegetative stabilization), minimum elevation (ideas discussed included compliance with the residential "1 foot above base flood" standard), setbacks from the floodway edge (possible distances discussed such as 50 feet), limited frequency/number of spaces per residential lot, vegetative screening to reduce visual impacts, and an explicit prohibition on commercial parking in the floodway for now.

Long term (commission recommendation): explore a River Corridor overlay implementing the Virgin River Management Plan goals (ecological protection, visual corridor preservation and water quality). Commissioners recognized this overlay would likely be multi‑year and require consultant funding and town‑council buy‑in; commissioners proposed forming a small working group (planning commissioners and council members) and engaging the town’s river and vegetation experts and the National Park representative for site walks.

Next steps and staff direction

The commission directed staff to prepare a short list of candidate restrictions for a follow‑up work meeting and to provide mapping data that shows how many parcels are wholly or partly inside the flood hazard area and how many existing houses and parking spaces are affected. Commissioners emphasized that the short‑term ordinance should be written so it can be revisited after a longer corridor study, and that any immediate change should include enforceable water‑quality and erosion‑control measures.

Ending note

No ordinance was adopted. Commissioners asked staff to return with draft language, mapping overlays and recommendations from the town engineer and river/vegetation specialists. The item was non‑action for the May 7 meeting.