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Resident group tells San Juan County commissioners zoning rules and general plan are out of sync
Summary
A volunteer Public Awareness Committee told commissioners it has held neighborhood meetings, reviewed the county land-use code and created a survey for unincorporated San Juan County, saying the 2025 LUDMO and the general plan contain inconsistencies and unclear definitions.
Shannon Brooks, speaking during the public-comment portion of the April 1 San Juan County Commission meeting, summarized months of volunteer outreach and research and asked the commission to note a growing disconnect between county planning documents and residents’ expectations.
“I just think it's exceptional that we start these meetings with an invocation and a pledge of allegiance,” Brooks said, then turned to the committee’s work: “We've held, since January, we've held three separate meetings with county administrator and the zoning administrator…we've had meetings in LaSalle, Elk Meadows, Monticello, Eastland, and Blanding…10 meetings so far.”
Brooks provided time estimates for the committee’s effort: “We've put about 25 hours into those meetings…another 5 to 10 hours on phone or texting or email. We've spent about 40 hours researching and reviewing county commission meetings over the last year…and another 40, 50 hours reading and researching state law, the 2011 ordinance, and the 2025 ordinance.” She said the group launched an online survey on the day of the meeting intended to reach about 1,000 households in unincorporated San Juan County.
Brooks said the committee found “some inconsistencies between the LUDMO and the general plan” and identified “major flaws in the overall zoning rationale…numerous weaknesses in the language of the actual ordinance, lack of definitions, problem with language.” She said the committee will post its collected data with San Juan Records so the public can review it.
A member of the public online, identified as Kennedy Kane of Blanding, asked that meeting links for virtual participation be easier to find on county web pages and social platforms. County staff replied that links are included in agendas on the county site, on the Utah Public Notice website and in Utah Public Notice email alerts, and offered to help Kane sign up for notices.
Brooks’s remarks were informational and did not prompt formal county action at the meeting, though commissioners acknowledged receiving the committee’s materials and said staff would follow up as needed.
The committee left copies of its findings with the commission.
