The Springdale Planning Commission on June 18, 2025, approved an erosion-hazard permit for a proposed small Desert Ice building at 95 Zion Park Boulevard, concluding the site’s erosion risk is covered by a prior 2023 study and imposing no additional bank-protection requirements at this time.

Nile Connolly, a town staff member, told the commission the one-story building would be roughly 300 square feet and sit about 130–175 feet from the river in a moderate erosion-hazard zone, which triggered the permit requirement. Staff recommended relying on a 2023 erosion-hazard assessment performed for wireless communication infrastructure nearby.

Commissioners discussed the scope of the 2023 study, whether it examined upstream conditions near a bridge, and distinctions between erosion hazard and flood risk. Commissioner Melissa Laborde noted the 2023 assessment did not call for additional riverbank work at the time, and Commissioner Tom Kinston said a building placed between the market and the river would likely face less erosion risk than adjacent structures.

Nate Wells, general manager of Zion Canyon Village, told the commission the canyon’s highest recorded flow in recent memory peaked at about 7,900 cubic feet per second during a December 2010 event, and that earlier reinforcement work along the riverbank behind the brewpub had made that reach stable.

Staff also confirmed the project has a separate floodplain development permit that addresses building-level flood resilience; design work for that permit includes making the structure watertight up to the base flood elevation.

Commissioner Jennifer McCullough moved to approve the erosion-hazard permit, the planning commission concurred with staff that the 2023 wireless‑infrastructure erosion study could satisfy the analysis requirement, and Commissioner Terry Kruschke seconded. The motion passed with recorded “aye” votes from Commissioners McCullough, Kruschke, Kinston, Zimmerman and Bate.

No public comments were recorded on this agenda item. The commission’s decision treated erosion-hazard compliance separately from floodplain mitigation, and staff retained the authority to require future repairs or mitigation if monitoring or changed conditions indicate a need.