St. George City Council approves Costco PD, multiple land‑use changes and funding reallocations; OKs power project share

St. George City Council met in regular session and unanimously approved a package of land‑use and administrative items, including a planned‑development amendment to allow a Costco and related fuel station, a set of general‑plan and rezoning changes for multiple properties, a substantial amendment to the 2024 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) annual action plan reallocating leftover federal funds, and a resolution increasing the city’s development share in the Power County energy project. The council continued consideration of the Mojave Crossing site plan for a 107‑room hotel, medical offices and retail to allow the applicant and staff time to address access, grading and visual‑impact concerns.

Why this matters: The decisions open new retail capacity and commercial acreage in the Atkinsville/Desert Color and Old Farm areas, redirect federal CDBG dollars to an immediate capital need, and secure a larger share of future power generation for the city as existing power contracts near expiration.

Votes at a glance

- Items C & D, Consent calendar: Approved (motion to approve items C and D carried unanimously). Motion by Michelle Tanner, seconded by Steve Kemp; recorded as unanimous approval.

- Item 4, substantial amendment to 2024 CDBG Annual Action Plan (reallocation of leftover funds): Approved. Motion by Steve Kemp, seconded by Natalie Larson; unanimous.

- Ordinance 2025‑007, vacation of a portion of municipal utility easement (Woodhaven Estates): Adopted by roll call, unanimous (Steve Kemp, Michelle Tanner, Jimmy Hughes, Natalie Larson, Daniel Clark all voted aye).

- Ordinance 2025‑001 (Item 6), Mojave Crossing site plan for 5.06 acres (107‑room hotel, 23,000 sq. ft. medical office, 8,431 sq. ft. retail): Continued. Motion to continue by Michelle Tanner, seconded by Steve Kemp; unanimous.

- Ordinance 2025‑008, Atkinsville Interchange PD amendment to allow a Costco and fuel station (approx. 17.85 acres): Adopted by roll call, unanimous.

- Ordinance 2025‑009, Old Farm general‑plan amendment (approx. 7.92 acres to commercial): Adopted, unanimous.

- Ordinance 2025‑010, South River general‑plan amendment (approx. 5.43 acres to commercial): Adopted, unanimous.

- Ordinance 2025‑011, zone change from A‑1 to RE‑12.5 (approx. 6.2 acres, east side of 3000 East): Adopted, unanimous.

- Resolution 2025‑004R, increase in St. George’s development share under the Power County power project: Adopted, unanimous.

- Appointment: Reappointment of Ben Rogers to the Planning Commission for a two‑year term: Approved unanimously.

Key details and immediate next steps

- Costco (Atkinsville PD amendment): The council approved a PD amendment to permit a membership wholesale store of roughly 60,000 square feet with an associated fuel canopy and multiple access points from Desert Color Parkway and shared access to the north. The applicant (Costco Real Estate) indicated a target opening of about February next year and said they will proceed with site and permitting submittals.

- CDBG reallocation: Staff described the amendment as using leftover federal funds from project years 2021 and 2023. The presentation stated moving funds for a fire truck payment from $320,000 to $435,511.82 and increasing an activity labeled “housing/down‑payment assistance” from $106,000 to an amount recorded in the meeting transcript as “200 128,909” (transcript number unclear). Staff said all funds must be allocated to projects for the current consolidated plan year and that an annual action plan for program year 2025 will return to council in May.

- Power project: The city approved buying an increased share in a regional 400‑MW project in Idaho that is expected to come online about 2031; early estimates presented at the meeting placed delivered costs in the range of about $50–$70 per megawatt (staff noted estimates may change as the project develops).

What was not decided

- The Mojave Crossing PDC/site plan (Item 6) drew more than an hour of discussion on grading, retaining walls, steep slopes, vehicle access and shared parking. Staff and the applicant said the updated site plan submitted the day of the meeting addressed drive‑aisle widths and other code items, but several council members said they had not had adequate time to review late materials and remained concerned about access (Sandpiper vs. Nighthawk), steep slopes, retaining‑wall heights and whether planned access would route hotel and delivery traffic onto adjacent residential streets. The council continued the item without specifying a return date and asked the applicant to coordinate with staff to place full packet materials in time for the next available meeting.

Who spoke (selected)

- Natalie Larson, Council Member; Michelle Tanner, Council Member; Steve Kemp, Council Member; Jimmy Hughes, Council Member; Daniel Clark, Council Member (all voting council members). - Steve Cross, Director, Costco Real Estate (applicant representative). - Brenda (city staff, CDBG program manager) presented the CDBG amendment.

Provenance

- topicintro: transcript block starting at 496.78497 (“Item number 6 is…consider approval ordinance number 2025‑001…”) and related agenda calls for subsequent items beginning 4976.12 onward. - topfinish: transcript block at 6768.08 (roll‑call votes recorded for Resolution 2025‑004R) and later appointment and adjournment statements through 6951.855 (adjournment).