Town council update: dark‑sky application, school redevelopment and grants move forward

Town Council member Lou Anne Hoots told the Planning and Zoning Commission on Feb. 6 that the council has been active on multiple fronts relevant to land use and community facilities.

Hoots said the town submitted an application for International Dark Sky designation and that town staff — Erin, Sarah and Diana — led the application work. She said the submission appears to be progressing positively and the town was third in the review queue.

Council awarded a bid to Uncommon Architects for the school redevelopment project and the Rural Utah Project will act as the EPA grant pass‑through for cleanup and redevelopment work at the old school. Hoots said the EPA grant briefly paused but has resumed and that the arrangement will help the project proceed while other grant paperwork is finalized.

The council also worked with the county to revise the UDOT road list that affects allocation of maintenance funds for gravel roads. Hoots said the revised list identifies which roads are gravel, which informs the town’s share of maintenance revenue.

Other items noted included donated solar panels from Monticello that are in town awaiting installation, a continued effort to catalog town ordinances and enforcement procedures, and encouragement to apply for a Utah Division of Recreation playground grant to support community recreation facilities. Staff noted that the new Utah code will require water‑use information in general plans, prompting discussion relevant to Bluff’s general plan and Bluff Water Works strategic planning about secondary water and sustainability.

“These are all items that intersect with planning and zoning as we go forward,” Hoots said, and she encouraged commissioners to review the town’s bylaws and take the required Open Public Meetings Act training.

Commissioners requested easier public access to the town road map and resolution attachments that identify alleys and plats; Hoots said resolution 59 includes attachments with alley and plat details but the updated surface condition map (paved vs. gravel) is limited to the Cottonwood Subdivision attachments and must be uploaded for broader access.

No formal action was taken by planning and zoning on these updates; the items were presented for information and coordination between council and planning staff.