Mohave County supervisors debate 2025 General Plan as Golden Valley residents press for 1-acre limits
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Summary
After a lengthy public comment period, the Mohave County Board of Supervisors referred parts of the 2025 General Plan back to Planning & Zoning and approved several targeted amendments after residents of Golden Valley urged preserving 1-acre minimum lots and raised concerns about water, fire response and traffic.
The Mohave County Board of Supervisors spent the bulk of its Nov. 3 meeting on the proposed 2025 Mohave County General Plan, hearing hours of public comment from Golden Valley residents and taking a series of motions that will send several issues back to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Staff planner Matthew Gunderson told the board the draft plan adds a policy (12.11) that would require proposed developments within a defined buffer—currently drafted as a three‑mile radius of municipal boundaries—to meet urban development standards such as centralized sewer, sidewalks and streetlights. Gunderson said the 3‑mile buffer language was carried forward from the 2015 plan and was added to two policy sections in the 2025 draft to clarify where urban standards apply.
Residents and public-safety officials urged the board not to adopt the Dorado/Engel Homes build‑out in the Golden Valley area without additional safeguards. Theresa Merrill, who said she canvassed neighbors within 300 feet of the proposed development, urged supervisors to “keep rural living” and asked the board to preserve one‑acre minimum lots for much of Golden Valley. A Golden Valley fire captain told the board the area’s emergency response workload has roughly doubled in recent years and warned that large subdivisions would strain staffing and response times.
Supervisor Martin urged caution on the draft buffer: “I think the 3 mile radius is maybe a little too large,” he said, arguing a smaller buffer or a half‑mile/mile abutting municipal boundaries could better protect outlying communities while requiring developers to install infrastructure up front.
The board considered multiple single‑subject motions. A motion to revert the Dorado proposal in Golden Valley to suburban (1–5 acre) designations and refer it back to Planning & Zoning failed. The board did approve a motion designating parcels abutting State Route 68 as a commercial corridor (motion passed). The board also adopted motions to remove plan policy 12.11 from the draft and referred a set of additional, board‑member amendments (the “Gould package”) back to Planning & Zoning for consideration. The board reduced the threshold for a major plan amendment from 1,800 acres to 640 acres.
The item will return to the Planning & Zoning Commission with the board’s directions. Planning & Zoning is expected to consider the requested changes and deliver a revised plan back to the Board of Supervisors for final action.
