Gunnison planning commission recommends city council deny rezoning request for 79‑acre parcel, citing missing development plan

The Gunnison City Planning Commission on July 9 voted to forward a recommendation to the City Council to deny a rezoning request for a 79‑acre parcel, saying the applicant had not provided a development plan and that questions about access, utilities and highway safety remain unresolved.

The rezoning proposal would have allowed a southeast 10‑acre portion of the parcel to be used for commercial purposes; the property owner (Jim Sanders) told the commission he wants only to sell that 10‑acre piece and is not proposing to develop the remainder. "We merely want to sell the land," Sanders told commissioners, arguing that a potential buyer would not purchase the property under the current A‑1 acreage minimum.

City staff, in a written report prepared by Dennis Marker and summarized at the hearing, recommended denial because the applicant had not submitted a development plan sufficient for the commission to determine whether the standards in section 603 of the city code could be met. The staff findings cited a lack of details on road access, water and sewer extension, and traffic and safety mitigation.

Commissioners debated alternatives, including rezoning only the 10‑acre portion and leaving the remainder A‑1 or rezoning to R‑2 for future residential development. Several members expressed support for helping the owner sell a small parcel but said that without traffic studies, evidence that neighboring property owners would accept utility extensions, and UDOT approval for any highway access, the commission could not responsibly recommend approval.

A commissioner summarized the commission's legal constraint: "According to 603, we can't approve a rezone for that area because there's no plan submitted," and several commissioners agreed that the proper course was to deny the current application while noting the applicant could reapply with the required studies and plans.

The commission's action was procedural: it forwarded to the City Council its recommendation to deny the rezoning request based on the findings listed in the staff report. The recommendation does not itself change zoning; the City Council will consider the commission's recommendation at a later meeting.

Next steps: the applicant may revise the application and submit a development plan and required studies (access, traffic, water/sewer agreements or easements, and any required UDOT approvals) and the commission indicated it would reconsider if those items are provided.