Bluff discusses $12M RISE trail design, mapping overlays for flood and wildfire risks
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Summary
Council members told Planning & Zoning about a revived state RISE grant providing $12,000,000 for trail design; the groups also discussed state-assisted zoning digitization, flood/WUI overlays and the interplay between map designations and insurance/grant eligibility.
Bluff town leaders used a Feb. 19 joint session to review a revived state RISE grant for trail planning and to consider mapping strategies to address flood and wildfire risk.
Town Council member Josh Ewing described the RISE award: "They got $12,000,000, $12,000,000 to design that trail," for a project that would design an active-transportation (non-motorized) trail from Montezuma Creek to Monument Valley and study feasibility for a route from Moab to Bluff. Council and P&Z members agreed that such a trail could have significant local impacts—parking, on-street changes and active-transportation routing—and asked to be involved in design conversations.
Staff reported the state (through SIRDA) has offered free or low-cost services to digitize zoning maps and create interactive overlays. Commissioners encouraged pursuing that assistance and asked staff to confirm scope, data layers and whether overlays could include flood, WUI and airport or other constraints.
On flood and hazard mapping, staff cautioned that local designations can carry insurance and property implications. Commissioners proposed overlay approaches and resilience guidelines—buffers, construction guidance and targeted mitigation—that could be integrated into the broader zoning-code rewrite. A town staff member clarified water-rights status: Bluff holds 500 acre-feet of rights that are not specifically classified as secondary water, although those rights could be used for secondary water purposes with appropriate administrative steps.
The council and commission asked staff to research federal- and state-level mapping resources (including FEMA) and grant opportunities that mapping and overlay work could unlock, and to return with recommended next steps for integrating mapping into the zoning update and grant applications.