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Council approves mixed PUD for homes and 22.7-acre solar farm after residents press drainage and traffic concerns
Summary
After extended public comment, the Zion City Council voted 5-0 to approve a PUD for 33 single-family homes and a 22.71-acre ground-mounted solar array; residents raised repeated concerns about drainage, street condition and construction traffic and the council required financial security as a condition precedent.
The Zion City Council on April 21 approved a plan-unit development from Kite Enterprises/Green Fix Solar that combines 33 single-family homes with a ground-mounted solar installation covering about 22.71 acres.
Planning staff described the project as a mixed plan that would put 33 homes on the east side of the site and a solar farm on the west, with roughly 387,684 square feet of panels projected to produce an estimated 6,570,000 kilowatt-hours per year. The planning and zoning commission had previously recommended denial; council members debated the recommendation before voting to approve the new PUD.
Residents who live near the site said they were not satisfied with prior outreach and pressed the council on multiple issues. "Our streets are terrible," Maurice Jones told the council, describing recurring potholes, nonfunctional street lights and a perception that neighborhood input was not being adopted into the project design. Ray Gilmore and other neighbors raised questions about where new retention ponds would drain and described ongoing basement flooding in adjacent subdivisions.
Multiple residents also questioned construction traffic and timing. One resident said the primary entrance to parts of the adjacent subdivision functions as the neighborhood's only access and worried that heavy equipment during construction would further damage streets and disrupt snow-plow access.
Council members acknowledged the concerns but said they balanced resident input with broader development goals. Commissioner Fischer said staff and commissioners had tried to weigh residents' feedback while also seeking projects that expand the tax base and housing supply. The council emphasized that some project conditions—most notably a financial-security instrument to guarantee that the residential improvements are built—were required before final approvals. The city attorney described that bond or security as a condition precedent: failure to post it would revoke the PUD.
A representative for Kite Enterprises answered resident questions about construction access and schedule and offered to post a letter-of-credit or similar bond to guarantee completion. The representative told the council they would limit use of the nearby subdivision entrance to a short, bounded period for public-improvement work and pledged to keep roads clean and coordinate with staff when work begins.
After discussion and a period for the developer and residents to exchange points, the council voted five to zero to approve the PUD, with the bond/financial-security condition and other standard development requirements.
What happens next: With council approval, the developer must satisfy the stated conditions—including the financial-security instrument and required infrastructure plans—before final platting and building permits. Residents were encouraged to remain in contact with the developer and staff as work proceeds.
