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Page council pulls contested cliff-face parcel from rezoning after public hearing
Summary
After hours of public comment urging protection of a scenic cliff, Page City Council removed a contested cliff-face parcel from a 10-parcel rezoning ordinance and adopted the rest of the zoning changes, moving the disputed parcel back to study and public engagement.
The Page City Council on Oct. 23, 2024 adopted an amended zoning ordinance that applies new zoning to nine of 10 city-owned parcels but removes a cliff-face parcel widely contested by residents.
The action followed a public hearing in which residents — including Amanda, who urged the council to “approve items 2 through 10 but table item one,” and former mayor Michael Woods, who said the rim trail and adjacent rock face had been set aside as protected public land in the 1990s — pressed the council to preserve the parcel near Lake Powell and the rim trail. Planning & Zoning commissioner Chuck Strob told the council he had voted to recommend the rezoning at first but, after receiving more information and neighborhood input, said he would now recommend pulling item one and returning it to PNZ for more study.
During the meeting Zach Montgomery and staff described the broader 10-parcel plan as part of the Page 2040 General Plan to create opportunities for multifamily, commercial and single-family development; after public comment the council debated a motion to adopt Ordinance 734-2422 but to delete Section 1 and the associated Exhibit A covering Parcel 8010/415b, the parcel identified in public remarks as the cliff-face area. Vice Mayor John Coan moved to adopt the ordinance with that deletion; the motion passed by unanimous voice vote of council members present.
Supporters of the deletion said the parcel’s scenic and recreational value — hikers and residents commonly use the cliffs and rim trail — warranted a separate, more deliberate public process. Several residents asked the council to consider permanent open-space designation or to send the parcel back to staff with instructions for a community workshop; those requests were left as next steps for staff and PNZ.
The final ordinance applies hillside residential special-district, community commercial and other zonings to the remaining parcels while leaving the contested parcel without a new zoning designation (effectively undevelopable until a developer demonstrates interest and a separate zone-change process occurs).
The council indicated the omitted parcel will be subject to further study and public engagement; councilmembers thanked Planning & Zoning staff for the broader work on the future land-use map. The council moved to executive session later in the meeting to discuss related property negotiations.
Votes at the meeting were by unanimous voice vote on the ordinance amendment; the council did not record a roll-call tally for individual members in the transcript beyond the clerk’s initial roll call.
