Bluff P&Z lays out four-step plan to revise zoning code, plans public open house in August

At its June 18 work session, the Bluff Planning & Zoning Commission outlined a four-part action plan to update the town zoning code and proposed a public open house in August to collect community feedback.

Chair Malia Collins recounted the historical logic behind Bluff’s commercial zoning: early commissioners used the highway and Cottonwood Wash as boundaries, assigning C-3 on the west side and envisioning a "Main Street" (C-2) along Black Locust Avenue on the east side; only one parcel is zoned C-1. Collins said the commission may simplify categories by combining C-1 and C-2 where appropriate.

Commissioner Anne Brown urged caution about density, citing Springdale, Utah as a cautionary example of rapid, dense development that altered community character. Brown recommended the commission closely examine minimum lot sizes and density standards to avoid similar outcomes in Bluff.

The commission’s four areas of focus for the code revision are: (1) Zones — review locations, permitted uses, setbacks, density, and zone boundaries; (2) Changes — identify errors, omissions, and required updates to comply with state law (for example, accessory dwelling unit legislation and Wildland-Urban Interface provisions); (3) Process challenges — evaluate application submittal requirements, site-plan levels, and enforcement criteria and penalties; and (4) Definitions — after the prior steps, determine which definitions to add, edit, or delete.

Collins recommended hosting an open house in August so residents can prioritize the issues they want the commission to address before extensive text edits. The work session closed with the commission setting next-meeting agenda items (a sign permit for Sweetwater Market; discussion of the P&Z applicant and a recommendation to the Town Council; and beginning the zoning-code rewrite process). The commission adjourned at 6:47 p.m.