Planning commission forwards narrow amendment fixing water‑tank agreement language and deadline

Andrew Jackson, the planning director, told the planning commission the item is a housekeeping ordinance amendment, not a rezone, meant to correct two conditions attached to a previously approved overlay for the city of Moab water‑tank site. "This is not a rezone," Jackson said, and he emphasized the amendment would not change zoning, land‑use designation, or overlay boundaries.

Jackson said one correction would change condition 3's completion deadline (originally 12/31/2025, a date that has already passed) to 12/31/2027 and allow the applicant to request an administrative extension showing good cause rather than returning to the commission for each extension. The second correction rewrites condition 1 so the required development agreement "reads the way the code reads" (referencing section 4.10.1) and does not add new mitigation obligations. "Staff recommends the commission forward a favorable recommendation to the county commission on the proposed ordinance," Jackson said.

Commission discussion focused on the narrow scope of the amendment and on legal background; the chair confirmed the redline contains a clerical date error that will be corrected to "31". A committee member in favor said the project supports water storage needs, noting that "storage is the key in the desert." The commission voted and the chair announced, "Motion passes unanimously," forwarding the amendment and the clerical correction to the county commission for final consideration.

Why it matters: the amendment would remove a procedural obstacle tied to a past completion deadline and make the condition language consistent with the county code, enabling the city's utility project to proceed toward funding and construction if the county commission concurs. The county commission was scheduled to consider the ordinance the next day.