IVINS — A proposal to vacate a portion of Tuacahn Drive to be managed privately by a resort was the main topic of discussion at Thursday evening’s City Council meeting in Ivins.
Sentierre is the new resort under construction below Tuacahn and would manage the stretch of road that would reach from Tuacahn to the end of the new development.
The road, described by the council as already in need of repairs and maintenance, would be modified by Sentierre to include median islands with planters between opposite lanes of traffic and pull-off shoulders reserved as overflow parking for events. It would also run alongside a new trail connecting the resort to Tuacahn.
Slowing traffic along that stretch of road would also be a major goal of the developer, including narrowing lanes and possibly raising the road height near the resort entrance.
The road runs adjacent to the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, a federally protected area that includes desert tortoise habitat. The tight space between the reserve and the new resort must be maintained.
“We’ve got to do some serious engineering here to make sure all this fits,” Sentierre developer Stan Castleton said.
Part of that engineering process includes the road narrowing, parallel parking along the road and adjusting the height of the existing shoulder.
“We not only want it to look great as people come in … we want it to be functional, we want it to be efficient, we want it to be safe, and they’re committed to that,” Tuacahn Executive Kevin Smith said of the new road plans.
Tuacahn and Sentierre are collaborating on the proposed project.
“It seems like you’re taking an asset that the city owns and perhaps turning it over to somebody, and maybe the city shouldn’t be doing that — I don’t know,” Becky Warren said during public comment on the matter.
A resident of Ivins, Warren said she is skeptical of the proposal and questioned how the city would be compensated.
“It’s not every day that someone comes with a 150 million-plus investment for the city that’s going to be a significant contributor to both our tax base and to our reputation as we try to fulfill our — we believe our destiny is becoming a resort destination,” Mayor Chris Hart said in answer to her question.
“Our city engineer has looked at it and determined that in light of the improvement needs that are required now and the expense of maintenance into the future, that this is a positive thing for the city,” City Manager and Attorney Dale Coulam added.
Compensation to the city would be found in the city being freed from impact fees and street improvements and maintenance, Coulam said.
Jobs created by the resort and road improvement would also factor into any calculated compensation, Hart added.
The city would also have the right to take over management of the road if Sentierre were to fail to live up to expectations.
“This is a slam dunk,” Hart said.
The handover would not occur until the resort neared six months to completion. The matter was unanimously tabled for further consideration at the next City Council meeting.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.
Takeover, complete! The fix was in from the beginning. There were no doubt “discussions” before the Sentierre management team (I’m using that term loosely) bought the property for a song.
And instead of purchasing the road, the city is simply going to give it to them because they will then be “freed” from having to maintain it. You can’t make this stuff up.
History will not judge this rubber stamp Council well. They have been wowed by the thought of a “five star resort” that turned out to be just another slick developer taking advantage of the ignorant locals to snatch up the city’s crown jewel property.
If there is any upside, it is that the Mayor now has finally laid out his vision for Ivins: “we believe our destiny is becoming a resort destination”. Sort of like Las Vegas? Did you run for Mayor on that platform? How does the multi-story “medical” school fit into that vision?
Shameful. Just shameful.
Get it in writing
If there is anything that helps when trying to narrow a road it’s putting landscaped planters between the lanes. That should make it much narrower… And as bonus leave you more room for the shoulders, too.
The current road, and especially a more narrow version of it, badly needs a pedestrian walkway for the high school students and adequate shoulders for bicycle transportation.