ST. GEORGE — New development continues to take place across St. George as the City Council approved the beginnings of a new residential subdivision in the Divario development along Gap Canyon. Approval was also granted for new buildings slated for the 1450 South and River Road area, as well as an indoor amusement facility in Little Valley.
A preliminary plat for a 197-lot residential subdivision across 67 acres called Palermo Pass at Divario in the area of a future intersection of Alienta Drive and Divario Canyon Drive was unanimously passed by the council Thursday evening.
As a part of the project’s approval, Divario’s developers will relocate the Barrel Ride Trail so use by cyclists who ride through the area may be preserved. This required developers to nix four lots on the northwestern part of the subdivision that had previously drawn concern from council members. These lots would have been built near the edge of the canyon.
Besides its popularity among cyclists, the canyon also has a reputation as an internationally renowned climbing area.
While the developers took out those four particular lots, they were able to recoup them, plus add four additional lots elsewhere within the subdivision.
Councilwoman Danielle Larkin expressed that she was not a fan of development coming to an area she has previously described as “sacred.” She nonetheless thanked the developers for working on preserving the trail.
“It hasn’t been a secret that in my perfect world, I would love for this piece of property to be open space forever,” Larkin said, “but I really appreciate you guys taking out those four lots out and preserving the bike trails and doing all of that to make it conducive to the activities that have happened out there for years, so thank you.”
Other developments
As a part of the second phase of development for Boulder Creek Crossing, located around the intersection of 1450 South and River Road, the City Council approve conceptual plans for three new buildings on the west side of River Road.
One building will be two stories and have nearly 15,100 square feet of space, while a second building will be one story and cover 8,200 square feet. Both are being pitched as either retail or professional office space.
A third building, which is slated to be the future site of a Costa Vida restaurant, was also approved.
The first two buildings will be built away from the road and behind the Popeye’s restaurant, while the third will be along River Road south of Popeye’s.
“I’m excited that we’re getting some restaurants there,” Mayor Michele Randall said.
Additionally, a zone change for 9.5 acres of land in Little Valley on Horseman Park Drive was approved for a potential indoor entertainment facility.
Located southeast of Houseman Park Drive around 3100 South and west of the pickleball courts, the project may feature such indoor activities as paintball, miniature golf, an arcade or a trampoline park.
In other business, representatives of Dixie Power presented the City Council with a $32,000 check. They said the check was the city’s share of a capital credit the power company retired in December.
Near the end of the council meeting, the mayor noted that St. George is working with the Washington County Water Conservancy District and other municipalities on creating a unified water conservation ordinance.
“We’re also working on an ordinance countywide that every city and town will adhere to on conservation measures,” Randall said. “We can’t be conserving and nobody else, because it’s not going to make a dent. We’re really close to having that ordinance done and brought back to every city council.”
Ed. note: The developer requesting the zone change in Little Valley asked for their name to be removed from this report, citing the preliminary nature of the plans.
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