Hurricane planners approve Kachina Ridge plat and send sensitive-lands plan to council

The Hurricane Planning Commission voted 5-0 on Oct. 22 to approve the preliminary plat for Kachina Ridge, a mixed-use development at 720 E. Highway 59. It also voted 5-0 to recommend that the City Council approve the project's sensitive lands development plan. The council will hold a public hearing on the sensitive-lands application at its 6 p.m. meeting on Nov. 5. ^[1][2][3]

The agenda calls the project a 56-lot development. The staff report counts 57 lots, 48 of them townhomes and nine for multifamily, short-term rental and commercial uses. Kent Stephens is the applicant and Brandee Walker is the agent. A development agreement approved in 2020 and recorded in 2021 limits the site to 566 residential units and requires construction of a UDOT-approved interchange on Highway 59. ^[1]

The plat approval is subject to staff and Joint Utility Committee comments. Those comments call for a second fire access, a water model showing the neighboring system is not affected, and a traffic impact study covering State Street and Main Street, Main Street and 100 South, and 100 South and 100 East. Interchange and water tank construction plans must be approved before or along with the subdivision's construction plans. The report says city engineering staff will meet with UDOT in December. On the video, the commission was told no development can start until the interchange has an approved UDOT plan. ^[1][2]

The staff report says the sewer outfall is expected to be bored to avoid sensitive-lands concerns, with a backup alignment possible with UDOT and neighboring property owners. Commissioner Ralph Ballard said that cutting into the cliff and trying to restore it would be a poor option and that the line should be bored or routed another way. ^[1][2]

Commissioner Ralph Ballard raised a public safety concern about the cliff edge and asked for a durable barrier. He said he did not object to the subdivision, and he urged looking at longer-term fixes for State Route 9 and Highway 59, which are UDOT roads. Commissioner Paul Farthing then moved to approve the plat with the added condition that a barrier be built along the cliff side that is acceptable to the city. ^[2]

Planning staff told the commission the City Council extended the development agreement's deadline last year. Minutes for the meeting were not yet posted, so the 5-0 votes are as shown in the video. ^[2]