During the October 17 county commission meeting, commissioners spent most of their time discussing permits for “high impact special events.” The county requires event applicants to submit an “intent to apply”; if that’s approved, event organizers can then apply for permits. The process is meant to let planners know whether their event has a chance of being approved, before they complete the more in-depth and time-consuming full application.
The county received 10 intent to apply submissions for events scheduled for April-September 2024, including familiar events like the Moab Rocks mountain bike race and the Fallen Peace Officer Trail Ride, a ATV/UTV ride for honoring fallen officers and their families.
Commissioners discussed three events in particular: “Bronco Safari,” which would gather together Bronco car owners to drive on off-road trails; “Redrok Roundup,” a guided UTV off-road weekend in partnership with the Red Cliffs Lodge; and “Melon Nights,” a “sustainable living festival/environmental studies” event at the JenkStar Ranch near Green River.
The Bronco Safari event in particular generated a number of complaints the last time it was held, including about participants driving above speed limits at the Old Spanish Trail Arena, minor property damage, and a “Bronco participant altercation with a softball parent.” The complaints made commissioners hesitant to approve the event; they also pointed out that no organizers were present at the meeting.
The Redrok Roundup, if approved, would be a new event. Commissioners said they appreciated the organizers’ work on their application, but stressed that the event should have as little impact on the community as possible—the organizers said they expected over 300 vehicles to participate.
Commissioner Bill Winfield said he would support the event, but hopes organizers would help clean up trails in the aftermath. Commissioner Trish Hedin and Kevin Walker said they’ve heard from community members that they don’t want more UTV events, mostly because of the noise the vehicles cause when driving through town. In discussion, commissioners said the event did make them nervous about the impacts on the community, but they all appreciated the work put into organizing the event.
“I think if we were to approve it this year, we would all be looking very closely at how it affects the town and our citizens,” said Commissioner Jacques Hadler. “I would easily vote against it next year if it came up and [organizers] failed to follow through on their actions or what they’ve said they want to do to run a good event.”
For the Melon Nights event, the commissioners gave a green light to the intent to apply, but agreed to discuss the event with the town of Green River and Emery County before moving forward. The Bronco Safari intent to apply was denied unanimously; the Redrok Roundup intent to apply was approved in a split vote.
Workshops and Presentations
Special Event ITA review
- Discussion began at 0:00
Thompson Springs Special Service Fire District
- Discussion began at 1:35:47
Building Department Report
- Discussion began at 1:47:00
General Business
Approval of high impact Special Event ITA submissions
- The Moab Rocks, Running Up For Air, Fallen Peace Officer Trail Ride, Cruise Moab, Gran Fondo Moab Gravel Weekend, Raptors on the Rocks, and John Wayne GRIT Series were approved unanimously.
- Bronco Safari: Denied unanimously
- Redrok Roundup: Approved 4-3, with commissioners Trish Hedin, Eric Clapper, and Kevin Walker in opposition
- Melon Nights: Approved unanimously, with the stipulation that organizers will discuss the event with Green River and Emery County
- Discussion began at 2:43:00
Approval of 2023 tax relief and cancelations through Oct. 9, 2023
- Each year, Grand County accepts applications for property tax relief from individuals such as veterans with a service-related disability or persons with low income over the age of 64. This year, the taxable value that could be exempted increased from $283,964 to $479,504.
- Discussion began at 3:14:40; passed unanimously
Approving denial of tax relief applications through Oct. 9, 2023
- Discussion began at 3:18:47; passed unanimously
Resolution authorizing the filing of cross-appeals for the 2023 centrally assessed properties
- Discussion began at 3:22:05; passed unanimously
Revised job descriptions and grade placement for commission administrator and associate commission administrator
- Discussion began at 3:32:27; passed unanimously
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Consent Agenda
- Approval of meeting minutes
- Ratification of payment of bills
- Consent to purchase new tables for the Old Spanish Trail Arena
- Indigent Defense Commission Innovation Grant application
- Voluntary appointment to the Historical Preservation Commission
- Search and Rescue OHV trailer purchase
- Discussion began at 3:42:50; passed 6-0 with Commissioner Hadler absent
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Discussion Items
Non-motorized trail plan interim update
- Commissioners are suggesting that the county address the non-motorized trail plan to add relevant updates. The plan could be revisited by Trail Mix, but commissioners also discussed putting together a new committee to update the plan. This discussion was to begin the process of that update.
- Discussion began at 3:44:30
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Public Hearings
Consideration approving an ordinance amending Land Use Code section 4.7 High Density Housing Overlay (HDHO) and the rules and regulations
- The High Density Housing Overlay offers developers the ability to build more units in one area but requires that the ownership of those units be restricted to local workers. Since it was passed, the overlay has gone through a number of revisions; the latest list of revisions came as the result of several public workshops held over the past four months.
- The most notable change was to Section 2, which defined “ownership exceptions” to multifamily apartment developments, the idea being that an entire apartment development could be owned by someone who is not a Grand County employee if they rent units only to Grand County employees. But if individual apartments were being sold, they would have to be sold to local workers. Commissioners debated whether or not this presented a significant loophole to the HDHO rules.
- Commissioners agreed to make a final decision on the verbiage at the next county commission meeting.
- Discussion began at 3:53:30
