Everyone running for City Council or Mayor in Ivins answered questions last night at a “Candidate Forum” at Vista School organized by some residents. Here are my answers to the questions they gave us, most likely written a little more clearly than my verbal delivery last night.
QUESTION: How does your vision for Ivins complement or differ from the General Plan?
Our General Plan has a land use map showing our vision for how the city will build out. The city updated the map this year showing how recent decisions have changed the vision. Among other changes, we have eliminated low density residential in some areas and replaced it with higher density.
I believe the General Plan and its land use map can change over time. But those changes should be infrequent and made only after involving everyone in Ivins to provide public input.
The problem is, we are changing the land use plan on a case-by-case basis, one parcel at a time, based on a request form a property owner. I don’t think that’s right.
Zoning changes are different. They can be triggered by a request from a property owner. Then residents within 300 feet are notified. I don’t think 300 feet is enough. And I think a notice sign needs to be clearly posted on the property. The goal is to inform residents, not surprise them. And all zoning changes need to match the Land Use Map.
Changing the Land Use Map is a different story. It is the holistic view of our city. Making a change in one spot may require some other change elsewhere so we stick to the vision. That’s not my opinion. That’s what our General Plan says.
QUESTION: The Washington County Water Conservancy District presented “Recommended Ordinances to Extend Limited Water Supplies.” Which of these ordinances do you support for Ivins and what type of water conservation would you propose for existing residents?
I agree with everything the Water Conservancy District recommended, except water budgets. That seems heavy-handed.
We should continue with and ramp up education and incentives for existing properties.
For new construction, the District proposes two types of conservation requirements: Technological and Lifestyle.
Technological changes should be implemented immediately. These are things like recirculating hot water. Every day we wait to implement these requirements is a lost opportunity because another house goes up.
Lifestyle changes are things like dealing with grass. These are issues that we really need a lot of community input on.
Here’s why acting quickly is so important. I had an “aha” moment this weekend. The Conservancy District and Ivins both say we have enough water sources right now to handle at least a few more years of development.
Here’s the thinking. Ivins has rights to 3700 ac.ft. of water. Last year we used 2400 ac.ft. What’s left over can support another 2000 homes. That gives us enough water to keep approving a few hundred homes a year for another 6 to 8 years.
But here’s the “aha”moment. In addition to the 2400 ac.ft. we used last year, Ivins has already made commitments to developers for more than 1,200 new “equivalent residential units” that I counted and I’m sure recent land use and zoning changes and preliminary plan approvals have given the green light to hundreds more.
And the City’s Public Works Director recommends we include a 20% buffer. Good idea. Mother Nature is proving to be a bit unreliable.
So, we are at least close to being tapped out, if not actually tapped out. We need to total up all of the promises we’ve made, make sure we don’t promise what we can’t deliver, and take concrete action on conservation and reuse right now.
QUESTION: How would you support responsible growth in Ivins? What is your vision for how we manage growth vs. quality of life?
Responsible growth and quality of life go hand-in-hand.
Does anyone remember Vision Dixie? It was created by us – the residents of Washington County. It listed 10 core principles. Number 1 was “Closely follow the general plan and land use plan – unless there is a significant public benefit to change them.” It also says, “We do better when we think ahead and provide predictability to residents, landowners and developers.”
We also need to ensure that when new development happens it doesn’t negatively impact neighboring properties.
One impact is water. New plats in Ivins will now contain language saying the city can’t guarantee it can provide water in the future to those new homes. I appreciate that may protect the city from lawsuits. But I don’t think it’s right to hang those home buyers out to dry… so to speak. These are our future neighbors, our future friends. This is not what quality of life should look like.
We need to take real, concrete, and significant action on conservation, wastewater treatment, and everything else we can think of. Because if the numbers show we won’t have enough water, it’s irresponsible to allow that new development.
I don’t mean stop development, just “time” new development to match water availability. Doing this will ensure we grow responsibly, and it will protect our quality of life, for us and future generations.
QUESTION: What do you consider Ivins biggest asset to be and also what do you consider Ivins biggest challenge? How will you preserve the asset and how will you address the challenge?
I think a lot of us, when we think of Ivins, we think of its natural beauty, magnificent landscapes, a clean environment, safety – we really feel safe here, and the spiritual quality of the land.
That’s how our General Plan starts out. And it’s all true.
But our biggest asset is our community. Us. Ivins is small enough that we can get to know each other. If you’ve lived in a big city, were you able to talk to your Mayor, City Manager, or Council Member? I doubt it. But you can here.
So, what the General Plan says, combined with the us-ness of Ivins, the community, that’s what makes Ivins special. That’s our biggest asset.
Our biggest challenge is finding a way to work together as a community. It seems we’ve become more divisive over the past few years.
I don’t think that has happened because we have polar opposite views on issues. I believe that has happened because we have not created “a space” for us to have real conversations about the things that bug us. I believe we are all capable and willing to hear each other’s views and to take the time to understand them. I believe we are all empathetic people.
But too often we hear about something that might happen in the city at the last minute, or even after it happened. That doesn’t give us time to come together as a community and have open, honest discussions. So, we react.
My number one goal is to involve residents early in the decision-making process. Provide information. Get conversations going. Create solutions together. Individually we are, each of us, smart. Together we are brilliant.
Please share your comments and tell me about other Ivins issues I have not addressed in recent posts. CONTACT ME
Recent “Water” and “Development” posts
- Our New Water Shortage PlaybookPDF 📄Washington County is one of the hottest and driest regions in Utah, and one of the fastest growing. Because nearly all of our drinking water comes from the Virgin River basin, we are vulnerable to drought, climate change, and interruptions caused by infrastructure failures, earthquakes, or system repairs. To prepare for these challenges, the…
- SITLA Affordable Housing Proposal — Great Goal, Challenging LocationPDF 📄As noted in previous articles, the Utah Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) is moving forward with a proposal to build 254 small, attainable single-family homes on its 40-acre parcel just off Hwy 91 next to Indigo Trails. The land is in unincorporated Washington County and within “Area 2” of the Ivins Annexation Policy Plan. The…
- Making Land Use Changes Work for the CommunityPDF 📄Cities across Utah are feeling pressure from the State Legislature to help provide more affordable housing options. At the same time, communities like Ivins are trying to maintain neighborhood character, protect infrastructure capacity, and preserve our quality of life. Those goals aren’t incompatible, but they require thoughtful decision-making. When development proposals come forward, they…
- Red Mountain Resort Development: Update 2PDF 📄Update – 10/17/25: The City Council last night approved a revised development agreement for Red Mountain Resort. The plan now allows 450 units instead of 500 and, more importantly, adds 16 conditions designed to reduce construction impacts, protect views, address traffic, ensure night-sky-friendly lighting, and more conditions to make the finished project fit more…
- Water, Fairness, and Ivins: A Smart Take from Wayne PenningtonPDF 📄Here’s an article by Wayne Pennington that I think you’ll appreciate. He’s running for City Council, and one of the many things I value about him is that he doesn’t just skim the surface, he does the homework. When the Washington County Water Conservancy District (WCWCD) released its draft drought plan, officially called the…