One of the most important discussions affecting Ivins over the next several decades is about to begin.
On July 28 at 3:00 p.m., the City Council and Planning Commission will hold a joint work meeting at City Hall to discuss how we should update Ivins’ Land Use Map. This is just the first step in what will likely be a year-long process involving public workshops, community discussions, and public hearings.
The Land Use Map helps guide decisions about where housing, businesses, open space, parks, roads, and other future development may occur. It is the community’s long-term blueprint for growth.
One interesting thing about land use maps is that they are not static documents. They evolve over time as communities grow, priorities change, new opportunities emerge, and new challenges arise.
Here is the Land Use Map from 25 years ago.
You can download a PDF (click here) of the maps over the past 25 years: 2001, 2006, 2011, 2014, 2021, and the current map. See the pattern? We have typically updated the Land Use Map about every five years.
Each update has generally involved refining the map based on a citywide review of changing conditions, community priorities, infrastructure needs, and development patterns rather than making dramatic changes to the overall vision of the community. That is how most communities evolve over time.
Ideally, the Land Use Map should be reviewed whenever we update the General Plan, although we have not always stayed on a consistent five-year schedule for those updates. (Click here for a PDF of the current (2024) General Plan.)
Every land use map is a prediction about the future.
Looking at these maps side-by-side provides an interesting snapshot of how Ivins has changed over time and how previous generations of residents, Planning Commissioners, and City Council members envisioned the community’s future.
Whether you agree with those past decisions or not, they remind us that every generation helps shape the Ivins that the next generation inherits.
As we begin discussing the next update, the question is not simply whether change should occur, but how future changes can best reflect the values and vision of the community.
Questions involving housing density, attainable housing, commercial development, traffic, infrastructure, water, parks and open space, community character, and neighborhood compatibility will all be part of the conversation.
No decisions will be made at the July 28th meeting regarding specific map changes. Instead, the goal is to discuss how the update process should work, how residents can be involved, what information we need to gather, and how we can make sure the process is thoughtful, transparent, and community-driven.
I believe this may be one of the most important planning efforts Ivins undertakes over the next few years. The decisions we make will help shape the future of our community for decades to come.
This is not about deciding whether Ivins will change. Communities always change over time. We still have significant areas of privately owned undeveloped land that will likely be developed at some point in the future. The questions are how change should occur, where it should occur, and what we want Ivins to look like in the future.
I encourage residents to pay attention to this process and participate as opportunities become available. There will be many opportunities to learn, ask questions, share ideas, and help shape the discussion.
The best outcomes occur when people with different viewpoints take the time to listen, learn, and work together. Land use planning is ultimately about making thoughtful choices and understanding tradeoffs, not simply deciding what we are for or against.
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