Kanab City Council celebrates refurbished Fort Kanab sign, authorize street and storm water maintenance expenditures

The July 8 meeting of the Kanab City Council was relatively concise, with an agenda mostly consisting of land use concerns such as plat amendments and adjustments to city ease­ment and right of way pol­icy. In the liaison reports, the council confirmed the successful installation of the new Kanab Fort sign south of Kanab - with City Manager Kyler Ludwig stating “It’s a good replace­ment, the old one was just unreadable” - thanked those that helped make this year’s Fourth of July a success and confirmed that medical services on the Utah side of the Utah/ Ariz. state line have provi­sional, short-term means to continue providing ser­vice to those on the Arizona side, specifically within Fredonia.

Photo by Ty Gant.

The first two items, with dedicated public hearings, were regarding a property on 200 E., with three lots looking to adjust lot lines and vacate some city ease­ments.

Following a silent public comment period, the applicant’s representa­tives confirmed the house is built and utilities are planned for the ease­ment, and the house needed an easement to safely within code. Said council member and Mayor Pro-Tem Chris Heaton, “I think this is a good thing, a cleanup that needs to happen, and it’s good for the property own­ers and the city.” The ordinances passed unanimously.

The following item was the discussion and consideration of the purchase of a street sweeper out of the stormwater mitiga­tion fund. City Staff had budgeted for the sweeper in accordance with the bid pricing process conducted by the state. Per the City Manager, the staff is still looking to confirm the lowest price, but “we’re looking to fin­ish this deal before tariff costs go up.” The city authorized $375,000, with City Staff stating likeli­hood the purchase would not require that entire amount.

The following items, mostly discussion items, were updates to land use ordinances; the first would allow for public parking on certain city ease­ments, and would clar­ify types of businesses that would require landscaped islands and diamonds along parking sites. After some discussion, aim­ing to maximize the effectiveness of these parking policies and minimize impact to local business opera­tors, the city council returned the item to the planning com­mission for further feedback.

The final item on the agenda was an amendment to sub­division application processes to come into compliance with state code. City Building In­spector and Land Use Administrator Janae Chatterley provided a presentation, describ­ing a new policy which would allow develop­ers to adjust certain lot boundaries with­out amending plats proposed to the city.

Per Chatterley, “The difference between re­quiring a plat amend­ment vs. not requiring a plat amendment is the cost for the ap­plicant.” The updated policy would put ad­ditional responsibility on the City Land Use Authority, a role Chat­terley currently serves - and one that multiple members of the City Council recommended should stay with her when the role is more formally integrated into city policy. For simple boundary ad­justments, boundary adjustments would go through Chatterley, and for full lot adjust­ments, they would go through the city’s Planning Commis­sion.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the city council acknowledged those who helped with the Fourth of July fes­tivities, especially the Kanab Fire Depart­ment for helping with the fireworks show and the water activi­ties during the parade. A representative from the fire department acknowledged the brevity of the fire­works show, citing increasing tariff costs limiting the amount of fireworks budget and some equipment failure necessitating a quick show. With that, the meeting ad­journed.