The Escalante City Planning and Zoning Commission met on March 14 for a short meeting to review an application to build a dollar store at the southwest corner of 300 East and Main Street.
The developer, Logan-based Red Root LLC, submitted conceptual plans for a 10,500 square-foot building which would fit snugly on the 1.2 acre triangle-shaped parcel. At the time of the meeting Red Root had not yet executed a purchase contract to buy the land from Amie Fortin, but the company expected to have one in place by the end of the week.
About 50 residents attended the meeting, and between 20 and 30 of them arrived early to create a protest line in front of the city building, equipped with handmade signs opposing the development of a franchised dollar store on the Escalante Scenic Byway 12.
The proceedings of the planning meeting addressed the dollar store plans as its only agenda item before adjourning after only 10 minutes or so. Tony Peterson, chair of the commission, welcomed the oversized audience before explaining that their only task that night was to determine approval based solely on the development’s adherence to the city’s ordinances. In quick succession, the commission reviewed each aspect of the development against a set of building and zoning requirements before voting unanimously to approve the project.
The plan will now be presented before the Escalante City Council at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21. Public comments are invited during the meeting, at a maximum of two minutes per comment.
It is expected the City Council will approve the project if the project meets all of the city’s ordinances.
Mr. Peterson noted the opposition present in the P&Z meeting. After explaining the city’s limited scope in approving projects like this, he urged citizens to get involved in city planning more broadly to shape what the city’s future ought to be. City plans are then written up in ordinances, by which future projects can either be approved or denied.
On an unrelated note after adjourning, the committee met with Kevin Smedley of Five County Association in a work meeting. The city has been working with Five County in developing a city General Plan. Some of those protesting the Escalante dollar store stuck around for the work meeting, with some unsure whether the work meeting was about the dollar store plan, or something else.
– The Byway
Feature image caption: The 50 spectators sit in on the Escalante P&Z Dollar Store Meeting.