Debate over the future of fast-growing Spanish Valley dominated meetings over the past few weeks in San Juan County as a multiyear planning process advances for thousands of acres of private and state trust land south of Moab.
Ordinances and zoning maps for the area were passed by the San Juan County Commission on Nov. 19, just days before the expiration of a six-month commercial building moratorium. The actions impose initial guidelines for a development that could eventually double the county’s current population of 15,000.
A public hearing on the ordinances grew heated as residents debated the merits of a zoning map and ordinances presented in September by Landmark Design — a county consultant — and an alternative proposed by the county’s planning commission earlier this month.