Commission approves development agreement allowing limited commercial uses on large agricultural parcel

The Kane County Commission voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance R2026‑04, which approves a development agreement allowing limited commercial uses — including a hotel, restaurant and short‑term rentals — in a defined area of a largely agricultural 1,800‑acre parcel.

Greg, the property applicant, told the commission the development agreement contains “exactly a hard cap of 60 units that we can rent out,” and described design standards and a proposed publicly accessible mountain‑bike trail network that would provide access to adjacent BLM lands. He also said some roads on the property would remain private and maintenance would remain the developer’s responsibility.

County staff and counsel asked commissioners to add clarifying language on how hotel rooms and short‑term residences are tallied under the 60‑unit cap, to replace references to a nonexistent local board with the term “fire authority,” and to require contingencies before the county will execute the development agreement. County attorney Jeff Stott recommended any motion to adopt be made contingent on (1) the applicant owning the property and (2) the county providing a written response to the city’s objections; commissioners included both conditions in the adopted motion.

Commissioners also discussed phasing and force‑majeure language allowing the developer to suspend phases for market or financing reasons, and staff explained the agreement includes a five‑year gating mechanism that would cause the agreement to terminate and the land to revert to standard agricultural zoning if milestones are not met. Several commissioners said they favored keeping the larger parcel agricultural and limiting commercial activity to about five acres in the development area; the agreement includes a conservation easement on much of the remaining acreage.

The motion to adopt Ordinance R2026‑04 (amended to 20‑26‑04 in the ordinance text) passed unanimously after discussion and the amendments recommended by counsel.