City approves zone change for golf center and driving range off Exit 2

Stock image | Photo by Mrloz, iStock / Getty Images Plus, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Plans for the “Desert Color” community off Interstate 15’s Exit 2 in St. George are forging ahead with the approval of a zone change to make way for construction of a driving range.

Zone change near the Atkinville Interchange, marked by a red “X,” approved by the St. George City Council to make way for a golf center | Image courtesy of the city of St. George, St. George News

The St. George City Council voted Thursday to approve the rezoning of the 10-acre area in the southeast section of the Interstate 15-Southern Parkway intersection for the Big Shots Golf Center.

Plans for the development include a 9-hole professional putting course and an approximately 1,200-foot driving range.

The proposed 33,000-square-foot, 45-foot-tall building also features indoor and outdoor dining. The netting surrounding the range will be between 75 and 150 feet high.

“The Big Shots group has several of these throughout the country – it’s a franchise,” Bob Hermandson, the developer’s representative, said of the company behind the golf center.

Two city council members asked about the impact of the facility’s lighting, which faces the south side of the Southern Parkway.

Hermandson said the course is planned to be designed with lights on the building that are downward-facing to prevent any light disturbance for drivers on the Southern Parkway.

An analysis of the lighting by city planning staff also showed an overall low impact, with any potential lighting nuisance estimated to be virtually eliminated at the far end of the driving range.

Golfers at a Big Shots Golf Center, date and location not specified | Photo courtesy of the city of St. George, St. George News

No one offered comment when the city opened the zone change proposal for a public hearing, and the council unanimously approved a rezoning of the area from employment to planned development – commercial.

The driving range is among the first of many planned developments for the Desert Color project, which includes plans for a central commercial town center surrounded by resorts and residential neighborhoods, anticipated to support about 30,000 residents.

Read more: Officials hear plans for massive development at city’s southern end

The project is in a portion of a 6,116-acre area of the region referred to as the “south block,” which covers the area extending from Fort Pierce Industrial Park at the north end to the Utah-Arizona border at the south, and from Interstate 15 at the west end to Fort Pierce Industrial Park area at the east.

The south block has been in the planning stages since 2004. Development of the area is projected to span several decades, eventually culminating in a mostly self-sufficient community with various residential, commercial, industrial and mixed-use areas.

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5 Comments

  • Not_So_Much January 5, 2018 at 10:59 am

    So what would happen if the downward facing lights just aren’t downward enough?

  • rusty shackleford January 5, 2018 at 11:49 am

    Will it serve alcohol like it’s competitor, Top Golf?

    • An actual Independent January 7, 2018 at 9:37 am

      They may want to, but that will obviously depend on whether they can get licensed for it here. Wonder if they need a one page sign that says “This establishment is licensed as a driving range, not as a bar”?

  • utahdiablo January 7, 2018 at 11:54 am

    First Rocks in your windshield from uncovered Truck beds, now Golf Balls…..here’s a idea, how about another Costco, or Grocery Store and gas Station to feed and fuel the endless humanity at Sun River?…..but a real surprise the general public had no comment in the Zone change….just wait until your property tax bill comes due with the Lake Powel pipeline added in, Fun Times ahead gang!

    • desertgirl March 13, 2018 at 5:28 pm

      Why don’t you move to the Canadian woods being as you seem to hate people so much.

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