SAVE KANE CREEK
PROTECT THE RIVER, PRESERVE THE CANYON.
Acres at Stake
Luxury Homes
Sq Ft Commercial Space
CY of Floodplain Fill
Petitions Signed
Environmental impact has already begun, but we can still stop it.
Kane Creek Preservation and Development LLC is in the process of leveling and back-filling in 180 acres of riparian area in the King’s Bottom floodplain. Located two miles from Moab along Kane Creek Road, this site was formerly a rustic campground and open space along the Colorado river.
The developers Craig Weston, Trent Arnold, and Tom Gottleib have taken advantage of a loop hole in Moab’s zoning and have used back door politicking to initiate plans to construct 500+ luxury homes in addition to commercial and industrial areas.
This area is a National Park worthy scenic landscape and important habitat for migrating birds and resident wildlife. It is a gateway to residents’ and visitors’ favorite trails, canyons, and cliffs as well as noteworthy archeological sites.
3 MILLION PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD VISIT MOAB PER YEAR
A massive luxury resort does not belong in the national park level scenery that draws people to Moab.
CLIMBERS HIKERS BIKERS OFF-ROADERS BASE JUMPERS OHV RIVER RUNNERS ARTISTS BIRDERS PHOTOGRAPHERS ARCHEOLOGISTS
visitors & locals for preservation
Kane Creek + the Colorado River is beloved by adventure seekers of all forms of recreation.
World Class Wall Street Rock Climbing
Moonflower & Hunter Canyon Hiking Trails
Pritchett Canyon 4x4 Jeep Safari & OHV Trail
Amasa Back, Captain Ahab Mountain Biking Trails
Hurrah Pass, Chicken Corners OHV Trails
Unified Community Opposition
Community opposition to this project is strong, as it threatens the scenic landscape, wildlife habitat, and cherished recreational areas that define our local identity and attract visitors to Moab.
National Park Quality Landscape
In any place less spectacular than Moab, the land around the proposed development would qualify for national park status. In addition to scenic beauty, it hosts numerous ancient indigenous sites and critical habitat for more than one endangered species and borders a Wilderness Study Area.
Building on Riparian Floodplain
In order to build this, the developers are piling between 4-12 vertical feet of sand and gravel on the Colorado River floodplain. This ground is where they plan to put hundreds of luxury homes, condos, country club, and private sewer infrastructure.
Errors + Omissions in Permitting
While we haven’t yet had the chance to prove this in court, our research has uncovered what we believe to be multiple skipped or inadequate steps in the various permitting processes. Local law and government appear unprepared for a development of this size in a place this much on the edge.
Interference with Local Government
The developers and their allies in state government have more than once interceded in local political or government affairs to change laws and fund candidates that would be more likely to allow this development.
Exclusive Luxury Resort
The developers pay a lot of lip service to affordable housing, but their own documents describe this as “an exclusive residential estate,” “resort style,” and “highly amenitized,” containing “private luxury stores,” $1.5 million duplex, 5,000 sq ft custom homes, and 90% vacation homes.
THE FLOOD RISK IS CLEAR WITH THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF MORE EXTREME WEATHER
The Parcel, underwater.
The developers plan to build a luxury complex on the banks of the Colorado River, in the floodplain.
Luxury Resort + Commercial Retail Space
The developers’ vision is to build a luxury resort and propose over 580 dwelling units but claim they could legally build over 2000 in the scenic Colorado River corridor, which could increase the total number of residential units in the county by 37%. The area was zoned for campgrounds and the parcel is divided into 11 phases.
By-passed County Government
Recent legislative changes introduced at the state level, specifically House Bill 22, have added complexity and unease to the situation. The changes in the bill, introduced by Sen. Curt Bramble(R), were clearly aimed at this specific development and forced the formation of a new, all-developer board (previously comprised of locally elected Grand County Commissioners). This change raises concerns about transparency and the community’s role in decision-making of this massive project.
Colorado River Floodplain
KCPD needs to move 680,000 cubic yards of fill to bring the flood plain up to the FEMA guidelines. This is 50,000 dump truck loads at full capacity, and at an aggressive schedule will take 18 months to get to grade. The fill is being scraped from the property on the upper side of the road- a beautiful area just under the fins. The finish grade will be 1ft above the current road. The County Engineer said that the scale magnitude of this project (typically up to 1000 cubic yards) far exceeded the structure they are used to dealing with at the county.
Sewage Treatment Plant
There are also plans to build on 70,000 square feet of commercially zoned land (1.25 football fields) in the area. Speculations vary from a swanky glamping resort for Airstream-type trailers, to an up-scale strip-mall. Perhaps most concerning is the sewage treatment plant necessary for the new neighborhood that will be built next to the river.
Current Status:
Habitat Destruction
Grading & Filling
Grading and filling of the floodplain by Salt Lake Excavation has begun following approval of the sewage treatment facility. We can STOP this. Please consider donating to help cover our legal fees.
Who We Are
Kane Creek Development Watch is a group of dedicated citizens committed to preserving the unique beauty and ecological integrity of the Colorado River corridor near Moab, Utah. Our mission is to safeguard this vital area from a development that poses significant socio-economic and environmental threats to our vibrant local community. Our goal is to secure the land back from the developers and ensure its protection for future generations.
This project is a net loss to the community.
We are sending a unified message to the developers and commissioners: this project is a net loss to the community. It will take more than it gives through the impacts to our recreation areas, our scenic landscape, our housing supply, our roads and community services, local small business economy and our overall quality of life in Grand County.
Front Page Article of the Salt Lake Tribune
Moab residents and visitors alike are in an uproar because as you are reading this, Trent Arnold, Tom Gottleib, and Craig Weston are having a National Park quality landscape scraped and filled to make room for luxury homes for the Uber Rich. The area is rich in Archeological resources, and is the gateway to Moab’s most beloved trails. This has to STOP. View the article here.
From our community, we are voicing our concerns and united in the goal of true preservation to save Kane Creek.
I grew up in Moab … This project is appalling and will fill that entire area with residential and commercial development in a flood plain. The road can't handle this type of traffic. A 34% increase in residential housing in Moab but none of this is geared towards the needs of the community. So sad to see these continuing developments that the elected body allow and nothing to fix the problems at hand. This development creates so many more problems than it fixes.
– Jonathan Olschewski, resident
It will congest and pollute the serene and naturally beautiful Colorado river corridor and its tributaries, currently a critical escape for stressed locals and visitors. It will push us further towards a precedent of bulldozing and locking away our greatest assets to build spaces explicitly for wealthy outsiders to park their money. This in a place already grappling with an affordable housing catastrophe is a tragic and enraging and hypocrisy.
– Anonymous, resident
I’ve lived here for 19 years and Kane Creek is one of my favorite places on earth. It’s minutes from town but you can be out of cell range and into canyons quickly. Never once have I gone down that road and wished there was a business park there. This development is totally unnecessary and signals excessive greed in a place that could be deemed a National Park in another state. Also I work for an affordable housing nonprofit. Putting 2000 high end units in a place that is unsuitable for development is so counterproductive to our housing crisis it makes me want to cry.
– Nancy Morlock, resident
I grew up in Grand County and lived there for 43 years. This development would destroy the beauty of that canyon! There's only one way in and out of that canyon! This development is one of the worst things that could happen to Moab!
– Anonymous, previous resident
These developers are taking advantage of outdated zoning and low-capacity local government to do a large-scale project that is extremely inappropriate for that area. Impact to the river corridor will be large, flood potential is high, it will change the character of the river canyon for the worse for many years, and when they inevitably abandon or sell this project because it’s no longer profitable, we will be left with a hulking facility rotting on the banks of the major waterway of the west. Additionally, watching a megaluxury resort get built in one of the quiet places of moab, displacing a few poor people living in interesting dwellings, when many people can’t even find a place to rent, feels ugly and sad. What right do these guys have to f*ck with a town they don’t live in, building something that no one wants to see, while people who contribute positively to the community end up moving because they can’t afford to stay? They are profiting from the natural wealth that the area offers, while degrading it and contributing nothing.
– Sam Neuman, resident
I grew up in Moab and am devastated each time I return home to a new development that continues to encroach upon the wild places that make Moab special…
– Melissa Nielsen, previous resident
I lived in Moab for 10 years from 1996 to 2006 … I sometimes think about moving back to Moab, but what has happened just in the last 5 years is out of control…Many people that I talk to here in Durango, where I now live say, ‘we can't go to Moab anymore, it's just insane what is happening’.
– Candee Pearson, previous resident
After living in big city, the respite and quiet that Moab has provided has done immense wonders on my physical and mental health. Being able to go out and be in pristine nature just miles from my house is so special to me. Another issue I've faced myself and have watched my friends continue to face housing insecurity. Can't afford to buy houses, and can barely afford to rent. Adding a development of this scale and size in this location breaks my heart.
– Leanna Usher, resident
The Kane creek development is a slap in the face and feels like everything that is wrong in our community compiled into one singular development… Bypassing the city and county to create their own service district, ensuring that no local gets to have a say. It’s super messed up.
– Anonymous, resident
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