The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: You can’t be against density and sprawl
The story of King Solomon threatening to cleave a baby in two with a sword to resolve a dispute illustrates that it is not always wise to divide by half in order to achieve a compromise solution. In two recent unrelated zoning cases, Grand Junction City Council chose to do just that in order to appease the concerns of neighbors, with questionable outcomes.
In actions related to the Maverick Annexation, City Council, much to the surprise of everyone in the room (including it seems to themselves), reduced the zoning from the staff-recommended density of R-4 (allowing up to 4 units per acre), to R-1 (one-acre lots). Staff’s recommendation was consistent with the city’s Comprehensive Plan, which designates the area for low to medium density urban development (2-4 homes/acre).
In our view, it is not appropriate for the city to annex land at such low densities.

