St. George's Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday, Nov. 10, on a request to rework the land-use map for a big stretch of the Desert Canyons master-planned community on the city's south end (via City of St. George). The developer wants about 232 acres moved from a low-density designation to medium density.
The request comes from Desert Canyons Development, Inc., with Curt Gordon listed as its representative. Beyond the density change, the amendment would shift land-use boundary lines across roughly 272 acres east of Southern Parkway and north of Desert Sky Parkway. The city's notice is clear that this changes the land-use designation inside the planned development, not the underlying zoning.
The hearing starts at 5 p.m. at the St. George City Offices, 61 S. Main St. The case is listed as 2026-PDA-024, and city development services staff are handling public questions.
What the notice doesn't say is what "medium density" will mean on the ground here: no units-per-acre figure, no unit count and no map. The meeting packet with the staff report hadn't been posted to the city's Planning Commission page as of Nov. 6, so those details should land there before Tuesday.
Desert Canyons isn't new. The City Council approved the Desert Canyons Zone Plan, covering about 2,432 acres, back on July 16, 2009, along with a development agreement; the zone plan has picked up several addenda since. Under that agreement, planned-development zoning can lapse after 18 months if no building permit is pulled or final plat recorded, though staff can grant renewals.
The same corner has been busy this year. In July, Desert Canyons Development asked the city to rezone a parcel east of Southern Parkway and north of Desert Sky Parkway from planned-development residential to R-1, keeping an eight-units-per-acre cap and 40-foot minimum lot frontage, and to add R-1 to the development agreement. City records show the council approved that zone change on Aug. 6.
By September, a 70-lot preliminary plat for Desert Sky Phase 1 was on the Planning Commission's agenda. That subdivision covers about 14.5 acres, or roughly 4.8 homes per acre, and lists DSG Engineering as applicant. In October 2025, the same developer also sought to redesignate about 11 acres south of Southern Parkway from agricultural estates to medium-density residential.
Why it matters for Contractors
Moving 232 acres from low to medium density generally points toward smaller lots and more attached or tightly spaced product, and that tends to mean more doors per phase once plats start moving. That work usually lands first with production builders and land developers, but medium-density phases also lean on site, concrete, framing, roofing, drywall and finish subs, plus landscaping and fencing crews once homes close.
Don't count units yet. The notice gives no density range, and Tuesday's hearing is one step in a longer process: plats, engineering and permits still have to follow before anyone digs. Small shops that want a seat at the table can read the staff report when it posts, show up Nov. 10, and keep an eye on later Desert Sky plat filings to see which builders and engineers are attached.