SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — Area residents attended a South Jordan Planning Commission meeting Tuesday night to share their views with officials about an 18-acre site that will be rezoned for townhomes.

Chase Passey’s South Jordan home overlooks open space and the Jordan River Trail.

“It’s a spectacular view, we paid for it,” he said. “For us, this is more than just an open space. It’s our little sanctuary that we don’t want ruined.”

Passey waited nearly six hours to share his views with officials at a South Jordan planning commission meeting Tuesday night.

“Ultimately, this will disrupt wildlife and ecosystems, and once wildlife is gone, it won’t come back,” Passey said.

Some people’s concern is that they think this land has been designated as protected forest land.

“So there’s actually about 300 acres of open space along the Jordan River with protected land around it, about 180 acres of which are actually owned by the city, and a lot of those speaking easements, so they’re one of them,” said Rachael Van Cleave of the city of South Jordan. “It’s not,” he said.

If those plans come to fruition, the city said the developer has agreed to maintain some of the wetlands there. The planning commission did not recommend that the city council approve the rezoning. However, the project will come before the council next week.

“As a city, we are committed to preserving open space,” Van Cleave said. They also want to address the housing crisis. “We’re playing our role in helping and working with contractors, but in a way we’re also protecting people’s quality of life.” “We have it here in South Jordan,” he added.

The South Jordan City Council is expected to vote on the proposal and make a final decision on Tuesday, November 19.