Poison Spider is a popular 16-mile trail in Moab often used for off-roading vehicles. In October, a few residents requested to rename their cul-de-sac after that trail. 

Three of the houses in the circle are off roaders so applicant Tyler Patrick said they decided to go with that one. Off-Road Circle was already denied by the county. 

Poison Spider Circle was denied by the West Jordan City Council though in almost unanimous vote 6-1. Though many councilmembers said they weren’t against the cul-de-sac being renamed, but felt the process for the proposed name was flawed and did not meet necessary requirements. 

Part of city code for a street name to be changed requires a high level of community support and to hold some significance to West Jordan, neither of which applied here said several councilmembers. 

Rob Bennett, a former councilmember and resident, also worried what affect the name would have on property values. 

“Who would want to buy a house in a neighborhood that lives on Poison Spider Circle without knowing what that signifies,” he told the council. 

Of the five homes in the circle, three were in favor while the other two voiced opposition to the change. 

Patrick said they’ve had delivery issues with mail and trouble for an ambulance finding a home noting many houses in the city are numbered the same. 

Ron Cossure, a neighbor in the circle, were in opposition identifying the “overwhelming inconvenient and expense to change their address” with the county, state and their family trust. 

Another neighbor, Josh Standfield, also highlighted the financial burden to change passports and drivers licenses. 

“Seems like a logistical nightmare,” he said, adding the name doesn’t have anything to do with the area. 

A sign was placed on the corner by the city recently, he said, and felt that was a good middle ground. 

Councilmember Chad Lamb pointed to his street, Highland Hollow Drive, having nothing to do with West Jordan and felt the neighbors could find a name to agree on. Lamb was the lone dissenting vote because he said he didn’t like the word “deny” as part of the decision. 

Several other councilmembers said they didn’t like the idea of this decision pitting neighbor against neighbor. 

“If it’s going to be something, I’d like to see more cohesiveness from the five,” Councilmember Bob Bedore said, not liking the exclusionary nature of the process. 

Councilmember Pamela Bloom said it would be helpful to define a threshold for “high level of community support.” 

“I do appreciate the pride in the neighborhood’s identity, that’s exactly what we want in our neighborhoods,” she said prior to the vote. “But I want to ensure our process is clear and that all neighbors feel represented. It’s not just about a name, it’s how we define our community character. So, if we don’t pass this today, it’s not a no, but maybe finding something more of an identity for your neighborhood. Just want to make sure we’re doing this properly and bringing the community together and not splitting them apart.”

Two previous street name changes in the city were to commemorate a victim of drunk drive and to remove “Bingham” from the road name in front of Copper Hills High School. 

“I want a little kumbaya if we’re going to name a street,” Councilmember Kelvin Green said.