JANUARY 7 - 14, 2026
VOLUME 33, ISSUE 2
THE DEFINITIVE SOURCE FOR GRAND JUNCTION BUSINESS & COMMUNITY NEWS SINCE 1994
Amendment to city code would save builders time, reduce costs
THEBUSINESSTIMES.COM
Elevating Jiu Jitsu in GJ
Brandon Leuallen
T
The Business Times
he Grand Junction Planning Commission voted Dec. 23 to recommend approval of three zoning and development code amendments, including a proposal to eliminate the city’s mandatory pre-application meeting requirement from the zoning code. City staff framed the preapplication change as a procedural cleanup rather than a substantive change to development standards, saying the amendment would not alter what information applicants must ultimately submit. But it would remove a required step that staff and applicants say has produced inconsistent results and added time and cost to the planning process. Pre-application meetings would become optional, not codified The proposed amendment, filed as ZCA-2025-699, would remove mandatory pre-application meetings added during the city’s 2023 zoningcode update and currently required for major site plans, major subdivisions and planned developments, according to the staff report included in the agenda packet. See story Page 5
Elevate Jiu Jitsu opened its shiny new facility in mid-November and already has plans to expand— See story on Page 2 Axel Geiger, top, trains with his dad, Tanner Geiger, during a class at Elevate Jiu Jitsu Academy, 1027 S. Seventh St., on Dec. 23, 2025. Elevate Jiu Jitsu co-owner Shawn Montgomery said the academy is family friendly, kid friendly and gender friendly. Tanner Geiger also practiced ground fighting that day with Elevate coach Hailee Wemple, and that led Montgomery to say, “That’s so perfect. The little guy training with the female, that’s a good one, right? Because, you know, a lot of people think it’s got to be a dude that’s big and buff and mean.” Instead, jiu jitsu is for anyone who wants its physical and mental health benefits, and Montgomery added, “If you haven’t tried jiu-jitsu, regardless of where you go, you should try it.” Photo by Tim Harty.
Now open Monday thru Saturday till 7 p.m. to serve you better See page 3 Rocky Mountain Orthopedics
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