Bluffdale to weigh letting a drone maker assemble explosives-grade components in its industrial zone

BLUFFDALE — The City Council has set a public hearing for Wednesday, Nov. 18, on Ordinance 2026-24, a text amendment that would write "energetic materials operations" into the city code and allow them as an accessory use in the Light Industrial zone 1.

The ordinance does three things: it adds a definition of energetic materials operations to Chapter 11.20, enacts Section 11.160.330 setting out requirements for those businesses, and amends Section 11.350.020 so the use is permitted in the I-1 zone 1. The applicant is Vector, represented by Zach Williams; planning manager Caitlyn Tubbs is the staff presenter 1. The hearing begins at 6 p.m. at Bluffdale City Hall, 2222 West 14400 South, and emailed comment marked "Energetic Materials" or "Ordinance 2026-24" is due before 4 p.m. that day 1.

**What the use would cover**

Staff's Oct. 7 report to the Planning Commission describes the applicant as a general manufacturing business already operating in the I-1 zone, assembling unmanned aerial systems tailored for defense uses, that wants to expand into energetic materials and explosive devices in the items it assembles 2. The proposed definition covers facilities "engaged in manufacturing, fabricating, assembling, repairing or refurbishing, packaging, and distributing explosive or energetic devices or materials," including research and development, quality assurance and authorized disposal 2.

The draft section lists what would be permitted: detonators, initiators, propellants and inflators; blasting materials, agents and caps; low energy exploding foil initiators, known as LEEFIs; pyrotechnic and energetic materials including ignition systems, gas generators and rocket motors; and aerospace, commercial or defense energetic devices 2. Staff told the commission the list was drawn broadly so the applicant would not have to re-apply as technology changes 3.

**How it would be regulated**

A business would need a city business licence under Title 3 and would have to supply information about the nature, storage and use of the materials; licensing, building and planning staff would review the application, and the Bluffdale Fire Department would inspect before any operation began 2. The city could impose conditions on public safety, emergency response, security, transportation, separation distances and operational controls, and could inspect at reasonable times 2. Compliance with the section would not relieve anyone of federal or state licences 2.

The land-use table would make the use an accessory one, permitted in I-1 only where it is secondary to an existing primary use 23.

**What the commission heard**

At its Oct. 7 hearing the commission forwarded a positive recommendation, and the motion passed unanimously, with one added finding: that language be added to the definition to better define energetic materials 3. Chair Cragun said the definition as drafted did not give a clear indication of what the operations are and asked that the list of included materials be folded into it; Tubbs said the definition could be edited 3.

Williams told the commission the company employs 90 people at the Bluffdale location and wants to incorporate LEEFIs into its drones, describing them as roughly a quarter-inch tall, smaller in diameter than a dime, and initiated at 1,000 volts, with a partner company manufacturing them 3. He said Vector would follow Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rules for storage, inspection and background checks, and that the company would coordinate with the city so it could attend the federal inspection 3.

Commissioner Swanson said he would be more concerned about the location if the operation were larger, and that the city would have to rely on federal storage rules to protect neighboring businesses 3. Tubbs told the commission Fire Chief Matt Evans had been present when the Development Review Committee reviewed the application and expressed no concerns at that time, and that the fire marshal would likely require a special midyear inspection once the use is requested 3. The public hearing drew no comment 3.

**What happens next**

The council decides on the ordinance; the commission's recommendation covers the text amendment only, and a business would still need approval of the accessory use and a fire inspection before operating 3.