Representative Logan Wilde proposes the following substitute bill:


1     
LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT AMENDMENTS

2     
2019 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Logan Wilde

5     
Senate Sponsor: Kirk A. Cullimore

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill amends provisions of the Municipal Land Use, Development, and
10     Management Act and the County Land Use, Development, and Management Act.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     defines terms;
14          ▸     addresses local authority to adopt local land use requirements and regulations;
15          ▸     amends the process to vacate a public street;
16          ▸     clarifies local authority regarding a planning commission;
17          ▸     amends the authority of a local legislative body regarding zoning;
18          ▸     provides that a local legislative body may, by ordinance, consider a planning
19     commission's failure to make a certain timely recommendation as a negative
20     recommendation;
21          ▸     requires a legislative body to classify each allowed use in a zoning district;
22          ▸     prohibits a municipality from withholding the issuance of a certificate of occupancy
23     in certain circumstances;
24          ▸     imposes a time limit for final action on certain applications;
25          ▸     prohibits a county recorder from recording a subdivision plat unless the relevant

26     municipality or county has approved and signed the plat;
27          ▸     requires a municipality and county to establish two acceptable forms of completion
28     assurance and adds elements for which the municipality or county may not require
29     completion assurance;
30          ▸     amends provisions regarding exemptions from the plat requirement;
31          ▸     amends a provision regarding municipal or county liability for the dedication of a
32     street;
33          ▸     allows for a separate process to vacate a public street through a petition;
34          ▸     repeals provisions regarding a historic preservation appeal authority;
35          ▸     allows a legislative body to act as an appeal authority to review a land use decision
36     in certain circumstances;
37          ▸     provides for a court to review a land use application denial and remand the matter in
38     certain circumstances;
39          ▸     allows a court to award attorney fees if the court makes a certain determination of
40     bad faith challenge to a land use application decision;
41          ▸     requires a boundary line agreement operating as a quitclaim deed to meet certain
42     standards;
43          ▸     amends provisions regarding boundary line agreements, including elements, status,
44     and exemptions; and
45          ▸     makes technical and conforming changes.
46     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
47          None
48     Other Special Clauses:
49          None
50     Utah Code Sections Affected:
51     AMENDS:
52          10-9a-102, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 460
53          10-9a-103, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapters 339 and 415
54          10-9a-104, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Third Special Session, Chapter 1
55          10-9a-208, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 90
56          10-9a-302, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 84

57          10-9a-501, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 84
58          10-9a-502, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 84
59          10-9a-503, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapters 17, 79, and 84
60          10-9a-507, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 339
61          10-9a-509, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 339
62          10-9a-509.5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Second Special Session, Chapter 1
63          10-9a-601, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2005, Chapter 254
64          10-9a-602, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2005, Chapter 254
65          10-9a-603, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapters 410 and 428
66          10-9a-604.5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 339
67          10-9a-605, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 381
68          10-9a-607, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 381
69          10-9a-608, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapter 136
70          10-9a-609, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapter 136
71          10-9a-609.5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 381
72          10-9a-701, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Second Special Session, Chapter 1
73          10-9a-707, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 84
74          10-9a-801, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 339
75          10-9a-802, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 339
76          17-27a-102, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 460
77          17-27a-103, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapters 339 and 415
78          17-27a-104, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Third Special Session, Chapter 1
79          17-27a-208, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 90
80          17-27a-302, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 84
81          17-27a-501, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 84
82          17-27a-502, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 84
83          17-27a-503, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 84
84          17-27a-506, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 339
85          17-27a-508, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 339
86          17-27a-509.5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 112
87          17-27a-601, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2005, Chapter 254

88          17-27a-602, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 465
89          17-27a-603, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapters 410 and 428
90          17-27a-604.5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 339
91          17-27a-605, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2016, Chapter 147
92          17-27a-607, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 381
93          17-27a-608, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapter 136
94          17-27a-609, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapter 136
95          17-27a-609.5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 381
96          17-27a-707, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 84
97          17-27a-801, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 339
98          17-27a-802, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 339
99          57-1-13, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 88
100          57-1-45, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 88
101          63I-2-217, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 68 and further amended by
102     Revisor Instructions, Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 456
103     

104     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
105          Section 1. Section 10-9a-102 is amended to read:
106          10-9a-102. Purposes -- General land use authority.
107          (1) The purposes of this chapter are to:
108          (a) provide for the health, safety, and welfare[, and];
109          (b) promote the prosperity[,];
110          (c) improve the morals, peace [and], good order, comfort, convenience, and aesthetics
111     of each municipality and [its] each municipality's present and future inhabitants and
112     businesses[, to];
113          (d) protect the tax base[, to];
114          (e) secure economy in governmental expenditures[, to];
115          (f) foster the state's agricultural and other industries[, to];
116          (g) protect both urban and nonurban development[, to];
117          (h) protect and ensure access to sunlight for solar energy devices[, to];
118          (i) provide fundamental fairness in land use regulation[, and to];

119          (j) facilitate orderly growth and allow growth in a variety of housing types; and
120          (k) protect property values.
121          (2) To accomplish the purposes of this chapter, [municipalities] a municipality may
122     enact all ordinances, resolutions, and rules and may enter into other forms of land use controls
123     and development agreements that [they consider] the municipality considers necessary or
124     appropriate for the use and development of land within the municipality, including ordinances,
125     resolutions, rules, restrictive covenants, easements, and development agreements governing:
126          (a) uses[,];
127          (b) density[,];
128          (c) open spaces[,];
129          (d) structures[,];
130          (e) buildings[,];
131          (f) energy efficiency[,];
132          (g) light and air[,];
133          (h) air quality[,];
134          (i) transportation and public or alternative transportation[,];
135          (j) infrastructure[,];
136          (k) street and building orientation [and];
137          (l) width requirements[,];
138          (m) public facilities[,];
139          (n) fundamental fairness in land use regulation[,]; and
140          (o) considerations of surrounding land uses [and the] to balance [of] the foregoing
141     purposes with a landowner's private property interests[, height and location of vegetation, trees,
142     and landscaping, unless expressly prohibited by law] and associated statutory and constitutional
143     protections.
144          (3) (a) Any ordinance, resolution, or rule enacted by a municipality pursuant to its
145     authority under this chapter shall comply with the state's exclusive jurisdiction to regulate oil
146     and gas activity, as described in Section 40-6-2.5.
147          (b) A municipality may enact an ordinance, resolution, or rule that regulates surface
148     activity incident to an oil and gas activity if the municipality demonstrates that the regulation:
149          (i) is necessary for the purposes of this chapter;

150          (ii) does not effectively or unduly limit, ban, or prohibit an oil and gas activity; and
151          (iii) does not interfere with the state's exclusive jurisdiction to regulate oil and gas
152     activity, as described in Section 40-6-2.5.
153          Section 2. Section 10-9a-103 is amended to read:
154          10-9a-103. Definitions.
155          As used in this chapter:
156          (1) "Affected entity" means a county, municipality, local district, special service
157     district under Title 17D, Chapter 1, Special Service District Act, school district, interlocal
158     cooperation entity established under Title 11, Chapter 13, Interlocal Cooperation Act, specified
159     public utility, property owner, property owners association, or the Utah Department of
160     Transportation, if:
161          (a) the entity's services or facilities are likely to require expansion or significant
162     modification because of an intended use of land;
163          (b) the entity has filed with the municipality a copy of the entity's general or long-range
164     plan; or
165          (c) the entity has filed with the municipality a request for notice during the same
166     calendar year and before the municipality provides notice to an affected entity in compliance
167     with a requirement imposed under this chapter.
168          (2) "Appeal authority" means the person, board, commission, agency, or other body
169     designated by ordinance to decide an appeal of a decision of a land use application or a
170     variance.
171          (3) "Billboard" means a freestanding ground sign located on industrial, commercial, or
172     residential property if the sign is designed or intended to direct attention to a business, product,
173     or service that is not sold, offered, or existing on the property where the sign is located.
174          (4) (a) "Charter school" means:
175          (i) an operating charter school;
176          (ii) a charter school applicant that has its application approved by a charter school
177     authorizer in accordance with Title 53G, Chapter 5, Part 3, Charter School Authorization; or
178          (iii) an entity that is working on behalf of a charter school or approved charter
179     applicant to develop or construct a charter school building.
180          (b) "Charter school" does not include a therapeutic school.

181          (5) "Conditional use" means a land use that, because of its unique characteristics or
182     potential impact on the municipality, surrounding neighbors, or adjacent land uses, may not be
183     compatible in some areas or may be compatible only if certain conditions are required that
184     mitigate or eliminate the detrimental impacts.
185          (6) "Constitutional taking" means a governmental action that results in a taking of
186     private property so that compensation to the owner of the property is required by the:
187          (a) Fifth or Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States; or
188          (b) Utah Constitution Article I, Section 22.
189          (7) "Culinary water authority" means the department, agency, or public entity with
190     responsibility to review and approve the feasibility of the culinary water system and sources for
191     the subject property.
192          (8) "Development activity" means:
193          (a) any construction or expansion of a building, structure, or use that creates additional
194     demand and need for public facilities;
195          (b) any change in use of a building or structure that creates additional demand and need
196     for public facilities; or
197          (c) any change in the use of land that creates additional demand and need for public
198     facilities.
199          (9) (a) "Disability" means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one
200     or more of a person's major life activities, including a person having a record of such an
201     impairment or being regarded as having such an impairment.
202          (b) "Disability" does not include current illegal use of, or addiction to, any federally
203     controlled substance, as defined in Section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C.
204     802.
205          (10) "Educational facility":
206          (a) means:
207          (i) a school district's building at which pupils assemble to receive instruction in a
208     program for any combination of grades from preschool through grade 12, including
209     kindergarten and a program for children with disabilities;
210          (ii) a structure or facility:
211          (A) located on the same property as a building described in Subsection (10)(a)(i); and

212          (B) used in support of the use of that building; and
213          (iii) a building to provide office and related space to a school district's administrative
214     personnel; and
215          (b) does not include:
216          (i) land or a structure, including land or a structure for inventory storage, equipment
217     storage, food processing or preparing, vehicle storage or maintenance, or similar use that is:
218          (A) not located on the same property as a building described in Subsection (10)(a)(i);
219     and
220          (B) used in support of the purposes of a building described in Subsection (10)(a)(i); or
221          (ii) a therapeutic school.
222          (11) "Fire authority" means the department, agency, or public entity with responsibility
223     to review and approve the feasibility of fire protection and suppression services for the subject
224     property.
225          (12) "Flood plain" means land that:
226          (a) is within the 100-year flood plain designated by the Federal Emergency
227     Management Agency; or
228          (b) has not been studied or designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency
229     but presents a likelihood of experiencing chronic flooding or a catastrophic flood event because
230     the land has characteristics that are similar to those of a 100-year flood plain designated by the
231     Federal Emergency Management Agency.
232          (13) "General plan" means a document that a municipality adopts that sets forth general
233     guidelines for proposed future development of the land within the municipality.
234          (14) "Geologic hazard" means:
235          (a) a surface fault rupture;
236          (b) shallow groundwater;
237          (c) liquefaction;
238          (d) a landslide;
239          (e) a debris flow;
240          (f) unstable soil;
241          (g) a rock fall; or
242          (h) any other geologic condition that presents a risk:

243          (i) to life;
244          (ii) of substantial loss of real property; or
245          (iii) of substantial damage to real property.
246          (15) "Historic preservation authority" means a person, board, commission, or other
247     body designated by a legislative body to:
248          (a) recommend land use regulations to preserve local historic districts or areas; and
249          (b) administer local historic preservation land use regulations within a local historic
250     district or area.
251          (16) "Hookup fee" means a fee for the installation and inspection of any pipe, line,
252     meter, or appurtenance that connects to a municipal water, sewer, storm water, power, or other
253     utility system.
254          (17) "Identical plans" means building plans submitted to a municipality that:
255          (a) are clearly marked as "identical plans";
256          (b) are substantially identical to building plans that were previously submitted to and
257     reviewed and approved by the municipality; and
258          (c) describe a building that:
259          (i) is located on land zoned the same as the land on which the building described in the
260     previously approved plans is located;
261          (ii) is subject to the same geological and meteorological conditions and the same law
262     as the building described in the previously approved plans;
263          (iii) has a floor plan identical to the building plan previously submitted to and reviewed
264     and approved by the municipality; and
265          (iv) does not require any additional engineering or analysis.
266          (18) "Impact fee" means a payment of money imposed under Title 11, Chapter 36a,
267     Impact Fees Act.
268          (19) "Improvement completion assurance" means a surety bond, letter of credit,
269     financial institution bond, cash, assignment of rights, lien, or other equivalent security required
270     by a municipality to guaranty the proper completion of landscaping or an infrastructure
271     improvement required as a condition precedent to:
272          (a) recording a subdivision plat; or
273          (b) development of a commercial, industrial, mixed use, or multifamily project.

274          (20) "Improvement warranty" means an applicant's unconditional warranty that the
275     applicant's installed and accepted landscaping or infrastructure improvement:
276          (a) complies with the municipality's written standards for design, materials, and
277     workmanship; and
278          (b) will not fail in any material respect, as a result of poor workmanship or materials,
279     within the improvement warranty period.
280          (21) "Improvement warranty period" means a period:
281          (a) no later than one year after a municipality's acceptance of required landscaping; or
282          (b) no later than one year after a municipality's acceptance of required infrastructure,
283     unless the municipality:
284          (i) determines for good cause that a one-year period would be inadequate to protect the
285     public health, safety, and welfare; and
286          (ii) has substantial evidence, on record:
287          (A) of prior poor performance by the applicant; or
288          (B) that the area upon which the infrastructure will be constructed contains suspect soil
289     and the municipality has not otherwise required the applicant to mitigate the suspect soil.
290          (22) "Infrastructure improvement" means permanent infrastructure that is essential for
291     the public health and safety or that:
292          (a) is required for human occupation; and
293          (b) an applicant must install:
294          [(a)] (i) [pursuant to] in accordance with published installation and inspection
295     specifications for public improvements; and
296          [(b)] (ii) whether the improvement is public or private, as a condition of:
297          [(i)] (A) recording a subdivision plat; [or]
298          (B) obtaining a building permit; or
299          [(ii)] (C) development of a commercial, industrial, mixed use, condominium, or
300     multifamily project.
301          (23) "Internal lot restriction" means a platted note, platted demarcation, or platted
302     designation that:
303          (a) runs with the land; and
304          (b) (i) creates a restriction that is enclosed within the perimeter of a lot described on

305     the plat; or
306          (ii) designates a development condition that is enclosed within the perimeter of a lot
307     described on the plat.
308          (24) "Land use applicant" means a property owner, or the property owner's designee,
309     who submits a land use application regarding the property owner's land.
310          (25) "Land use application":
311          (a) means an application that is:
312          (i) required by a municipality; and
313          (ii) submitted by a land use applicant to obtain a land use decision; and
314          (b) does not mean an application to enact, amend, or repeal a land use regulation.
315          (26) "Land use authority" means:
316          (a) a person, board, commission, agency, or body, including the local legislative body,
317     designated by the local legislative body to act upon a land use application; or
318          (b) if the local legislative body has not designated a person, board, commission,
319     agency, or body, the local legislative body.
320          (27) "Land use decision" means an administrative decision of a land use authority or
321     appeal authority regarding:
322          (a) a land use permit;
323          (b) a land use application; or
324          (c) the enforcement of a land use regulation, land use permit, or development
325     agreement.
326          (28) "Land use permit" means a permit issued by a land use authority.
327          (29) "Land use regulation":
328          (a) means a legislative decision enacted by ordinance, law, code, map, resolution,
329     specification, fee, or rule that governs the use or development of land;
330          (b) includes the adoption or amendment of a zoning map or the text of the zoning code;
331     and
332          (c) does not include:
333          (i) a land use decision of the legislative body acting as the land use authority, even if
334     the decision is expressed in a resolution or ordinance; or
335          (ii) a temporary revision to an engineering specification that does not materially:

336          (A) increase a land use applicant's cost of development compared to the existing
337     specification; or
338          (B) impact a land use applicant's use of land.
339          (30) "Legislative body" means the municipal council.
340          (31) "Local district" means an entity under Title 17B, Limited Purpose Local
341     Government Entities - Local Districts, and any other governmental or quasi-governmental
342     entity that is not a county, municipality, school district, or the state.
343          (32) "Local historic district or area" means a geographically definable area that:
344          (a) contains any combination of buildings, structures, sites, objects, landscape features,
345     archeological sites, or works of art that contribute to the historic preservation goals of a
346     legislative body; and
347          (b) is subject to land use regulations to preserve the historic significance of the local
348     historic district or area.
349          (33) "Lot" means a tract of land, regardless of any label, that is created by and shown
350     on a subdivision plat that has been recorded in the office of the county recorder.
351          [(33)] (34) (a) "Lot line adjustment" means [the] a relocation of [the property] a lot line
352     boundary [line in a subdivision] between [two] adjoining lots or parcels, whether or not the lots
353     are located in the same subdivision, in accordance with Section 10-9a-608, with the consent of
354     the owners of record.
355          (b) "Lot line adjustment" does not mean a new boundary line that:
356          (i) creates an additional lot; or
357          (ii) constitutes a subdivision.
358          [(34)] (35) "Moderate income housing" means housing occupied or reserved for
359     occupancy by households with a gross household income equal to or less than 80% of the
360     median gross income for households of the same size in the county in which the city is located.
361          (36) "Municipal utility easement" means an easement that:
362          (a) a plat recorded in a county recorder's office described as a municipal utility
363     easement, public utility easement as defined in Subsection 54-3-27(1)(b), or otherwise as a
364     utility easement;
365          (b) is not a protected utility easement as defined in Subsection 54-3-27(1)(a);
366          (c) the municipality or the municipality's affiliated governmental entity owns or

367     creates; and
368          (d) (i) either:
369          (A) no person uses or occupies; or
370          (B) the municipality or the municipality's affiliated governmental entity uses and
371     occupies to provide a utility service, including sanitary sewer, culinary water, electrical, storm
372     water, or communications or data lines; or
373          (ii) a person uses or occupies with or without an authorized franchise or other
374     agreement with the municipality.
375          [(35)] (37) "Nominal fee" means a fee that reasonably reimburses a municipality only
376     for time spent and expenses incurred in:
377          (a) verifying that building plans are identical plans; and
378          (b) reviewing and approving those minor aspects of identical plans that differ from the
379     previously reviewed and approved building plans.
380          [(36)] (38) "Noncomplying structure" means a structure that:
381          (a) legally existed before its current land use designation; and
382          (b) because of one or more subsequent land use ordinance changes, does not conform
383     to the setback, height restrictions, or other regulations, excluding those regulations, which
384     govern the use of land.
385          [(37)] (39) "Nonconforming use" means a use of land that:
386          (a) legally existed before its current land use designation;
387          (b) has been maintained continuously since the time the land use ordinance governing
388     the land changed; and
389          (c) because of one or more subsequent land use ordinance changes, does not conform
390     to the regulations that now govern the use of the land.
391          [(38)] (40) "Official map" means a map drawn by municipal authorities and recorded in
392     a county recorder's office that:
393          (a) shows actual and proposed rights-of-way, centerline alignments, and setbacks for
394     highways and other transportation facilities;
395          (b) provides a basis for restricting development in designated rights-of-way or between
396     designated setbacks to allow the government authorities time to purchase or otherwise reserve
397     the land; and

398          (c) has been adopted as an element of the municipality's general plan.
399          (41) "Parcel" means any real property that is not a lot created by and shown on a
400     subdivision plat recorded in the office of the county recorder.
401          [(39)] (42) (a) "Parcel boundary adjustment" means a recorded agreement between
402     owners of adjoining [properties] parcels adjusting [their] the mutual boundary, either by deed
403     or by a boundary line agreement in accordance with Section 57-1-45, if[: (a)] no additional
404     parcel is created[;] and:
405          [(b)] (i) [each] none of the property identified in the agreement is [unsubdivided land,
406     including a remainder of] subdivided land[.]; or
407          (ii) the adjustment is to the boundaries of a single person's parcels.
408          (b) "Parcel boundary adjustment" does not mean an adjustment of a parcel boundary
409     line that:
410          (i) creates an additional parcel; or
411          (ii) constitutes a subdivision.
412          [(40)] (43) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, organization,
413     association, trust, governmental agency, or any other legal entity.
414          [(41)] (44) "Plan for moderate income housing" means a written document adopted by
415     a city legislative body that includes:
416          (a) an estimate of the existing supply of moderate income housing located within the
417     city;
418          (b) an estimate of the need for moderate income housing in the city for the next five
419     years as revised biennially;
420          (c) a survey of total residential land use;
421          (d) an evaluation of how existing land uses and zones affect opportunities for moderate
422     income housing; and
423          (e) a description of the city's program to encourage an adequate supply of moderate
424     income housing.
425          [(42)] (45) "Plat" means a map or other graphical representation of lands [being laid
426     out and prepared] that a licensed professional land surveyor makes and prepares in accordance
427     with Section 10-9a-603[, 17-23-17,] or 57-8-13.
428          [(43)] (46) "Potential geologic hazard area" means an area that:

429          (a) is designated by a Utah Geological Survey map, county geologist map, or other
430     relevant map or report as needing further study to determine the area's potential for geologic
431     hazard; or
432          (b) has not been studied by the Utah Geological Survey or a county geologist but
433     presents the potential of geologic hazard because the area has characteristics similar to those of
434     a designated geologic hazard area.
435          [(44)] (47) "Public agency" means:
436          (a) the federal government;
437          (b) the state;
438          (c) a county, municipality, school district, local district, special service district, or other
439     political subdivision of the state; or
440          (d) a charter school.
441          [(45)] (48) "Public hearing" means a hearing at which members of the public are
442     provided a reasonable opportunity to comment on the subject of the hearing.
443          [(46)] (49) "Public meeting" means a meeting that is required to be open to the public
444     under Title 52, Chapter 4, Open and Public Meetings Act.
445          (50) "Public street" means a public right-of-way, including a public highway, public
446     avenue, public boulevard, public parkway, public road, public lane, public trail or walk, public
447     alley, public viaduct, public subway, public tunnel, public bridge, public byway, other public
448     transportation easement, or other public way.
449          [(47)] (51) "Receiving zone" means an area of a municipality that the municipality
450     designates, by ordinance, as an area in which an owner of land may receive a transferable
451     development right.
452          [(48)] (52) "Record of survey map" means a map of a survey of land prepared in
453     accordance with Section 10-9a-603, 17-23-17, 17-27a-603, or 57-8-13.
454          [(49)] (53) "Residential facility for persons with a disability" means a residence:
455          (a) in which more than one person with a disability resides; and
456          (b) (i) which is licensed or certified by the Department of Human Services under Title
457     62A, Chapter 2, Licensure of Programs and Facilities; or
458          (ii) which is licensed or certified by the Department of Health under Title 26, Chapter
459     21, Health Care Facility Licensing and Inspection Act.

460          [(50)] (54) "Rules of order and procedure" means a set of rules that govern and
461     prescribe in a public meeting:
462          (a) parliamentary order and procedure;
463          (b) ethical behavior; and
464          (c) civil discourse.
465          [(51)] (55) "Sanitary sewer authority" means the department, agency, or public entity
466     with responsibility to review and approve the feasibility of sanitary sewer services or onsite
467     wastewater systems.
468          [(52)] (56) "Sending zone" means an area of a municipality that the municipality
469     designates, by ordinance, as an area from which an owner of land may transfer a transferable
470     development right.
471          [(53)] (57) "Specified public agency" means:
472          (a) the state;
473          (b) a school district; or
474          (c) a charter school.
475          [(54)] (58) "Specified public utility" means an electrical corporation, gas corporation,
476     or telephone corporation, as those terms are defined in Section 54-2-1.
477          [(55)] (59) "State" includes any department, division, or agency of the state.
478          [(56) "Street" means a public right-of-way, including a highway, avenue, boulevard,
479     parkway, road, lane, walk, alley, viaduct, subway, tunnel, bridge, public easement, or other
480     way.]
481          (60) "Subdivided land" means the land, tract, or lot described in a recorded subdivision
482     plat.
483          [(57)] (61) (a) "Subdivision" means any land that is divided, resubdivided, or proposed
484     to be divided into two or more lots[, parcels, sites, units, plots,] or other division of land for the
485     purpose, whether immediate or future, for offer, sale, lease, or development either on the
486     installment plan or upon any and all other plans, terms, and conditions.
487          (b) "Subdivision" includes:
488          (i) the division or development of land whether by deed, metes and bounds description,
489     devise and testacy, map, plat, or other recorded instrument, regardless of whether the division
490     includes all or a portion of a parcel or lot; and

491          (ii) except as provided in Subsection [(57)] (61)(c), divisions of land for residential and
492     nonresidential uses, including land used or to be used for commercial, agricultural, and
493     industrial purposes.
494          (c) "Subdivision" does not include:
495          (i) a bona fide division or partition of agricultural land for the purpose of joining one of
496     the resulting separate parcels to a contiguous parcel of unsubdivided agricultural land, if
497     neither the resulting combined parcel nor the parcel remaining from the division or partition
498     violates an applicable land use ordinance;
499          (ii) [a recorded] an agreement recorded with the county recorder's office between
500     owners of adjoining unsubdivided properties adjusting [their] the mutual boundary by a
501     boundary line agreement in accordance with Section 57-1-45 if:
502          (A) no new lot is created; and
503          (B) the adjustment does not violate applicable land use ordinances;
504          (iii) a recorded document, executed by the owner of record:
505          (A) revising the legal description of more than one contiguous [unsubdivided] parcel of
506     property that is not subdivided land into one legal description encompassing all such parcels of
507     property; or
508          (B) joining a subdivided parcel of property to another parcel of property that has not
509     been subdivided, if the joinder does not violate applicable land use ordinances;
510          (iv) [a recorded] an agreement between owners of adjoining subdivided properties
511     adjusting [their] the mutual lot line boundary in accordance with Section 10-9a-603 if:
512          (A) no new dwelling lot or housing unit will result from the adjustment; and
513          (B) the adjustment will not violate any applicable land use ordinance;
514          (v) a bona fide division or partition of land by deed or other instrument where the land
515     use authority expressly approves in writing the division in anticipation of further land use
516     approvals on the parcel or parcels; [or]
517          (vi) a parcel boundary adjustment[.];
518          (vii) a lot line adjustment;
519          (viii) a road, street, or highway dedication plat; or
520          (ix) a deed or easement for a road, street, or highway purpose.
521          (d) The joining of a subdivided parcel of property to another parcel of property that has

522     not been subdivided does not constitute a subdivision under this Subsection (57) as to the
523     unsubdivided parcel of property or subject the unsubdivided parcel to the municipality's
524     subdivision ordinance.
525          [(58)] (62) "Suspect soil" means soil that has:
526          (a) a high susceptibility for volumetric change, typically clay rich, having more than a
527     3% swell potential;
528          (b) bedrock units with high shrink or swell susceptibility; or
529          (c) gypsiferous silt and clay, gypsum, or bedrock units containing abundant gypsum
530     commonly associated with dissolution and collapse features.
531          [(59)] (63) "Therapeutic school" means a residential group living facility:
532          (a) for four or more individuals who are not related to:
533          (i) the owner of the facility; or
534          (ii) the primary service provider of the facility;
535          (b) that serves students who have a history of failing to function:
536          (i) at home;
537          (ii) in a public school; or
538          (iii) in a nonresidential private school; and
539          (c) that offers:
540          (i) room and board; and
541          (ii) an academic education integrated with:
542          (A) specialized structure and supervision; or
543          (B) services or treatment related to a disability, an emotional development, a
544     behavioral development, a familial development, or a social development.
545          [(60)] (64) "Transferable development right" means a right to develop and use land that
546     originates by an ordinance that authorizes a land owner in a designated sending zone to transfer
547     land use rights from a designated sending zone to a designated receiving zone.
548          [(61)] (65) "Unincorporated" means the area outside of the incorporated area of a city
549     or town.
550          [(62)] (66) "Water interest" means any right to the beneficial use of water, including:
551          (a) each of the rights listed in Section 73-1-11; and
552          (b) an ownership interest in the right to the beneficial use of water represented by:

553          (i) a contract; or
554          (ii) a share in a water company, as defined in Section 73-3-3.5.
555          [(63)] (67) "Zoning map" means a map, adopted as part of a land use ordinance, that
556     depicts land use zones, overlays, or districts.
557          Section 3. Section 10-9a-104 is amended to read:
558          10-9a-104. Municipal standards.
559          (1) [Except as provided in Subsection (2), a municipality may enact a land use
560     regulation imposing stricter requirements or higher standards than are required by this chapter.]
561     This chapter does not prohibit a municipality from adopting the municipality's own land use
562     standards.
563          (2) [A] Notwithstanding Subsection (1), a municipality may not impose a requirement,
564     regulation, condition, or standard that conflicts with a provision of this chapter, other state law,
565     or federal law.
566          Section 4. Section 10-9a-208 is amended to read:
567          10-9a-208. Hearing and notice for petition to vacate a public street.
568          (1) For any [proposal] petition to vacate some or all of a public street[, right-of-way,]
569     or municipality utility easement[,] the legislative body shall:
570          (a) hold a public hearing; and
571          (b) give notice of the date, place, and time of the hearing, as provided in Subsection
572     (2).
573          (2) At least 10 days before the public hearing under Subsection (1)(a), the legislative
574     body shall ensure that the notice required under Subsection (1)(b) [shall be] is:
575          (a) mailed to the record owner of each parcel that is accessed by the public street[,
576     right-of-way,] or municipal utility easement;
577          (b) mailed to each affected entity;
578          (c) posted on or near the public street[, right-of-way,] or municipal utility easement in a
579     manner that is calculated to alert the public; and
580          (d) (i) published [in a newspaper of general circulation in] on the website of the
581     municipality in which the land subject to the petition is located until the public hearing
582     concludes; and
583          (ii) published on the Utah Public Notice Website created in Section 63F-1-701.

584          Section 5. Section 10-9a-302 is amended to read:
585          10-9a-302. Planning commission powers and duties.
586          (1) The planning commission shall make a recommendation to the legislative body for:
587          [(1)] (a) a general plan and amendments to the general plan;
588          [(2)] (b) land use regulations;
589          [(3)] (c) an appropriate delegation of power to at least one designated land use
590     authority to hear and act on a land use application;
591          [(4)] (d) an appropriate delegation of power to at least one appeal authority to hear and
592     act on an appeal from a decision of the land use authority; and
593          [(5)] (e) application processes that:
594          [(a)] (i) may include a designation of routine land use matters that, upon application
595     and proper notice, will receive informal streamlined review and action if the application is
596     uncontested; and
597          [(b)] (ii) shall protect the right of each:
598          [(i)] (A) applicant and third party to require formal consideration of any application by
599     a land use authority;
600          [(ii)] (B) applicant, adversely affected party, or municipal officer or employee to appeal
601     a land use authority's decision to a separate appeal authority; and
602          [(iii)] (C) participant to be heard in each public hearing on a contested application.
603          (2) Nothing in this section limits the right of a municipality to initiate or propose the
604     actions described in this section.
605          Section 6. Section 10-9a-501 is amended to read:
606          10-9a-501. Enactment of land use regulation.
607          (1) Only a legislative body, as the body authorized to weigh policy considerations, may
608     enact a land use regulation.
609          (2) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), a legislative body may enact a land use
610     regulation only by ordinance.
611          (b) A legislative body may, by ordinance or resolution, enact a land use regulation that
612     imposes a fee.
613          (3) A legislative body shall ensure that a land use regulation [shall be] is consistent
614     with the purposes set forth in this chapter.

615          (4) (a) A legislative body shall adopt a land use regulation to:
616          (i) create or amend a zoning district under Subsection 10-9a-503(1)(a); and
617          (ii) designate general uses allowed in each zoning district.
618          (b) A land use authority may establish or modify other restrictions or requirements
619     other than those described in Subsection (4)(a), including the configuration or modification of
620     uses or density, through a land use decision that applies criteria or policy elements that a land
621     use regulation establishes or describes.
622          Section 7. Section 10-9a-502 is amended to read:
623          10-9a-502. Preparation and adoption of land use regulation.
624          (1) [The] A planning commission shall:
625          (a) provide notice as required by Subsection 10-9a-205(1)(a) and, if applicable,
626     Subsection 10-9a-205(4);
627          (b) hold a public hearing on a proposed land use regulation;
628          (c) if applicable, consider each written objection filed in accordance with Subsection
629     10-9a-205(4) prior to the public hearing; and
630          (d) (i) [prepare] review and recommend to the legislative body a proposed land use
631     regulation that represents the planning commission's recommendation for regulating the use
632     and development of land within all or any part of the area of the municipality; and
633          (ii) forward to the legislative body all objections filed in accordance with Subsection
634     10-9a-205(4).
635          (2) (a) [The] A legislative body shall consider each proposed land use regulation
636     [recommended to the legislative body by] that the planning commission[, and, after]
637     recommends to the legislative body.
638          (b) After providing notice as required by Subsection 10-9a-205(1)(b) and holding a
639     public meeting, the legislative body may adopt or reject the land use regulation [either]
640     described in Subsection (2)(a):
641          (i) as proposed by the planning commission; or
642          (ii) after making any revision the legislative body considers appropriate.
643          (c) A legislative body may consider a planning commission's failure to make a timely
644     recommendation as a negative recommendation if the legislative body has provided for that
645     consideration by ordinance.

646          Section 8. Section 10-9a-503 is amended to read:
647          10-9a-503. Land use ordinance or zoning map amendments -- Historic district or
648     area.
649          (1) Only a legislative body may amend:
650          (a) the number, shape, boundaries, [or] area, or general uses of any zoning district;
651          (b) any regulation of or within the zoning district; or
652          (c) any other provision of a land use regulation.
653          (2) [The] A legislative body may not make any amendment authorized by this section
654     unless the legislative body first submits the amendment [was proposed by the planning
655     commission or was first submitted] to the planning commission for [its] the planning
656     commission's recommendation.
657          (3) [The] A legislative body shall comply with the procedure specified in Section
658     10-9a-502 in preparing and adopting an amendment to a land use regulation.
659          (4) (a) As used in this Subsection (4):
660          (i) "Citizen-led process" means a process established by a municipality to create a local
661     historic district or area that requires:
662          (A) a petition signed by a minimum number of property owners within the boundaries
663     of the proposed local historic district or area; or
664          (B) a vote of the property owners within the boundaries of the proposed local historic
665     district or area.
666          (ii) "Condominium project" means the same as that term is defined in Section 57-8-3.
667          (iii) "Unit" means the same as that term is defined in Section 57-8-3.
668          (b) If a municipality provides a citizen-led process, the process shall require that:
669          (i) more than 33% of the property owners within the boundaries of the proposed local
670     historic district or area agree in writing to the creation of the proposed local historic district or
671     area;
672          (ii) before any property owner agrees to the creation of a proposed local historic district
673     or area under Subsection (4)(b)(i), the municipality prepare and distribute, to each property
674     owner within the boundaries of the proposed local historic district or area, a neutral
675     information pamphlet that:
676          (A) describes the process to create a local historic district or area; and

677          (B) lists the pros and cons of a local historic district or area;
678          (iii) after the property owners satisfy the requirement described in Subsection (4)(b)(i),
679     for each parcel or, if the parcel contains a condominium project, each unit, within the
680     boundaries of the proposed local historic district or area, the municipality provide:
681          (A) a second copy of the neutral information pamphlet described in Subsection
682     (4)(b)(ii); and
683          (B) one public support ballot that, subject to Subsection (4)(c), allows the owner or
684     owners of record to vote in favor of or against the creation of the proposed local historic district
685     or area;
686          (iv) in a vote described in Subsection (4)(b)(iii)(B), the returned public support ballots
687     that reflect a vote in favor of the creation of the proposed local historic district or area:
688          (A) equal at least two-thirds of the returned public support ballots; and
689          (B) represent more than 50% of the parcels and units within the proposed local historic
690     district or area;
691          (v) if a local historic district or area proposal fails in a vote described in Subsection
692     (4)(b)(iii)(B), the legislative body may override the vote and create the proposed local historic
693     district or area with an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the legislative body;
694     and
695          (vi) if a local historic district or area proposal fails in a vote described in Subsection
696     (4)(b)(iii)(B) and the legislative body does not override the vote under Subsection (4)(b)(v), a
697     resident may not initiate the creation of a local historic district or area that includes more than
698     50% of the same property as the failed local historic district or area proposal for four years after
699     the day on which the public support ballots for the vote are due.
700          (c) In a vote described in Subsection (4)(b)(iii)(B):
701          (i) a property owner is eligible to vote regardless of whether the property owner is an
702     individual, a private entity, or a public entity;
703          (ii) the municipality shall count no more than one public support ballot for:
704          (A) each parcel within the boundaries of the proposed local historic district or area; or
705          (B) if the parcel contains a condominium project, each unit within the boundaries of
706     the proposed local historic district or area; and
707          (iii) if a parcel or unit has more than one owner of record, the municipality shall count

708     a public support ballot for the parcel or unit only if the public support ballot reflects the vote of
709     the property owners who own at least a 50% interest in the parcel or unit.
710          (d) The requirements described in Subsection (4)(b)(iv) apply to the creation of a local
711     historic district or area that is:
712          (i) initiated in accordance with a municipal process described in Subsection (4)(b); and
713          (ii) not complete on or before January 1, 2016.
714          (e) A vote described in Subsection (4)(b)(iii)(B) is not subject to Title 20A, Election
715     Code.
716          Section 9. Section 10-9a-507 is amended to read:
717          10-9a-507. Conditional uses.
718          (1) (a) A municipality may adopt a land use ordinance that includes conditional uses
719     and provisions for conditional uses that require compliance with standards set forth in an
720     applicable ordinance.
721          (b) A municipality may not impose a requirement or standard on a conditional use that
722     conflicts with a provision of this chapter or other state or federal law.
723          (2) (a) (i) A land use authority shall approve a conditional use if reasonable conditions
724     are proposed, or can be imposed, to mitigate the reasonably anticipated detrimental effects of
725     the proposed use in accordance with applicable standards.
726          (ii) The requirement described in Subsection (2)(a)(i) to reasonably mitigate
727     anticipated detrimental effects of the proposed conditional use does not require elimination of
728     the detrimental effects.
729          (b) If a land use authority proposes reasonable conditions on a proposed conditional
730     use, the land use authority shall ensure that the conditions are stated on the record and
731     reasonably relate to mitigating the anticipated detrimental effects of the proposed use.
732          (c) If the reasonably anticipated detrimental effects of a proposed conditional use
733     cannot be substantially mitigated by the proposal or the imposition of reasonable conditions to
734     achieve compliance with applicable standards, the land use authority may deny the conditional
735     use.
736          (3) A land use authority's decision to approve or deny conditional use is an
737     administrative land use decision.
738          (4) A legislative body shall classify any use that a land use regulation allows in a

739     zoning district as either a permitted or conditional use under this chapter.
740          Section 10. Section 10-9a-509 is amended to read:
741          10-9a-509. Applicant's entitlement to land use application approval --
742     Municipality's requirements and limitations -- Vesting upon submission of development
743     plan and schedule.
744          (1) (a) (i) An applicant who has submitted a complete land use application as described
745     in Subsection (1)(c), including the payment of all application fees, is entitled to substantive
746     review of the application under the land use regulations:
747          (A) in effect on the date that the application is complete; and
748          (B) applicable to the application or to the information shown on the application.
749          (ii) An applicant is entitled to approval of a land use application if the application
750     conforms to the requirements of the applicable land use regulations, land use decisions, and
751     development standards in effect when the applicant submits a complete application and pays
752     application fees, unless:
753          (A) the land use authority, on the record, formally finds that a compelling,
754     countervailing public interest would be jeopardized by approving the application and specifies
755     the compelling, countervailing public interest in writing; or
756          (B) in the manner provided by local ordinance and before the applicant submits the
757     application, the municipality formally initiates proceedings to amend the municipality's land
758     use regulations in a manner that would prohibit approval of the application as submitted.
759          (b) The municipality shall process an application without regard to proceedings the
760     municipality initiated to amend the municipality's ordinances as described in Subsection
761     (1)(a)(ii)(B) if:
762          (i) 180 days have passed since the municipality initiated the proceedings; and
763          (ii) the proceedings have not resulted in an enactment that prohibits approval of the
764     application as submitted.
765          (c) A land use application is considered submitted and complete when the applicant
766     provides the application in a form that complies with the requirements of applicable ordinances
767     and pays all applicable fees.
768          (d) The continuing validity of an approval of a land use application is conditioned upon
769     the applicant proceeding after approval to implement the approval with reasonable diligence.

770          (e) A municipality may not impose on an applicant who has submitted a complete
771     application [for preliminary subdivision approval] a requirement that is not expressed in:
772          (i) this chapter;
773          (ii) a municipal ordinance; or
774          (iii) a municipal specification for public improvements applicable to a subdivision or
775     development that is in effect on the date that the applicant submits an application.
776          (f) A municipality may not impose on a holder of an issued land use permit or a final,
777     unexpired subdivision plat a requirement that is not expressed:
778          (i) in a land use permit;
779          (ii) on the subdivision plat;
780          (iii) in a document on which the land use permit or subdivision plat is based;
781          (iv) in the written record evidencing approval of the land use permit or subdivision
782     plat;
783          (v) in this chapter; or
784          (vi) in a municipal ordinance.
785          (g) [A] Except as provided in Subsection (1)(h), a municipality may not withhold
786     issuance of a certificate of occupancy or acceptance of subdivision improvements because of an
787     applicant's failure to comply with a requirement that is not expressed:
788          (i) in the building permit or subdivision plat, documents on which the building permit
789     or subdivision plat is based, or the written record evidencing approval of the land use permit or
790     subdivision plat; or
791          (ii) in this chapter or the municipality's ordinances.
792          (h) A municipality may not unreasonably withhold issuance of a certificate of
793     occupancy where an applicant has met all requirements essential for the public health, public
794     safety, and general welfare of the occupants, in accordance with this chapter, unless:
795          (i) the applicant and the municipality have agreed in a written document to the
796     withholding of a certificate of occupancy; or
797          (ii) the applicant has not provided a financial assurance for required and uncompleted
798     landscaping or infrastructure improvements in accordance with an applicable ordinance that the
799     legislative body adopts under this chapter.
800          (2) A municipality is bound by the terms and standards of applicable land use

801     regulations and shall comply with mandatory provisions of those regulations.
802          (3) A municipality may not, as a condition of land use application approval, require a
803     person filing a land use application to obtain documentation regarding a school district's
804     willingness, capacity, or ability to serve the development proposed in the land use application.
805          (4) Upon a specified public agency's submission of a development plan and schedule as
806     required in Subsection 10-9a-305(8) that complies with the requirements of that subsection, the
807     specified public agency vests in the municipality's applicable land use maps, zoning map,
808     hookup fees, impact fees, other applicable development fees, and land use regulations in effect
809     on the date of submission.
810          Section 11. Section 10-9a-509.5 is amended to read:
811          10-9a-509.5. Review for application completeness -- Substantive application
812     review -- Reasonable diligence required for determination of whether improvements or
813     warranty work meets standards -- Money damages claim prohibited.
814          (1) (a) Each municipality shall, in a timely manner, determine whether [an] a land use
815     application is complete for the purposes of subsequent, substantive land use authority review.
816          (b) After a reasonable period of time to allow the municipality diligently to evaluate
817     whether all objective ordinance-based application criteria have been met, if application fees
818     have been paid, the applicant may in writing request that the municipality provide a written
819     determination either that the application is:
820          (i) complete for the purposes of allowing subsequent, substantive land use authority
821     review; or
822          (ii) deficient with respect to a specific, objective, ordinance-based application
823     requirement.
824          (c) Within 30 days of receipt of an applicant's request under this section, the
825     municipality shall either:
826          (i) mail a written notice to the applicant advising that the application is deficient with
827     respect to a specified, objective, ordinance-based criterion, and stating that the application shall
828     be supplemented by specific additional information identified in the notice; or
829          (ii) accept the application as complete for the purposes of further substantive
830     processing by the land use authority.
831          (d) If the notice required by Subsection (1)(c)(i) is not timely mailed, the application

832     shall be considered complete, for purposes of further substantive land use authority review.
833          (e) (i) The applicant may raise and resolve in a single appeal any determination made
834     under this Subsection (1) to the appeal authority, including an allegation that a reasonable
835     period of time has elapsed under Subsection (1)(a).
836          (ii) The appeal authority shall issue a written decision for any appeal requested under
837     this Subsection (1)(e).
838          (f) (i) The applicant may appeal to district court the decision of the appeal authority
839     made under Subsection (1)(e).
840          (ii) Each appeal under Subsection (1)(f)(i) shall be made within 30 days of the date of
841     the written decision.
842          (2) (a) Each land use authority shall substantively review a complete application and an
843     application considered complete under Subsection (1)(d), and shall approve or deny each
844     application with reasonable diligence, subject to the time limit under Subsection
845     11-58-402.5(2) for an inland port use application, as defined in Section 11-58-401.
846          (b) After a reasonable period of time to allow the land use authority to consider an
847     application, the applicant may in writing request that the land use authority take final action
848     within 45 days from date of service of the written request.
849          (c) Within 45 days from the date of service of the written request described in
850     Subsection (2)(b):
851          (i) [The] except as provided in Subsection (2)(c)(ii), the land use authority shall take
852     final action, approving or denying the application [within 45 days of the written request.]; and
853          (ii) if a landowner petitions for a land use regulation, a legislative body shall take final
854     action by approving or denying the petition.
855          (d) If the land use authority denies an application processed under the mandates of
856     Subsection (2)(b), or if the applicant has requested a written decision in the application, the
857     land use authority shall include its reasons for denial in writing, on the record, which may
858     include the official minutes of the meeting in which the decision was rendered.
859          (e) If the land use authority fails to comply with Subsection (2)(c), the applicant may
860     appeal this failure to district court within 30 days of the date on which the land use authority is
861     required to take final action under Subsection (2)(c).
862          (3) (a) With reasonable diligence, each land use authority shall determine whether the

863     installation of required subdivision improvements or the performance of warranty work meets
864     the municipality's adopted standards.
865          (b) (i) An applicant may in writing request the land use authority to accept or reject the
866     applicant's installation of required subdivision improvements or performance of warranty work.
867          (ii) The land use authority shall accept or reject subdivision improvements within 15
868     days after receiving an applicant's written request under Subsection (3)(b)(i), or as soon as
869     practicable after that 15-day period if inspection of the subdivision improvements is impeded
870     by winter weather conditions.
871          (iii) The land use authority shall accept or reject the performance of warranty work
872     within 45 days after receiving an applicant's written request under Subsection (3)(b)(i), or as
873     soon as practicable after that 45-day period if inspection of the warranty work is impeded by
874     winter weather conditions.
875          (c) If a land use authority determines that the installation of required subdivision
876     improvements or the performance of warranty work does not meet the municipality's adopted
877     standards, the land use authority shall comprehensively and with specificity list the reasons for
878     [its] the land use authority's determination.
879          (4) Subject to Section 10-9a-509, nothing in this section and no action or inaction of
880     the land use authority relieves an applicant's duty to comply with all applicable substantive
881     ordinances and regulations.
882          (5) There shall be no money damages remedy arising from a claim under this section.
883          Section 12. Section 10-9a-601 is amended to read:
884          10-9a-601. Enactment of subdivision ordinance.
885          (1) The legislative body of a municipality may enact ordinances requiring that a
886     subdivision plat comply with the provisions of the [ordinance] municipality's ordinances and
887     this part before:
888          (a) [it] the subdivision plat may be filed [or] and recorded in the county recorder's
889     office; and
890          (b) lots may be sold.
891          (2) If the legislative body fails to enact a subdivision ordinance, the municipality may
892     regulate subdivisions only to the extent provided in this part.
893          Section 13. Section 10-9a-602 is amended to read:

894          10-9a-602. Planning commission preparation and recommendation of subdivision
895     ordinance -- Adoption or rejection by legislative body.
896          (1) [The] A planning commission shall:
897          (a) [prepare and recommend a] review and provide a recommendation to the legislative
898     body on any proposed ordinance [to the legislative body] that regulates the subdivision of land
899     in the municipality;
900          (b) [prepare and recommend or consider and recommend a] review and make a
901     recommendation to the legislative body on any proposed ordinance that amends the regulation
902     of the subdivision of the land in the municipality;
903          (c) provide notice consistent with Section 10-9a-205; and
904          (d) hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance before making [its] the planning
905     commission's final recommendation to the legislative body.
906          (2) (a) [The municipal] A legislative body may adopt, modify, revise, or reject [the] an
907     ordinance [either as proposed by] described in Subsection (1) that the planning commission [or
908     after making any revision the legislative body considers appropriate] recommends.
909          (b) A legislative body may consider a planning commission's failure to make a timely
910     recommendation as a negative recommendation if the legislative body has provided for that
911     consideration by ordinance.
912          Section 14. Section 10-9a-603 is amended to read:
913          10-9a-603. Plat required when land is subdivided -- Approval of plat -- Owner
914     acknowledgment, surveyor certification, and underground utility facility owner
915     verification of plat -- Recording plat.
916          (1) Unless exempt under Section 10-9a-605 or excluded from the definition of
917     subdivision under Section 10-9a-103, whenever any land is laid out and platted, the owner of
918     the land shall provide an accurate plat that describes or specifies:
919          (a) a subdivision name that is distinct from any subdivision name on a plat recorded in
920     the county recorder's office;
921          (b) the boundaries, course, and dimensions of all of the parcels of ground divided, by
922     their boundaries, course, and extent, whether the owner proposes that any parcel of ground is
923     intended to be used as a street or for any other public use, and whether any such area is
924     reserved or proposed for dedication for a public purpose;

925          (c) the lot or unit reference, block or building reference, street or site address, street
926     name or coordinate address, acreage or square footage for all parcels, units, or lots, and length
927     and width of the blocks and lots intended for sale; and
928          (d) every existing right-of-way and easement grant of record for an underground
929     facility, as defined in Section 54-8a-2, and for any other utility facility.
930          (2) (a) Subject to Subsections (3), (4), and (5), if the plat conforms to the municipality's
931     ordinances and this part and has been approved by the culinary water authority, the sanitary
932     sewer authority, and the local health department, as defined in Section 26A-1-102, if the local
933     health department and the municipality consider the local health department's approval
934     necessary, the municipality shall approve the plat.
935          (b) Municipalities are encouraged to receive a recommendation from the fire authority
936     before approving a plat.
937          (c) A municipality may not require that a plat be approved or signed by a person or
938     entity who:
939          (i) is not an employee or agent of the municipality; or
940          (ii) does not:
941          (A) have a legal or equitable interest in the property within the proposed subdivision;
942          (B) provide a utility or other service directly to a lot within the subdivision;
943          (C) own an easement or right-of-way adjacent to the proposed subdivision who signs
944     for the purpose of confirming the accuracy of the location of the easement or right-of-way in
945     relation to the plat; or
946          (D) provide culinary public water service whose source protection zone designated as
947     provided in Section 19-4-113 is included, in whole or in part, within the proposed subdivision.
948          (d) For a subdivision application that includes land located within a notification zone,
949     as determined under Subsection [(2)(e)] (2)(f), the land use authority shall:
950          (i) within 20 days after the day on which a complete subdivision application is filed,
951     provide written notice of the application to the canal owner or associated canal operator contact
952     described in:
953          (A) Section 10-9a-211;
954          (B) Subsection 73-5-7(2); or
955          (C) Subsection (4)(c); and

956          (ii) wait to approve or reject the subdivision application for at least 20 days after the
957     day on which the land use authority mails the notice described in Subsection (2)(d)(i) in order
958     to receive input from the canal owner or associated canal operator, including input regarding:
959          (A) access to the canal;
960          (B) maintenance of the canal;
961          (C) canal protection; and
962          (D) canal safety.
963          (e) When applicable, the subdivision applicant shall comply with Section 73-1-15.5.
964          [(e)] (f) The land use authority shall provide the notice described in Subsection (2)(d)
965     to a canal owner or associated canal operator if:
966          (i) the canal's centerline is located within 100 feet of a proposed subdivision; and
967          (ii) the centerline alignment is available to the land use authority:
968          (A) from information provided by the canal company under Section 10-9a-211, using
969     mapping-grade global positioning satellite units or digitized data from the most recent aerial
970     photo available to the canal owner or associated canal operator;
971          (B) using the state engineer's inventory of canals under Section 73-5-7; or
972          (C) from information provided by a surveyor under Subsection (4)(c).
973          (3) The municipality may withhold an otherwise valid plat approval until the owner of
974     the land provides the legislative body with a tax clearance indicating that all taxes, interest, and
975     penalties owing on the land have been paid.
976          (4) (a) A [plat may not be submitted to a] county recorder [for recording] may not
977     record a plat unless:
978          (i) prior to recordation, the municipality has approved and signed the plat;
979          (ii) each owner of record of land described on the plat has signed the owner's
980     dedication as shown on the plat; and
981          [(ii)] (iii) the signature of each owner described in Subsection [(4)(a)(i)] (4)(a)(ii) is
982     acknowledged as provided by law.
983          (b) The surveyor making the plat shall certify that the surveyor:
984          (i) holds a license in accordance with Title 58, Chapter 22, Professional Engineers and
985     Professional Land Surveyors Licensing Act;
986          (ii) has completed a survey of the property described on the plat in accordance with

987     Section 17-23-17 and has verified all measurements; and
988          (iii) has placed monuments as represented on the plat.
989          (c) (i) To the extent possible, the surveyor shall consult with the owner or operator of
990     an existing or proposed underground facility or utility facility within the proposed subdivision,
991     or a representative designated by the owner or operator, to verify the accuracy of the surveyor's
992     depiction of the:
993          (A) boundary, course, dimensions, and intended use of the public rights-of-way, a
994     public or private easement, or grants of record;
995          (B) location of an existing underground facility and utility facility; and
996          (C) physical restrictions governing the location of the underground facility and utility
997     facility within the subdivision.
998          (ii) The cooperation of an owner or operator under Subsection (4)(c)(i):
999          (A) indicates only that the plat approximates the location of the existing underground
1000     and utility facilities but does not warrant or verify their precise location; and
1001          (B) does not affect a right that the owner or operator has under[: (I)] Title 54, Chapter
1002     8a, Damage to Underground Utility Facilities[; (II)], a recorded easement or right-of-way[;
1003     (III)], the law applicable to prescriptive rights[; or (IV)], or any other provision of law.
1004          (5) (a) [After] Except as provided in Subsection (4)(c), after the plat has been
1005     acknowledged, certified, and approved, the [owner of the land] individual seeking to record the
1006     plat shall, within the time period and manner designated by ordinance, record the plat in the
1007     county recorder's office in the county in which the lands platted and laid out are situated.
1008          (b) [An owner's] A failure to record a plat within the time period designated by
1009     ordinance renders the plat voidable.
1010          Section 15. Section 10-9a-604.5 is amended to read:
1011          10-9a-604.5. Subdivision plat recording or development activity before required
1012     infrastructure is completed -- Improvement completion assurance -- Improvement
1013     warranty.
1014          (1) A land use authority shall establish objective inspection standards for acceptance of
1015     a landscaping or infrastructure improvement that the land use authority requires.
1016          (2) (a) Before an applicant conducts any development activity or records a plat, the
1017     applicant shall:

1018          (i) complete any required landscaping or infrastructure improvements; or
1019          (ii) post an improvement completion assurance for any required landscaping or
1020     infrastructure improvements.
1021          (b) If an applicant elects to post an improvement completion assurance, the applicant
1022     shall [ensure that the] provide completion assurance for:
1023          (i) [provides for] completion of 100% of the required landscaping or infrastructure
1024     improvements; or
1025          (ii) if the municipality has inspected and accepted a portion of the landscaping or
1026     infrastructure improvements, [provides for completion of] 100% of the incomplete or
1027     unaccepted landscaping or infrastructure improvements.
1028          (c) A municipality shall:
1029          (i) establish a minimum of two acceptable forms of completion assurance;
1030          [(i)] (ii) if an applicant elects to post an improvement completion assurance, allow the
1031     applicant to post an assurance that meets the conditions of this title, and any local ordinances;
1032          [(ii)] (iii) establish a system for the partial release of an improvement completion
1033     assurance as portions of required landscaping or infrastructure improvements are completed
1034     and accepted in accordance with local ordinance; and
1035          [(iii)] (iv) issue or deny a building permit in accordance with Section 10-9a-802 based
1036     on the installation of landscaping or infrastructure improvements.
1037          (d) A municipality may not require an applicant to post an improvement completion
1038     assurance for:
1039          (i) landscaping or an infrastructure improvement that the municipality has previously
1040     inspected and accepted[.];
1041          (ii) infrastructure improvements that are private and not essential or required to meet
1042     the building code, fire code, flood or storm water management provisions, street and access
1043     requirements, or other essential necessary public safety improvements adopted in a land use
1044     regulation; or
1045          (iii) in a municipality where ordinances require all infrastructure improvements within
1046     the area to be private, infrastructure improvements within a development that the municipality
1047     requires to be private.
1048          (3) At any time before a municipality accepts a landscaping or infrastructure

1049     improvement, and for the duration of each improvement warranty period, the municipality may
1050     require the applicant to:
1051          (a) execute an improvement warranty for the improvement warranty period; and
1052          (b) post a cash deposit, surety bond, letter of credit, or other similar security, as
1053     required by the municipality, in the amount of up to 10% of the lesser of the:
1054          (i) municipal engineer's original estimated cost of completion; or
1055          (ii) applicant's reasonable proven cost of completion.
1056          (4) When a municipality accepts an improvement completion assurance for
1057     landscaping or infrastructure improvements for a development in accordance with Subsection
1058     (2)(c)[(i)](ii), the municipality may not deny an applicant a building permit if the development
1059     meets the requirements for the issuance of a building permit under the building code and fire
1060     code.
1061          (5) The provisions of this section do not supersede the terms of a valid development
1062     agreement, an adopted phasing plan, or the state construction code.
1063          Section 16. Section 10-9a-605 is amended to read:
1064          10-9a-605. Exemptions from plat requirement.
1065          (1) Notwithstanding Sections 10-9a-603 and 10-9a-604, [the land use authority] a
1066     municipality may establish a process to approve an administrative land use decision for a
1067     subdivision of 10 lots or less without a plat, by certifying in writing that:
1068          (a) the municipality has provided notice as required by ordinance; and
1069          (b) the proposed subdivision:
1070          (i) is not traversed by the mapped lines of a proposed street as shown in the general
1071     plan [and does not require the dedication of any land for street or other] unless the municipality
1072     has approved the location and dedication of any public street, municipal utility easement, any
1073     other easement, or any other land for public purposes as the municipality's ordinance requires;
1074          (ii) has been approved by the culinary water authority and the sanitary sewer authority;
1075          (iii) is located in a zoned area; and
1076          (iv) conforms to all applicable land use ordinances or has properly received a variance
1077     from the requirements of an otherwise conflicting and applicable land use ordinance.
1078          (2) (a) Subject to Subsection (1), a lot or parcel resulting from a division of agricultural
1079     land is exempt from the plat requirements of Section 10-9a-603 if the lot or parcel:

1080          (i) qualifies as land in agricultural use under Section 59-2-502;
1081          (ii) meets the minimum size requirement of applicable land use ordinances; and
1082          (iii) is not used and will not be used for any nonagricultural purpose.
1083          (b) The boundaries of each lot or parcel exempted under Subsection (2)(a) shall be
1084     graphically illustrated on a record of survey map that, after receiving the same approvals as are
1085     required for a plat under Section 10-9a-604, shall be recorded with the county recorder.
1086          (c) If a lot or parcel exempted under Subsection (2)(a) is used for a nonagricultural
1087     purpose, the municipality may require the lot or parcel to comply with the requirements of
1088     Section 10-9a-603.
1089          (3) (a) Documents recorded in the county recorder's office that divide property by a
1090     metes and bounds description do not create an approved subdivision allowed by this part unless
1091     the land use authority's certificate of written approval required by Subsection (1) is attached to
1092     the document.
1093          (b) The absence of the certificate or written approval required by Subsection (1) does
1094     not:
1095          (i) prohibit the county recorder from recording a document; or
1096          (ii) affect the validity of a recorded document.
1097          (c) A document which does not meet the requirements of Subsection (1) may be
1098     corrected by the recording of an affidavit to which the required certificate or written approval is
1099     attached [in accordance] and that complies with Section 57-3-106.
1100          Section 17. Section 10-9a-607 is amended to read:
1101          10-9a-607. Dedication by plat of public streets and other public places.
1102          (1) A plat that is signed, dedicated, and acknowledged by each owner of record, and
1103     approved according to the procedures specified in this part, operates, when recorded, as a
1104     dedication of all public streets and other public places, and vests the fee of those parcels of land
1105     in the municipality for the public for the uses named or intended in the plat.
1106          (2) The dedication established by this section does not impose liability upon the
1107     municipality for public streets and other public places that are dedicated in this manner but are
1108     unimproved unless:
1109          (a) adequate financial assurance has been provided in accordance with this chapter; and
1110          (b) the municipality has accepted the dedication.

1111          Section 18. Section 10-9a-608 is amended to read:
1112          10-9a-608. Vacating, altering, or amending a subdivision plat.
1113          (1) (a) A fee owner of land, as shown on the last county assessment roll, in a
1114     subdivision that has been laid out and platted as provided in this part may file a written petition
1115     with the land use authority to have some or all of the plat vacated or amended.
1116          (b) If a petition is filed under Subsection (1)(a), the land use authority shall provide
1117     notice of the petition by mail, email, or other effective means to each affected entity that
1118     provides a service to an owner of record of the portion of the plat that is being vacated or
1119     amended at least 10 calendar days before the land use authority may approve the vacation or
1120     amendment of the plat.
1121          (c) If a petition is filed under Subsection (1)(a), the land use authority shall hold a
1122     public hearing within 45 days after the day on which the petition is filed if:
1123          (i) any owner within the plat notifies the municipality of the owner's objection in
1124     writing within 10 days of mailed notification; or
1125          (ii) a public hearing is required because all of the owners in the subdivision have not
1126     signed the revised plat.
1127          (2) Unless a local ordinance provides otherwise, the public hearing requirement of
1128     Subsection (1)(c) does not apply and a land use authority may consider at a public meeting an
1129     owner's petition to vacate or amend a subdivision plat if:
1130          (a) the petition seeks to:
1131          (i) join two or more of the petitioner fee owner's contiguous lots;
1132          (ii) subdivide one or more of the petitioning fee owner's lots, if the subdivision will not
1133     result in a violation of a land use ordinance or a development condition;
1134          (iii) adjust the lot lines of adjoining lots or parcels if the fee owners of each of the
1135     adjoining lots or parcels join in the petition, regardless of whether the lots or parcels are located
1136     in the same subdivision;
1137          (iv) on a lot owned by the petitioning fee owner, adjust an internal lot restriction
1138     imposed by the local political subdivision; or
1139          (v) alter the plat in a manner that does not change existing boundaries or other
1140     attributes of lots within the subdivision that are not:
1141          (A) owned by the petitioner; or

1142          (B) designated as a common area; and
1143          (b) notice has been given to adjacent property owners in accordance with any
1144     applicable local ordinance.
1145          (3) Each request to vacate or amend a plat that contains a request to vacate or amend a
1146     public street[, right-of-way,] or municipal utility easement is also subject to Section
1147     10-9a-609.5.
1148          (4) Each petition to vacate or amend an entire plat or a portion of a plat shall include:
1149          (a) the name and address of each owner of record of the land contained in the entire
1150     plat or on that portion of the plat described in the petition; and
1151          (b) the signature of each owner described in Subsection (4)(a) who consents to the
1152     petition.
1153          (5) (a) The owners of record of adjacent parcels that are described by either a metes
1154     and bounds description or by a recorded plat may exchange title to portions of those parcels if
1155     the exchange of title is approved by the land use authority in accordance with Subsection
1156     (5)(b).
1157          (b) The land use authority shall approve an exchange of title under Subsection (5)(a) if
1158     the exchange of title will not result in a violation of any land use ordinance.
1159          (c) If an exchange of title is approved under Subsection (5)(b):
1160          (i) a notice of approval shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder which:
1161          (A) is executed by each owner included in the exchange and by the land use authority;
1162          (B) contains an acknowledgment for each party executing the notice in accordance with
1163     the provisions of Title 57, Chapter 2a, Recognition of Acknowledgments Act; and
1164          (C) recites the descriptions of both the original parcels and the parcels created by the
1165     exchange of title; and
1166          (ii) a document of conveyance shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder.
1167          (d) A notice of approval recorded under this Subsection (5) does not act as a
1168     conveyance of title to real property and is not required in order to record a document conveying
1169     title to real property.
1170          (6) (a) The name of a recorded subdivision may be changed by recording an amended
1171     plat making that change, as provided in this section and subject to Subsection (6)(c).
1172          (b) The surveyor preparing the amended plat shall certify that the surveyor:

1173          (i) holds a license in accordance with Title 58, Chapter 22, Professional Engineers and
1174     Professional Land Surveyors Licensing Act;
1175          (ii) has completed a survey of the property described on the plat in accordance with
1176     Section 17-23-17 and has verified all measurements; and
1177          (iii) has placed monuments as represented on the plat.
1178          (c) An owner of land may not submit for recording an amended plat that gives the
1179     subdivision described in the amended plat the same name as a subdivision in a plat already
1180     recorded in the county recorder's office.
1181          (d) Except as provided in Subsection (6)(a), the recording of a declaration or other
1182     document that purports to change the name of a recorded plat is void.
1183          Section 19. Section 10-9a-609 is amended to read:
1184          10-9a-609. Land use authority approval of vacation or amendment of plat --
1185     Recording the amended plat.
1186          (1) The land use authority may approve the vacation or amendment of a plat by signing
1187     an amended plat showing the vacation or amendment if the land use authority finds that:
1188          (a) there is good cause for the vacation or amendment; and
1189          (b) no public street[, right-of-way,] or municipal utility easement has been vacated or
1190     amended.
1191          (2) (a) The land use authority shall ensure that the amended plat showing the vacation
1192     or amendment is recorded in the office of the county recorder in which the land is located.
1193          (b) If the amended plat is approved and recorded in accordance with this section, the
1194     recorded plat shall vacate, supersede, and replace any contrary provision in a previously
1195     recorded plat of the same land.
1196          (3) (a) A legislative body may vacate a subdivision or a portion of a subdivision by
1197     recording in the county recorder's office an ordinance describing the subdivision or the portion
1198     being vacated.
1199          (b) The recorded vacating ordinance shall replace a previously recorded plat described
1200     in the vacating ordinance.
1201          (4) An amended plat may not be submitted to the county recorder for recording unless
1202     it is:
1203          (a) signed by the land use authority; and

1204          (b) signed, acknowledged, and dedicated by each owner of record of the portion of the
1205     plat that is amended.
1206          (5) A management committee may sign and dedicate an amended plat as provided in
1207     Title 57, Chapter 8, Condominium Ownership Act.
1208          (6) A plat may be corrected as provided in Section 57-3-106.
1209          Section 20. Section 10-9a-609.5 is amended to read:
1210          10-9a-609.5. Petition to vacate a public street.
1211          (1) In lieu of vacating some or all of a public street through a plat or amended plat in
1212     accordance with Sections 10-9a-603 through 10-9a-609, a legislative body may approve a
1213     petition to vacate a public street in accordance with this section.
1214          [(1)] (2) A petition to vacate some or all of a public street[, right-of-way,] or municipal
1215     utility easement shall include:
1216          (a) the name and address of each owner of record of land that is:
1217          (i) adjacent to the public street[, right-of-way,] or municipal utility easement between
1218     the two nearest public street intersections; or
1219          (ii) accessed exclusively by or within 300 feet of the public street[, right-of-way,] or
1220     municipal utility easement; [and]
1221          (b) proof of written notice to operators of utilities located within the bounds of the
1222     public street or municipal utility easement sought to be vacated; and
1223          [(b)] (c) the signature of each owner under Subsection [(1)(a)] (2)(a) who consents to
1224     the vacation.
1225          [(2)] (3) If a petition is submitted containing a request to vacate some or all of a public
1226     street[, right-of-way,] or municipal utility easement, the legislative body shall hold a public
1227     hearing in accordance with Section 10-9a-208 and determine whether:
1228          (a) good cause exists for the vacation; and
1229          (b) the public interest or any person will be materially injured by the proposed
1230     vacation.
1231          [(3)] (4) The legislative body may adopt an ordinance granting a petition to vacate
1232     some or all of a public street[, right-of-way,] or municipal utility easement if the legislative
1233     body finds that:
1234          (a) good cause exists for the vacation; and

1235          (b) neither the public interest nor any person will be materially injured by the vacation.
1236          [(4)] (5) If the legislative body adopts an ordinance vacating some or all of a public
1237     street[, right-of-way,] or municipal utility easement, the legislative body shall ensure that one
1238     or both of the following is recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the land
1239     is located:
1240          (a) a plat reflecting the vacation; or
1241          (b) (i) an ordinance described in Subsection [(3)] (4); and
1242          (ii) a legal description of the public street to be vacated.
1243          [(5)] (6) The action of the legislative body vacating some or all of a public street[,
1244     right-of-way,] or municipal utility easement that has been dedicated to public use:
1245          (a) operates to the extent to which it is vacated, upon the effective date of the recorded
1246     plat or ordinance, as a revocation of the acceptance of and the relinquishment of the
1247     municipality's fee in the vacated public street[, right-of-way,] or municipal utility easement;
1248     and
1249          (b) may not be construed to impair:
1250          (i) any right-of-way or easement of any lot owner; or
1251          (ii) the [franchise] rights of any public utility.
1252          (7) (a) A municipality may submit a petition, in accordance with Subsection (2), and
1253     initiate and complete a process to vacate some or all of a public street.
1254          (b) If a municipality submits a petition and initiates a process under Subsection (7)(a):
1255          (i) the legislative body shall hold a public hearing;
1256          (ii) the petition and process may not apply to or affect a public utility easement, except
1257     to the extent:
1258          (A) the easement is not a protected utility easement as defined in Section 54-3-27;
1259          (B) the easement is included within the public street; and
1260          (C) the notice to vacate the public street also contains a notice to vacate the easement;
1261     and
1262          (iii) a recorded ordinance to vacate a public street has the same legal effect as vacating
1263     a public street through a recorded plat or amended plat.
1264          Section 21. Section 10-9a-701 is amended to read:
1265          10-9a-701. Appeal authority required -- Condition precedent to judicial review --

1266     Appeal authority duties.
1267          (1) Each municipality adopting a land use ordinance shall, by ordinance, establish one
1268     or more appeal authorities to hear and decide:
1269          (a) requests for variances from the terms of the land use ordinances;
1270          (b) appeals from decisions applying the land use ordinances; and
1271          (c) appeals from a fee charged in accordance with Section 10-9a-510.
1272          (2) As a condition precedent to judicial review, each adversely affected person shall
1273     timely and specifically challenge a land use authority's decision, in accordance with local
1274     ordinance.
1275          (3) An appeal authority:
1276          (a) shall:
1277          (i) act in a quasi-judicial manner; and
1278          (ii) serve as the final arbiter of issues involving the interpretation or application of land
1279     use ordinances, except as provided in Title 11, Chapter 58, Part 4, Appeals to Appeals Panel,
1280     for an appeal of an inland port use appeal decision, as defined in Section 11-58-401; and
1281          (b) may not entertain an appeal of a matter in which the appeal authority, or any
1282     participating member, had first acted as the land use authority.
1283          (4) By ordinance, a municipality may:
1284          (a) designate a separate appeal authority to hear requests for variances than the appeal
1285     authority it designates to hear appeals;
1286          (b) designate one or more separate appeal authorities to hear distinct types of appeals
1287     of land use authority decisions;
1288          (c) require an adversely affected party to present to an appeal authority every theory of
1289     relief that it can raise in district court;
1290          (d) not require an adversely affected party to pursue duplicate or successive appeals
1291     before the same or separate appeal authorities as a condition of the adversely affected party's
1292     duty to exhaust administrative remedies; and
1293          (e) provide that specified types of land use decisions may be appealed directly to the
1294     district court.
1295          (5) If the municipality establishes or, prior to the effective date of this chapter, has
1296     established a multiperson board, body, or panel to act as an appeal authority, at a minimum the

1297     board, body, or panel shall:
1298          (a) notify each of its members of any meeting or hearing of the board, body, or panel;
1299          (b) provide each of its members with the same information and access to municipal
1300     resources as any other member;
1301          (c) convene only if a quorum of its members is present; and
1302          (d) act only upon the vote of a majority of its convened members.
1303          [(6) (a) Each municipality that designates a historic preservation district or area shall,
1304     by ordinance, establish or designate a historic preservation appeal authority.]
1305          [(b) A historic preservation appeal authority shall:]
1306          [(i) be comprised of the members of the governing body;]
1307          [(ii) exercise only administrative authority and act in a quasi-judicial manner; and]
1308          [(iii) hear and decide appeals from administrative decisions of the historic preservation
1309     authority.]
1310          [(c) An applicant appealing an administrative decision of the historic preservation
1311     authority may appeal to either:]
1312          [(i) the historic preservation appeal authority; or]
1313          [(ii) the land use appeal authority established under Subsection (1).]
1314          Section 22. Section 10-9a-707 is amended to read:
1315          10-9a-707. Scope of review of factual matters on appeal -- Appeal authority
1316     requirements.
1317          (1) A municipality may, by ordinance, designate the scope of review of factual matters
1318     for appeals of land use authority decisions.
1319          (2) If the municipality fails to designate a scope of review of factual matters, the appeal
1320     authority shall review the matter de novo, without deference to the land use authority's
1321     determination of factual matters.
1322          (3) If the scope of review of factual matters is on the record, the appeal authority shall
1323     determine whether the record on appeal includes substantial evidence for each essential finding
1324     of fact.
1325          (4) The appeal authority shall:
1326          (a) determine the correctness of the land use authority's interpretation and application
1327     of the plain meaning of the land use regulations; and

1328          (b) interpret and apply a land use regulation to favor a land use application unless the
1329     land use regulation plainly restricts the land use application.
1330          (5) (a) An appeal authority's land use decision is a quasi-judicial act[, even if the appeal
1331     authority is the].
1332          (b) A legislative body may act as an appeal authority unless both the legislative body
1333     and the appealing party agree to allow a third party to act as the appeal authority.
1334          (6) Only a decision in which a land use authority has applied a land use regulation to a
1335     particular land use application, person, or parcel may be appealed to an appeal authority.
1336          Section 23. Section 10-9a-801 is amended to read:
1337          10-9a-801. No district court review until administrative remedies exhausted --
1338     Time for filing -- Tolling of time -- Standards governing court review -- Record on review
1339     -- Staying of decision.
1340          (1) No person may challenge in district court a land use decision until that person has
1341     exhausted the person's administrative remedies as provided in Part 7, Appeal Authority and
1342     Variances, if applicable.
1343          (2) (a) Any person adversely affected by a final decision made in the exercise of or in
1344     violation of the provisions of this chapter may file a petition for review of the decision with the
1345     district court within 30 days after the decision is final.
1346          (b) (i) The time under Subsection (2)(a) to file a petition is tolled from the date a
1347     property owner files a request for arbitration of a constitutional taking issue with the property
1348     rights ombudsman under Section 13-43-204 until 30 days after:
1349          (A) the arbitrator issues a final award; or
1350          (B) the property rights ombudsman issues a written statement under Subsection
1351     13-43-204(3)(b) declining to arbitrate or to appoint an arbitrator.
1352          (ii) A tolling under Subsection (2)(b)(i) operates only as to the specific constitutional
1353     taking issue that is the subject of the request for arbitration filed with the property rights
1354     ombudsman by a property owner.
1355          (iii) A request for arbitration filed with the property rights ombudsman after the time
1356     under Subsection (2)(a) to file a petition has expired does not affect the time to file a petition.
1357          (3) (a) A court shall:
1358          (i) presume that a land use regulation properly enacted under the authority of this

1359     chapter is valid; and
1360          (ii) determine only whether:
1361          (A) the land use regulation is expressly preempted by, or was enacted contrary to, state
1362     or federal law; and
1363          (B) it is reasonably debatable that the land use regulation is consistent with this
1364     chapter.
1365          (b) A court shall:
1366          (i) presume that a final decision of a land use authority or an appeal authority is valid;
1367     and
1368          (ii) uphold the decision unless the decision is:
1369          (A) arbitrary and capricious; or
1370          (B) illegal.
1371          (c) (i) A decision is arbitrary and capricious if the decision is not supported by
1372     substantial evidence in the record.
1373          (ii) A decision is illegal if the decision is:
1374          (A) based on an incorrect interpretation of a land use regulation; or
1375          (B) contrary to law.
1376          (d) (i) A court may affirm or reverse the decision of a land use authority.
1377          (ii) If the court reverses a land use authority's decision, the court shall remand the
1378     matter to the land use authority with instructions to issue a decision consistent with the court's
1379     ruling.
1380          (4) The provisions of Subsection (2)(a) apply from the date on which the municipality
1381     takes final action on a land use application for any adversely affected third party, if the
1382     municipality conformed with the notice provisions of Part 2, Notice, or for any person who had
1383     actual notice of the pending decision.
1384          (5) If the municipality has complied with Section 10-9a-205, a challenge to the
1385     enactment of a land use regulation or general plan may not be filed with the district court more
1386     than 30 days after the enactment.
1387          (6) A challenge to a land use decision is barred unless the challenge is filed within 30
1388     days after the land use decision is final.
1389          (7) (a) The land use authority or appeal authority, as the case may be, shall transmit to

1390     the reviewing court the record of its proceedings, including its minutes, findings, orders, and, if
1391     available, a true and correct transcript of its proceedings.
1392          (b) If the proceeding was recorded, a transcript of that recording is a true and correct
1393     transcript for purposes of this Subsection (7).
1394          (8) (a) (i) If there is a record, the district court's review is limited to the record provided
1395     by the land use authority or appeal authority, as the case may be.
1396          (ii) The court may not accept or consider any evidence outside the record of the land
1397     use authority or appeal authority, as the case may be, unless that evidence was offered to the
1398     land use authority or appeal authority, respectively, and the court determines that it was
1399     improperly excluded.
1400          (b) If there is no record, the court may call witnesses and take evidence.
1401          (9) (a) The filing of a petition does not stay the decision of the land use authority or
1402     authority appeal authority, as the case may be.
1403          (b) (i) Before filing a petition under this section or a request for mediation or
1404     arbitration of a constitutional taking issue under Section 13-43-204, the aggrieved party may
1405     petition the appeal authority to stay its decision.
1406          (ii) Upon receipt of a petition to stay, the appeal authority may order its decision stayed
1407     pending district court review if the appeal authority finds it to be in the best interest of the
1408     municipality.
1409          (iii) After a petition is filed under this section or a request for mediation or arbitration
1410     of a constitutional taking issue is filed under Section 13-43-204, the petitioner may seek an
1411     injunction staying the appeal authority's decision.
1412          (10) If the court determines that a party initiated or pursued a challenge to the decision
1413     on a land use application in bad faith, the court may award attorney fees.
1414          Section 24. Section 10-9a-802 is amended to read:
1415          10-9a-802. Enforcement.
1416          (1) (a) A municipality or any adversely affected owner of real estate within the
1417     municipality in which violations of this chapter or ordinances enacted under the authority of
1418     this chapter occur or are about to occur may, in addition to other remedies provided by law,
1419     institute:
1420          (i) injunctions, mandamus, abatement, or any other appropriate actions; or

1421          (ii) proceedings to prevent, enjoin, abate, or remove the unlawful building, use, or act.
1422          (b) A municipality need only establish the violation to obtain the injunction.
1423          (2) (a) A municipality may enforce the municipality's ordinance by withholding a
1424     building permit.
1425          (b) It is an infraction to erect, construct, reconstruct, alter, or change the use of any
1426     building or other structure within a municipality without approval of a building permit.
1427          (c) A municipality may not issue a building permit unless the plans of and for the
1428     proposed erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, or use fully conform to all
1429     regulations then in effect.
1430          (d) A municipality may not deny an applicant a building permit or certificate of
1431     occupancy because the applicant has not completed an infrastructure improvement:
1432          (i) that is not essential to meet the requirements for the issuance of a building permit or
1433     certificate of occupancy under the building code and fire code; and
1434          (ii) for which the municipality has accepted an improvement completion assurance for
1435     landscaping or infrastructure improvements for the development.
1436          Section 25. Section 17-27a-102 is amended to read:
1437          17-27a-102. Purposes -- General land use authority.
1438          (1) (a) The purposes of this chapter are to:
1439          (i) provide for the health, safety, and welfare[, and];
1440          (ii) promote the prosperity[,];
1441          (iii) improve the morals, peace [and], good order, comfort, convenience, and aesthetics
1442     of each county and [its] each county's present and future inhabitants and businesses[, to];
1443          (iv) protect the tax base[, to];
1444          (v) secure economy in governmental expenditures[, to];
1445          (vi) foster the state's agricultural and other industries[, to];
1446          (vii) protect both urban and nonurban development[, to];
1447          (viii) protect and ensure access to sunlight for solar energy devices[, to];
1448          (ix) provide fundamental fairness in land use regulation[, and to];
1449          (x) facilitate orderly growth and allow growth in a variety of housing types; and
1450          (xi) protect property values.
1451          (b) To accomplish the purposes of this chapter, [counties] a county may enact all

1452     ordinances, resolutions, and rules and may enter into other forms of land use controls and
1453     development agreements that [they consider] the county considers necessary or appropriate for
1454     the use and development of land within the unincorporated area of the county or a designated
1455     mountainous planning district, including ordinances, resolutions, rules, restrictive covenants,
1456     easements, and development agreements governing:
1457          (i) uses[,];
1458          (ii) density[,];
1459          (iii) open spaces[,];
1460          (iv) structures[,];
1461          (v) buildings[,];
1462          (vi) energy-efficiency[,];
1463          (vii) light and air[,];
1464          (viii) air quality[,];
1465          (ix) transportation and public or alternative transportation[,];
1466          (x) infrastructure[,];
1467          (xi) street and building orientation and width requirements[,];
1468          (xii) public facilities[,];
1469          (xiii) fundamental fairness in land use regulation[,]; and
1470          (xiv) considerations of surrounding land uses [and the] to balance [of] the foregoing
1471     purposes with a landowner's private property interests[, height and location of vegetation, trees,
1472     and landscaping, unless expressly prohibited by law] and associated statutory and constitutional
1473     protections.
1474          (2) Each county shall comply with the mandatory provisions of this part before any
1475     agreement or contract to provide goods, services, or municipal-type services to any storage
1476     facility or transfer facility for high-level nuclear waste, or greater than class C radioactive
1477     waste, may be executed or implemented.
1478          (3) (a) Any ordinance, resolution, or rule enacted by a county pursuant to its authority
1479     under this chapter shall comply with the state's exclusive jurisdiction to regulate oil and gas
1480     activity, as described in Section 40-6-2.5.
1481          (b) A county may enact an ordinance, resolution, or rule that regulates surface activity
1482     incident to an oil and gas activity if the county demonstrates that the regulation:

1483          (i) is necessary for the purposes of this chapter;
1484          (ii) does not effectively or unduly limit, ban, or prohibit an oil and gas activity; and
1485          (iii) does not interfere with the state's exclusive juridisdciton to regulate oil and gas
1486     activity, as described in Section 40-6-2.5.
1487          Section 26. Section 17-27a-103 is amended to read:
1488          17-27a-103. Definitions.
1489          As used in this chapter:
1490          (1) "Affected entity" means a county, municipality, local district, special service
1491     district under Title 17D, Chapter 1, Special Service District Act, school district, interlocal
1492     cooperation entity established under Title 11, Chapter 13, Interlocal Cooperation Act, specified
1493     property owner, property owners association, public utility, or the Utah Department of
1494     Transportation, if:
1495          (a) the entity's services or facilities are likely to require expansion or significant
1496     modification because of an intended use of land;
1497          (b) the entity has filed with the county a copy of the entity's general or long-range plan;
1498     or
1499          (c) the entity has filed with the county a request for notice during the same calendar
1500     year and before the county provides notice to an affected entity in compliance with a
1501     requirement imposed under this chapter.
1502          (2) "Appeal authority" means the person, board, commission, agency, or other body
1503     designated by ordinance to decide an appeal of a decision of a land use application or a
1504     variance.
1505          (3) "Billboard" means a freestanding ground sign located on industrial, commercial, or
1506     residential property if the sign is designed or intended to direct attention to a business, product,
1507     or service that is not sold, offered, or existing on the property where the sign is located.
1508          (4) (a) "Charter school" means:
1509          (i) an operating charter school;
1510          (ii) a charter school applicant that has its application approved by a charter school
1511     authorizer in accordance with Title 53G, Chapter 5, Part 3, Charter School Authorization; or
1512          (iii) an entity that is working on behalf of a charter school or approved charter
1513     applicant to develop or construct a charter school building.

1514          (b) "Charter school" does not include a therapeutic school.
1515          (5) "Chief executive officer" means the person or body that exercises the executive
1516     powers of the county.
1517          (6) "Conditional use" means a land use that, because of its unique characteristics or
1518     potential impact on the county, surrounding neighbors, or adjacent land uses, may not be
1519     compatible in some areas or may be compatible only if certain conditions are required that
1520     mitigate or eliminate the detrimental impacts.
1521          (7) "Constitutional taking" means a governmental action that results in a taking of
1522     private property so that compensation to the owner of the property is required by the:
1523          (a) Fifth or Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States; or
1524          (b) Utah Constitution, Article I, Section 22.
1525          (8) "County utility easement" means an easement that:
1526          (a) a plat recorded in a county recorder's office described as a county utility easement,
1527     public utility easement as defined in Subsection 54-3-27(1)(b), or otherwise as a utility
1528     easement;
1529          (b) is not a protected utility easement as defined in Subsection 54-3-27(1)(a);
1530          (c) the county or the county's affiliated governmental entity owns or creates; and
1531          (d) (i) either:
1532          (A) no person uses or occupies; or
1533          (B) the county or the county's affiliated governmental entity uses and occupies to
1534     provide a utility service, including sanitary sewer, culinary water, electrical, storm water, or
1535     communications or data lines; or
1536          (ii) a person uses or occupies with or without an authorized franchise or other
1537     agreement with the county.
1538          [(8)] (9) "Culinary water authority" means the department, agency, or public entity with
1539     responsibility to review and approve the feasibility of the culinary water system and sources for
1540     the subject property.
1541          [(9)] (10) "Development activity" means:
1542          (a) any construction or expansion of a building, structure, or use that creates additional
1543     demand and need for public facilities;
1544          (b) any change in use of a building or structure that creates additional demand and need

1545     for public facilities; or
1546          (c) any change in the use of land that creates additional demand and need for public
1547     facilities.
1548          [(10)] (11) (a) "Disability" means a physical or mental impairment that substantially
1549     limits one or more of a person's major life activities, including a person having a record of such
1550     an impairment or being regarded as having such an impairment.
1551          (b) "Disability" does not include current illegal use of, or addiction to, any federally
1552     controlled substance, as defined in Section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C.
1553     802.
1554          [(11)] (12) "Educational facility":
1555          (a) means:
1556          (i) a school district's building at which pupils assemble to receive instruction in a
1557     program for any combination of grades from preschool through grade 12, including
1558     kindergarten and a program for children with disabilities;
1559          (ii) a structure or facility:
1560          (A) located on the same property as a building described in Subsection [(11)(a)(i)]
1561     (12)(a)(i); and
1562          (B) used in support of the use of that building; and
1563          (iii) a building to provide office and related space to a school district's administrative
1564     personnel; and
1565          (b) does not include:
1566          (i) land or a structure, including land or a structure for inventory storage, equipment
1567     storage, food processing or preparing, vehicle storage or maintenance, or similar use that is:
1568          (A) not located on the same property as a building described in Subsection [(11)(a)(i)]
1569     (12)(a)(i); and
1570          (B) used in support of the purposes of a building described in Subsection [(11)(a)(i)]
1571     (12)(a)(i); or
1572          (ii) a therapeutic school.
1573          [(12)] (13) "Fire authority" means the department, agency, or public entity with
1574     responsibility to review and approve the feasibility of fire protection and suppression services
1575     for the subject property.

1576          [(13)] (14) "Flood plain" means land that:
1577          (a) is within the 100-year flood plain designated by the Federal Emergency
1578     Management Agency; or
1579          (b) has not been studied or designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency
1580     but presents a likelihood of experiencing chronic flooding or a catastrophic flood event because
1581     the land has characteristics that are similar to those of a 100-year flood plain designated by the
1582     Federal Emergency Management Agency.
1583          [(14)] (15) "Gas corporation" has the same meaning as defined in Section 54-2-1.
1584          [(15)] (16) "General plan" means a document that a county adopts that sets forth
1585     general guidelines for proposed future development of:
1586          (a) the unincorporated land within the county; or
1587          (b) for a mountainous planning district, the land within the mountainous planning
1588     district.
1589          [(16)] (17) "Geologic hazard" means:
1590          (a) a surface fault rupture;
1591          (b) shallow groundwater;
1592          (c) liquefaction;
1593          (d) a landslide;
1594          (e) a debris flow;
1595          (f) unstable soil;
1596          (g) a rock fall; or
1597          (h) any other geologic condition that presents a risk:
1598          (i) to life;
1599          (ii) of substantial loss of real property; or
1600          (iii) of substantial damage to real property.
1601          [(17)] (18) "Hookup fee" means a fee for the installation and inspection of any pipe,
1602     line, meter, or appurtenance to connect to a county water, sewer, storm water, power, or other
1603     utility system.
1604          [(18)] (19) "Identical plans" means building plans submitted to a county that:
1605          (a) are clearly marked as "identical plans";
1606          (b) are substantially identical building plans that were previously submitted to and

1607     reviewed and approved by the county; and
1608          (c) describe a building that:
1609          (i) is located on land zoned the same as the land on which the building described in the
1610     previously approved plans is located;
1611          (ii) is subject to the same geological and meteorological conditions and the same law
1612     as the building described in the previously approved plans;
1613          (iii) has a floor plan identical to the building plan previously submitted to and reviewed
1614     and approved by the county; and
1615          (iv) does not require any additional engineering or analysis.
1616          [(19)] (20) "Impact fee" means a payment of money imposed under Title 11, Chapter
1617     36a, Impact Fees Act.
1618          [(20)] (21) "Improvement completion assurance" means a surety bond, letter of credit,
1619     financial institution bond, cash, assignment of rights, lien, or other equivalent security required
1620     by a county to guaranty the proper completion of landscaping or an infrastructure improvement
1621     required as a condition precedent to:
1622          (a) recording a subdivision plat; or
1623          (b) development of a commercial, industrial, mixed use, or multifamily project.
1624          [(21)] (22) "Improvement warranty" means an applicant's unconditional warranty that
1625     the applicant's installed and accepted landscaping or infrastructure improvement:
1626          (a) complies with the county's written standards for design, materials, and
1627     workmanship; and
1628          (b) will not fail in any material respect, as a result of poor workmanship or materials,
1629     within the improvement warranty period.
1630          [(22)] (23) "Improvement warranty period" means a period:
1631          (a) no later than one year after a county's acceptance of required landscaping; or
1632          (b) no later than one year after a county's acceptance of required infrastructure, unless
1633     the county:
1634          (i) determines for good cause that a one-year period would be inadequate to protect the
1635     public health, safety, and welfare; and
1636          (ii) has substantial evidence, on record:
1637          (A) of prior poor performance by the applicant; or

1638          (B) that the area upon which the infrastructure will be constructed contains suspect soil
1639     and the county has not otherwise required the applicant to mitigate the suspect soil.
1640          [(23)] (24) "Infrastructure improvement" means permanent infrastructure that is
1641     essential for the public health and safety or that:
1642          (a) is required for human consumption; and
1643          (b) an applicant must install:
1644          [(a)] (i) [pursuant to] in accordance with published installation and inspection
1645     specifications for public improvements; and
1646          [(b)] (ii) as a condition of:
1647          [(i)] (A) recording a subdivision plat; [or]
1648          (B) obtaining a building permit; or
1649          [(ii)] (C) [development of] developing a commercial, industrial, mixed use,
1650     condominium, or multifamily project.
1651          [(24)] (25) "Internal lot restriction" means a platted note, platted demarcation, or
1652     platted designation that:
1653          (a) runs with the land; and
1654          (b) (i) creates a restriction that is enclosed within the perimeter of a lot described on
1655     the plat; or
1656          (ii) designates a development condition that is enclosed within the perimeter of a lot
1657     described on the plat.
1658          [(25)] (26) "Interstate pipeline company" means a person or entity engaged in natural
1659     gas transportation subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
1660     under the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 717 et seq.
1661          [(26)] (27) "Intrastate pipeline company" means a person or entity engaged in natural
1662     gas transportation that is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory
1663     Commission under the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 717 et seq.
1664          [(27)] (28) "Land use applicant" means a property owner, or the property owner's
1665     designee, who submits a land use application regarding the property owner's land.
1666          [(28)] (29) "Land use application":
1667          (a) means an application that is:
1668          (i) required by a county; and

1669          (ii) submitted by a land use applicant to obtain a land use decision; and
1670          (b) does not mean an application to enact, amend, or repeal a land use regulation.
1671          [(29)] (30) "Land use authority" means:
1672          (a) a person, board, commission, agency, or body, including the local legislative body,
1673     designated by the local legislative body to act upon a land use application; or
1674          (b) if the local legislative body has not designated a person, board, commission,
1675     agency, or body, the local legislative body.
1676          [(30)] (31) "Land use decision" means an administrative decision of a land use
1677     authority or appeal authority regarding:
1678          (a) a land use permit;
1679          (b) a land use application; or
1680          (c) the enforcement of a land use regulation, land use permit, or development
1681     agreement.
1682          [(31)] (32) "Land use permit" means a permit issued by a land use authority.
1683          [(32)] (33) "Land use regulation":
1684          (a) means a legislative decision enacted by ordinance, law, code, map, resolution,
1685     specification, fee, or rule that governs the use or development of land;
1686          (b) includes the adoption or amendment of a zoning map or the text of the zoning code;
1687     and
1688          (c) does not include:
1689          (i) a land use decision of the legislative body acting as the land use authority, even if
1690     the decision is expressed in a resolution or ordinance; or
1691          (ii) a temporary revision to an engineering specification that does not materially:
1692          (A) increase a land use applicant's cost of development compared to the existing
1693     specification; or
1694          (B) impact a land use applicant's use of land.
1695          [(33)] (34) "Legislative body" means the county legislative body, or for a county that
1696     has adopted an alternative form of government, the body exercising legislative powers.
1697          [(34)] (35) "Local district" means any entity under Title 17B, Limited Purpose Local
1698     Government Entities - Local Districts, and any other governmental or quasi-governmental
1699     entity that is not a county, municipality, school district, or the state.

1700          (36) "Lot" means a tract of land, regardless of any label, that is created by and shown
1701     on a subdivision plat that has been recorded in the office of the county recorder.
1702          [(35)] (37) (a) "Lot line adjustment" means [the] a relocation of [the property] a lot line
1703     boundary [line in a subdivision] between [two] adjoining lots or parcels, whether or not the lots
1704     are located in the same subdivision, in accordance with Section 17-27a-608, with the consent
1705     of the owners of record.
1706          (b) "Lot line adjustment" does not mean a new boundary line that:
1707          (i) creates an additional lot; or
1708          (ii) constitutes a subdivision.
1709          [(36)] (38) "Moderate income housing" means housing occupied or reserved for
1710     occupancy by households with a gross household income equal to or less than 80% of the
1711     median gross income for households of the same size in the county in which the housing is
1712     located.
1713          [(37)] (39) "Mountainous planning district" means an area:
1714          (a) designated by a county legislative body in accordance with Section 17-27a-901; and
1715          (b) that is not otherwise exempt under Section 10-9a-304.
1716          [(38)] (40) "Nominal fee" means a fee that reasonably reimburses a county only for
1717     time spent and expenses incurred in:
1718          (a) verifying that building plans are identical plans; and
1719          (b) reviewing and approving those minor aspects of identical plans that differ from the
1720     previously reviewed and approved building plans.
1721          [(39)] (41) "Noncomplying structure" means a structure that:
1722          (a) legally existed before its current land use designation; and
1723          (b) because of one or more subsequent land use ordinance changes, does not conform
1724     to the setback, height restrictions, or other regulations, excluding those regulations that govern
1725     the use of land.
1726          [(40)] (42) "Nonconforming use" means a use of land that:
1727          (a) legally existed before its current land use designation;
1728          (b) has been maintained continuously since the time the land use ordinance regulation
1729     governing the land changed; and
1730          (c) because of one or more subsequent land use ordinance changes, does not conform

1731     to the regulations that now govern the use of the land.
1732          [(41)] (43) "Official map" means a map drawn by county authorities and recorded in
1733     the county recorder's office that:
1734          (a) shows actual and proposed rights-of-way, centerline alignments, and setbacks for
1735     highways and other transportation facilities;
1736          (b) provides a basis for restricting development in designated rights-of-way or between
1737     designated setbacks to allow the government authorities time to purchase or otherwise reserve
1738     the land; and
1739          (c) has been adopted as an element of the county's general plan.
1740          (44) "Parcel" means any real property that is not a lot created by and shown on a
1741     subdivision plat recorded in the office of the county recorder.
1742          [(42)] (45) (a) "Parcel boundary adjustment" means a recorded agreement between
1743     owners of adjoining [properties] parcels adjusting [their] the mutual boundary, either by deed
1744     or by a boundary line agreement in accordance with Section 57-1-45, if[: (a) ] no additional
1745     parcel is created[;] and:
1746          [(b)] (i) [each] none of the property identified in the agreement is [unsubdivided land,
1747     including a remainder of] subdivided land[.]; or
1748          (ii) the adjustment is to the boundaries of a single person's parcels.
1749          (b) "Parcel boundary adjustment" does not mean an adjustment of a parcel boundary
1750     line that:
1751          (i) creates an additional parcel; or
1752          (ii) constitutes a subdivision.
1753          [(43)] (46) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, organization,
1754     association, trust, governmental agency, or any other legal entity.
1755          [(44)] (47) "Plan for moderate income housing" means a written document adopted by
1756     a county legislative body that includes:
1757          (a) an estimate of the existing supply of moderate income housing located within the
1758     county;
1759          (b) an estimate of the need for moderate income housing in the county for the next five
1760     years as revised biennially;
1761          (c) a survey of total residential land use;

1762          (d) an evaluation of how existing land uses and zones affect opportunities for moderate
1763     income housing; and
1764          (e) a description of the county's program to encourage an adequate supply of moderate
1765     income housing.
1766          [(45)] (48) "Planning advisory area" means a contiguous, geographically defined
1767     portion of the unincorporated area of a county established under this part with planning and
1768     zoning functions as exercised through the planning advisory area planning commission, as
1769     provided in this chapter, but with no legal or political identity separate from the county and no
1770     taxing authority.
1771          [(46)] (49) "Plat" means a map or other graphical representation of lands [being laid
1772     out and prepared] that a licensed professional land surveyor makes and prepares in accordance
1773     with Section 17-27a-603[, 17-23-17,] or 57-8-13.
1774          [(47)] (50) "Potential geologic hazard area" means an area that:
1775          (a) is designated by a Utah Geological Survey map, county geologist map, or other
1776     relevant map or report as needing further study to determine the area's potential for geologic
1777     hazard; or
1778          (b) has not been studied by the Utah Geological Survey or a county geologist but
1779     presents the potential of geologic hazard because the area has characteristics similar to those of
1780     a designated geologic hazard area.
1781          [(48)] (51) "Public agency" means:
1782          (a) the federal government;
1783          (b) the state;
1784          (c) a county, municipality, school district, local district, special service district, or other
1785     political subdivision of the state; or
1786          (d) a charter school.
1787          [(49)] (52) "Public hearing" means a hearing at which members of the public are
1788     provided a reasonable opportunity to comment on the subject of the hearing.
1789          [(50)] (53) "Public meeting" means a meeting that is required to be open to the public
1790     under Title 52, Chapter 4, Open and Public Meetings Act.
1791          (54) "Public street" means a public right-of-way, including a public highway, public
1792     avenue, public boulevard, public parkway, public road, public lane, public trail or walk, public

1793     alley, public viaduct, public subway, public tunnel, public bridge, public byway, other public
1794     transportation easement, or other public way.
1795          [(51)] (55) "Receiving zone" means an unincorporated area of a county that the county
1796     designates, by ordinance, as an area in which an owner of land may receive a transferable
1797     development right.
1798          [(52)] (56) "Record of survey map" means a map of a survey of land prepared in
1799     accordance with Section 10-9a-603, 17-23-17, 17-27a-603, or 57-8-13.
1800          [(53)] (57) "Residential facility for persons with a disability" means a residence:
1801          (a) in which more than one person with a disability resides; and
1802          (b) (i) which is licensed or certified by the Department of Human Services under Title
1803     62A, Chapter 2, Licensure of Programs and Facilities; or
1804          (ii) which is licensed or certified by the Department of Health under Title 26, Chapter
1805     21, Health Care Facility Licensing and Inspection Act.
1806          [(54)] (58) "Rules of order and procedure" means a set of rules that govern and
1807     prescribe in a public meeting:
1808          (a) parliamentary order and procedure;
1809          (b) ethical behavior; and
1810          (c) civil discourse.
1811          [(55)] (59) "Sanitary sewer authority" means the department, agency, or public entity
1812     with responsibility to review and approve the feasibility of sanitary sewer services or onsite
1813     wastewater systems.
1814          [(56)] (60) "Sending zone" means an unincorporated area of a county that the county
1815     designates, by ordinance, as an area from which an owner of land may transfer a transferable
1816     development right.
1817          [(57)] (61) "Site plan" means a document or map that may be required by a county
1818     during a preliminary review preceding the issuance of a building permit to demonstrate that an
1819     owner's or developer's proposed development activity meets a land use requirement.
1820          [(58)] (62) "Specified public agency" means:
1821          (a) the state;
1822          (b) a school district; or
1823          (c) a charter school.

1824          [(59)] (63) "Specified public utility" means an electrical corporation, gas corporation,
1825     or telephone corporation, as those terms are defined in Section 54-2-1.
1826          [(60)] (64) "State" includes any department, division, or agency of the state.
1827          [(61) "Street" means a public right-of-way, including a highway, avenue, boulevard,
1828     parkway, road, lane, walk, alley, viaduct, subway, tunnel, bridge, public easement, or other
1829     way.]
1830          (65) "Subdivided land" means the land, tract, or lot described in a recorded subdivision
1831     plat.
1832          [(62)] (66) (a) "Subdivision" means any land that is divided, resubdivided, or proposed
1833     to be divided into two or more lots[, parcels, sites, units, plots,] or other division of land for the
1834     purpose, whether immediate or future, for offer, sale, lease, or development either on the
1835     installment plan or upon any and all other plans, terms, and conditions.
1836          (b) "Subdivision" includes:
1837          (i) the division or development of land whether by deed, metes and bounds description,
1838     devise and testacy, map, plat, or other recorded instrument, regardless of whether the division
1839     includes all or a portion of a parcel or lot; and
1840          (ii) except as provided in Subsection [(62)] (66)(c), divisions of land for residential and
1841     nonresidential uses, including land used or to be used for commercial, agricultural, and
1842     industrial purposes.
1843          (c) "Subdivision" does not include:
1844          (i) a bona fide division or partition of agricultural land for agricultural purposes;
1845          (ii) [a recorded] an agreement recorded with the county recorder's office between
1846     owners of adjoining properties adjusting [their] the mutual boundary by a boundary line
1847     agreement in accordance with Section 57-1-45 if:
1848          (A) no new lot is created; and
1849          (B) the adjustment does not violate applicable land use ordinances;
1850          (iii) a recorded document, executed by the owner of record:
1851          (A) revising the legal description of more than one contiguous [unsubdivided] parcel of
1852     property that is not subdivided land into one legal description encompassing all such parcels of
1853     property; or
1854          (B) joining a subdivided parcel of property to another parcel of property that has not

1855     been subdivided, if the joinder does not violate applicable land use ordinances;
1856          (iv) a bona fide division or partition of land in a county other than a first class county
1857     for the purpose of siting, on one or more of the resulting separate parcels:
1858          (A) an electrical transmission line or a substation;
1859          (B) a natural gas pipeline or a regulation station; or
1860          (C) an unmanned telecommunications, microwave, fiber optic, electrical, or other
1861     utility service regeneration, transformation, retransmission, or amplification facility;
1862          (v) [a recorded] an agreement between owners of adjoining subdivided properties
1863     adjusting [their] the mutual lot line boundary in accordance with Section 10-9a-603 if:
1864          (A) no new dwelling lot or housing unit will result from the adjustment; and
1865          (B) the adjustment will not violate any applicable land use ordinance;
1866          (vi) a bona fide division or partition of land by deed or other instrument where the land
1867     use authority expressly approves in writing the division in anticipation of further land use
1868     approvals on the parcel or parcels; [or]
1869          (vii) a parcel boundary adjustment[.];
1870          (viii) a lot line adjustment;
1871          (ix) a road, street, or highway dedication plat; or
1872          (x) a deed or easement for a road, street, or highway purpose.
1873          (d) The joining of a subdivided parcel of property to another parcel of property that has
1874     not been subdivided does not constitute a subdivision under this Subsection [(62)] (66) as to
1875     the unsubdivided parcel of property or subject the unsubdivided parcel to the county's
1876     subdivision ordinance.
1877          [(63)] (67) "Suspect soil" means soil that has:
1878          (a) a high susceptibility for volumetric change, typically clay rich, having more than a
1879     3% swell potential;
1880          (b) bedrock units with high shrink or swell susceptibility; or
1881          (c) gypsiferous silt and clay, gypsum, or bedrock units containing abundant gypsum
1882     commonly associated with dissolution and collapse features.
1883          [(64)] (68) "Therapeutic school" means a residential group living facility:
1884          (a) for four or more individuals who are not related to:
1885          (i) the owner of the facility; or

1886          (ii) the primary service provider of the facility;
1887          (b) that serves students who have a history of failing to function:
1888          (i) at home;
1889          (ii) in a public school; or
1890          (iii) in a nonresidential private school; and
1891          (c) that offers:
1892          (i) room and board; and
1893          (ii) an academic education integrated with:
1894          (A) specialized structure and supervision; or
1895          (B) services or treatment related to a disability, an emotional development, a
1896     behavioral development, a familial development, or a social development.
1897          [(65)] (69) "Transferable development right" means a right to develop and use land that
1898     originates by an ordinance that authorizes a land owner in a designated sending zone to transfer
1899     land use rights from a designated sending zone to a designated receiving zone.
1900          [(66)] (70) "Unincorporated" means the area outside of the incorporated area of a
1901     municipality.
1902          [(67)] (71) "Water interest" means any right to the beneficial use of water, including:
1903          (a) each of the rights listed in Section 73-1-11; and
1904          (b) an ownership interest in the right to the beneficial use of water represented by:
1905          (i) a contract; or
1906          (ii) a share in a water company, as defined in Section 73-3-3.5.
1907          [(68)] (72) "Zoning map" means a map, adopted as part of a land use ordinance, that
1908     depicts land use zones, overlays, or districts.
1909          Section 27. Section 17-27a-104 is amended to read:
1910          17-27a-104. County standards.
1911          (1) [Except as provided in Subsection (2), a county may enact a land use regulation
1912     imposing stricter requirements or higher standards than are required by this chapter.] This
1913     chapter does not prohibit a county from adopting the county's own land use standards.
1914          (2) [A] Notwithstanding Subsection (1), a county may not impose a requirement,
1915     regulation, condition, or standard that conflicts with a provision of this chapter, other state law,
1916     or federal law.

1917          Section 28. Section 17-27a-208 is amended to read:
1918          17-27a-208. Hearing and notice for petition to vacate a public street.
1919          (1) For any [proposal] petition to vacate some or all of a public street[, right-of-way,]
1920     or county utility easement, the legislative body shall:
1921          (a) hold a public hearing; and
1922          (b) give notice of the date, place, and time of the hearing, as provided in Subsection
1923     (2).
1924          (2) At least 10 days before the public hearing under Subsection (1)(a), the legislative
1925     body shall ensure that the notice required under Subsection (1)(b) [shall be] is:
1926          (a) mailed to the record owner of each parcel that is accessed by the public street[,
1927     right-of-way,] or county utility easement;
1928          (b) mailed to each affected entity;
1929          (c) posted on or near the public street[, right-of-way,] or county utility easement in a
1930     manner that is calculated to alert the public; and
1931          (d) (i) published [in a newspaper of general circulation in] on the website of the county
1932     in which the land subject to the petition is located until the public hearing concludes; and
1933          (ii) published on the Utah Public Notice Website created in Section 63F-1-701.
1934          Section 29. Section 17-27a-302 is amended to read:
1935          17-27a-302. Planning commission powers and duties.
1936          (1) Each countywide planning advisory area or mountainous planning district planning
1937     commission shall, with respect to the unincorporated area of the county, the planning advisory
1938     area, or the mountainous planning district, make a recommendation to the county legislative
1939     body for:
1940          [(1)] (a) a general plan and amendments to the general plan;
1941          [(2)] (b) land use regulations;
1942          [(3)] (c) an appropriate delegation of power to at least one designated land use
1943     authority to hear and act on a land use application;
1944          [(4)] (d) an appropriate delegation of power to at least one appeal authority to hear and
1945     act on an appeal from a decision of the land use authority; and
1946          [(5)] (e) application processes that:
1947          [(a)] (i) may include a designation of routine land use matters that, upon application

1948     and proper notice, will receive informal streamlined review and action if the application is
1949     uncontested; and
1950          [(b)] (ii) shall protect the right of each:
1951          [(i)] (A) applicant and third party to require formal consideration of any application by
1952     a land use authority;
1953          [(ii)] (B) applicant, adversely affected party, or county officer or employee to appeal a
1954     land use authority's decision to a separate appeal authority; and
1955          [(iii)] (C) participant to be heard in each public hearing on a contested application.
1956          (2) Nothing in this section limits the right of a county to initiate or propose the actions
1957     described in this section.
1958          Section 30. Section 17-27a-501 is amended to read:
1959          17-27a-501. Enactment of land use regulation.
1960          (1) Only a legislative body, as the body authorized to weigh policy considerations, may
1961     enact a land use regulation.
1962          (2) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), a legislative body may enact a land use
1963     regulation only by ordinance.
1964          (b) A legislative body may, by ordinance or resolution, enact a land use regulation that
1965     imposes a fee.
1966          (3) A land use regulation shall be consistent with the purposes set forth in this chapter.
1967          (4) (a) A legislative body shall adopt a land use regulation to:
1968          (i) create or amend a zoning district under Subsection 17-27a-503(1)(a); and
1969          (ii) designate general uses allowed in each zoning district.
1970          (b) A land use authority may establish or modify other restrictions or requirements
1971     other than those described in Subsection (4)(a), including the configuration or modification of
1972     uses or density, through a land use decision that applies criteria or policy elements that a land
1973     use regulation establishes or describes.
1974          Section 31. Section 17-27a-502 is amended to read:
1975          17-27a-502. Preparation and adoption of land use regulation.
1976          (1) [The] A planning commission shall:
1977          (a) provide notice as required by Subsection 17-27a-205(1)(a) and, if applicable,
1978     Subsection 17-27a-205(4);

1979          (b) hold a public hearing on a proposed land use regulation;
1980          (c) if applicable, consider each written objection filed in accordance with Subsection
1981     17-27a-205(4) prior to the public hearing; and
1982          (d) (i) [prepare] review and recommend to the legislative body a proposed land use
1983     regulation that represents the planning commission's recommendation for regulating the use
1984     and development of land within:
1985          (A) all or any part of the unincorporated area of the county; or
1986          (B) for a mountainous planning district, all or any part of the area in the mountainous
1987     planning district; and
1988          (ii) forward to the legislative body all objections filed in accordance with Subsection
1989     17-27a-205(4).
1990          (2) (a) The legislative body shall consider each proposed land use regulation
1991     [recommended to the legislative body by] that the planning commission[, and, after]
1992     recommends to the legislative body.
1993          (b) After providing notice as required by Subsection 17-27a-205(1)(b) and holding a
1994     public meeting, the legislative body may adopt or reject the proposed land use regulation
1995     [either] described in Subsection (2)(a):
1996          (i) as proposed by the planning commission; or
1997          (ii) after making any revision the legislative body considers appropriate.
1998          (c) A legislative body may consider a planning commission's failure to make a timely
1999     recommendation as a negative recommendation if the legislative body has provided for that
2000     consideration by ordinance.
2001          Section 32. Section 17-27a-503 is amended to read:
2002          17-27a-503. Zoning district or land use regulation amendments.
2003          (1) Only a legislative body may amend:
2004          (a) the number, shape, boundaries, [or] area, or general uses of any zoning district;
2005          (b) any regulation of or within the zoning district; or
2006          (c) any other provision of a land use regulation.
2007          (2) [The] A legislative body may not make any amendment authorized by this section
2008     unless the legislative body first submits the amendment [was proposed by the planning
2009     commission or is first submitted] to the planning commission for [its] the planning

2010     commission's recommendation.
2011          (3) [The] A legislative body shall comply with the procedure specified in Section
2012     17-27a-502 in preparing and adopting an amendment to a land use regulation.
2013          Section 33. Section 17-27a-506 is amended to read:
2014          17-27a-506. Conditional uses.
2015          (1) (a) A county may adopt a land use ordinance that includes conditional uses and
2016     provisions for conditional uses that require compliance with standards set forth in an applicable
2017     ordinance.
2018          (b) A county may not impose a requirement or standard on a conditional use that
2019     conflicts with a provision of this chapter or other state or federal law.
2020          (2) (a) (i) A land use authority shall approve a conditional use if reasonable conditions
2021     are proposed, or can be imposed, to mitigate the reasonably anticipated detrimental effects of
2022     the proposed use in accordance with applicable standards.
2023          (ii) The requirement described in Subsection (2)(a)(i) to reasonably mitigate
2024     anticipated detrimental effects of the proposed conditional use does not require elimination of
2025     the detrimental effects.
2026          (b) If a land use authority proposes reasonable conditions on a proposed conditional
2027     use, the land use authority shall ensure that the conditions are stated on the record and
2028     reasonably relate to mitigating the anticipated detrimental effects of the proposed use.
2029          (c) If the reasonably anticipated detrimental effects of a proposed conditional use
2030     cannot be substantially mitigated by the proposal or the imposition of reasonable conditions to
2031     achieve compliance with applicable standards, the land use authority may deny the conditional
2032     use.
2033          (3) A land use authority's decision to approve or deny a conditional use is an
2034     administrative land use decision.
2035          (4) A legislative body shall classify any use that a land use regulation allows in a
2036     zoning district as either a permitted or conditional use under this chapter.
2037          Section 34. Section 17-27a-508 is amended to read:
2038          17-27a-508. Applicant's entitlement to land use application approval --
2039     Application relating to land in a high priority transportation corridor -- County's
2040     requirements and limitations -- Vesting upon submission of development plan and

2041     schedule.
2042          (1) (a) (i) An applicant who has submitted a complete land use application, including
2043     the payment of all application fees, is entitled to substantive review of the application under the
2044     land use regulations:
2045          (A) in effect on the date that the application is complete; and
2046          (B) applicable to the application or to the information shown on the submitted
2047     application.
2048          (ii) An applicant is entitled to approval of a land use application if the application
2049     conforms to the requirements of the applicable land use regulations, land use decisions, and
2050     development standards in effect when the applicant submits a complete application and pays all
2051     application fees, unless:
2052          (A) the land use authority, on the record, formally finds that a compelling,
2053     countervailing public interest would be jeopardized by approving the application and specifies
2054     the compelling, countervailing public interest in writing; or
2055          (B) in the manner provided by local ordinance and before the applicant submits the
2056     application, the county formally initiates proceedings to amend the county's land use
2057     regulations in a manner that would prohibit approval of the application as submitted.
2058          (b) The county shall process an application without regard to proceedings the county
2059     initiated to amend the county's ordinances as described in Subsection (1)(a)(ii)(B) if:
2060          (i) 180 days have passed since the county initiated the proceedings; and
2061          (ii) the proceedings have not resulted in an enactment that prohibits approval of the
2062     application as submitted.
2063          (c) A land use application is considered submitted and complete when the applicant
2064     provides the application in a form that complies with the requirements of applicable ordinances
2065     and pays all applicable fees.
2066          (d) The continuing validity of an approval of a land use application is conditioned upon
2067     the applicant proceeding after approval to implement the approval with reasonable diligence.
2068          (e) A county may not impose on an applicant who has submitted a complete
2069     application [for preliminary subdivision approval] a requirement that is not expressed:
2070          (i) in this chapter;
2071          (ii) in a county ordinance; or

2072          (iii) in a county specification for public improvements applicable to a subdivision or
2073     development that is in effect on the date that the applicant submits an application.
2074          (f) A county may not impose on a holder of an issued land use permit or a final,
2075     unexpired subdivision plat a requirement that is not expressed:
2076          (i) in a land use permit;
2077          (ii) on the subdivision plat;
2078          (iii) in a document on which the land use permit or subdivision plat is based;
2079          (iv) in the written record evidencing approval of the land use permit or subdivision
2080     plat;
2081          (v) in this chapter; or
2082          (vi) in a county ordinance.
2083          (g) [A] Except as provided in Subsection (1)(h), a county may not withhold issuance of
2084     a certificate of occupancy or acceptance of subdivision improvements because of an applicant's
2085     failure to comply with a requirement that is not expressed:
2086          (i) in the building permit or subdivision plat, documents on which the building permit
2087     or subdivision plat is based, or the written record evidencing approval of the building permit or
2088     subdivision plat; or
2089          (ii) in this chapter or the county's ordinances.
2090          (h) A county may not unreasonably withhold issuance of a certificate of occupancy
2091     where an applicant has met all requirements essential for the public health, public safety, and
2092     general welfare of the occupants, in accordance with this chapter, unless:
2093          (i) the applicant and the county have agreed in a written document to the withholding
2094     of a certificate of occupancy; or
2095          (ii) the applicant has not provided a financial assurance for required and uncompleted
2096     landscaping or infrastructure improvements in accordance with an applicable ordinance that the
2097     legislative body adopts under this chapter.
2098          (2) A county is bound by the terms and standards of applicable land use regulations and
2099     shall comply with mandatory provisions of those regulations.
2100          (3) A county may not, as a condition of land use application approval, require a person
2101     filing a land use application to obtain documentation regarding a school district's willingness,
2102     capacity, or ability to serve the development proposed in the land use application.

2103          (4) Upon a specified public agency's submission of a development plan and schedule as
2104     required in Subsection 17-27a-305(8) that complies with the requirements of that subsection,
2105     the specified public agency vests in the county's applicable land use maps, zoning map, hookup
2106     fees, impact fees, other applicable development fees, and land use regulations in effect on the
2107     date of submission.
2108          Section 35. Section 17-27a-509.5 is amended to read:
2109          17-27a-509.5. Review for application completeness -- Substantive application
2110     review -- Reasonable diligence required for determination of whether improvements or
2111     warranty work meets standards -- Money damages claim prohibited.
2112          (1) (a) Each county shall, in a timely manner, determine whether [an] a land use
2113     application is complete for the purposes of subsequent, substantive land use authority review.
2114          (b) After a reasonable period of time to allow the county diligently to evaluate whether
2115     all objective ordinance-based application criteria have been met, if application fees have been
2116     paid, the applicant may in writing request that the county provide a written determination either
2117     that the application is:
2118          (i) complete for the purposes of allowing subsequent, substantive land use authority
2119     review; or
2120          (ii) deficient with respect to a specific, objective, ordinance-based application
2121     requirement.
2122          (c) Within 30 days of receipt of an applicant's request under this section, the county
2123     shall either:
2124          (i) mail a written notice to the applicant advising that the application is deficient with
2125     respect to a specified, objective, ordinance-based criterion, and stating that the application must
2126     be supplemented by specific additional information identified in the notice; or
2127          (ii) accept the application as complete for the purposes of further substantive
2128     processing by the land use authority.
2129          (d) If the notice required by Subsection (1)(c)(i) is not timely mailed, the application
2130     shall be considered complete, for purposes of further substantive land use authority review.
2131          (e) (i) The applicant may raise and resolve in a single appeal any determination made
2132     under this Subsection (1) to the appeal authority, including an allegation that a reasonable
2133     period of time has elapsed under Subsection (1)(a).

2134          (ii) The appeal authority shall issue a written decision for any appeal requested under
2135     this Subsection (1)(e).
2136          (f) (i) The applicant may appeal to district court the decision of the appeal authority
2137     made under Subsection (1)(e).
2138          (ii) Each appeal under Subsection (1)(f)(i) shall be made within 30 days of the date of
2139     the written decision.
2140          (2) (a) Each land use authority shall substantively review a complete application and an
2141     application considered complete under Subsection (1)(d), and shall approve or deny each
2142     application with reasonable diligence.
2143          (b) After a reasonable period of time to allow the land use authority to consider an
2144     application, the applicant may in writing request that the land use authority take final action
2145     within 45 days from date of service of the written request.
2146          (c) Within 45 days from the date of service of the written request described in
2147     Subsection (2)(b):
2148          (i) [The] except as provided in Subsection (2)(c)(ii), the land use authority shall take
2149     final action, approving or denying the application [within 45 days of the written request.]; and
2150          (ii) if a landowner petitions for a land use regulation, a legislative body shall take final
2151     action by approving or denying the petition.
2152          (d) If the land use authority denies an application processed under the mandates of
2153     Subsection (2)(b), or if the applicant has requested a written decision in the application, the
2154     land use authority shall include its reasons for denial in writing, on the record, which may
2155     include the official minutes of the meeting in which the decision was rendered.
2156          (e) If the land use authority fails to comply with Subsection (2)(c), the applicant may
2157     appeal this failure to district court within 30 days of the date on which the land use authority
2158     should have taken final action under Subsection (2)(c).
2159          (3) (a) With reasonable diligence, each land use authority shall determine whether the
2160     installation of required subdivision improvements or the performance of warranty work meets
2161     the county's adopted standards.
2162          (b) (i) An applicant may in writing request the land use authority to accept or reject the
2163     applicant's installation of required subdivision improvements or performance of warranty work.
2164          (ii) The land use authority shall accept or reject subdivision improvements within 15

2165     days after receiving an applicant's written request under Subsection (3)(b)(i), or as soon as
2166     practicable after that 15-day period if inspection of the subdivision improvements is impeded
2167     by winter weather conditions.
2168          (iii) The land use authority shall accept or reject the performance of warranty work
2169     within 45 days after receiving an applicant's written request under Subsection (3)(b)(i), or as
2170     soon as practicable after that 45-day period if inspection of the warranty work is impeded by
2171     winter weather conditions.
2172          (c) If a land use authority determines that the installation of required subdivision
2173     improvements or the performance of warranty work does not meet the county's adopted
2174     standards, the land use authority shall comprehensively and with specificity list the reasons for
2175     [its] the land use authority's determination.
2176          (4) Subject to Section 17-27a-508, nothing in this section and no action or inaction of
2177     the land use authority relieves an applicant's duty to comply with all applicable substantive
2178     ordinances and regulations.
2179          (5) There shall be no money damages remedy arising from a claim under this section.
2180          Section 36. Section 17-27a-601 is amended to read:
2181          17-27a-601. Enactment of subdivision ordinance.
2182          (1) The legislative body of a county may enact ordinances requiring that a subdivision
2183     plat comply with the provisions of the [ordinance] county's ordinances and this part before:
2184          (a) [it] the subdivision plat may be filed [or] and recorded in the county recorder's
2185     office; and
2186          (b) lots may be sold.
2187          (2) If the legislative body fails to enact a subdivision ordinance, the county may
2188     regulate subdivisions only as provided in this part.
2189          Section 37. Section 17-27a-602 is amended to read:
2190          17-27a-602. Planning commission preparation and recommendation of
2191     subdivision ordinance -- Adoption or rejection by legislative body.
2192          (1) [The] A planning commission shall:
2193          (a) [prepare and recommend a] review and provide a recommendation to the legislative
2194     body on any proposed ordinance [to the legislative body] that regulates the subdivision of land
2195     in the municipality;

2196          (b) [prepare and recommend or consider and recommend a] review and make a
2197     recommendation to the legislative body on any proposed ordinance that amends the regulation
2198     of the subdivision of the unincorporated land in the county or, in the case of a mountainous
2199     planning district, the mountainous planning district;
2200          (c) provide notice consistent with Section 17-27a-205; and
2201          (d) hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance before making [its] the planning
2202     commission's final recommendation to the legislative body.
2203          (2) (a) [The county] A legislative body may adopt, modify, revise, or reject [the] an
2204     ordinance [either as proposed by] described in Subsection (1) that the planning commission [or
2205     after making any revision the county legislative body considers appropriate] recommends.
2206          (b) A legislative body may consider a planning commission's failure to make a timely
2207     recommendation as a negative recommendation if the legislative body has provided for that
2208     consideration by ordinance.
2209          Section 38. Section 17-27a-603 is amended to read:
2210          17-27a-603. Plat required when land is subdivided -- Approval of plat -- Owner
2211     acknowledgment, surveyor certification, and underground utility facility owner
2212     verification of plat -- Recording plat.
2213          (1) Unless exempt under Section 17-27a-605 or excluded from the definition of
2214     subdivision under Section 17-27a-103, whenever any land is laid out and platted, the owner of
2215     the land shall provide an accurate plat that describes or specifies:
2216          (a) a subdivision name that is distinct from any subdivision name on a plat recorded in
2217     the county recorder's office;
2218          (b) the boundaries, course, and dimensions of all of the parcels of ground divided, by
2219     their boundaries, course, and extent, whether the owner proposes that any parcel of ground is
2220     intended to be used as a street or for any other public use, and whether any such area is
2221     reserved or proposed for dedication for a public purpose;
2222          (c) the lot or unit reference, block or building reference, street or site address, street
2223     name or coordinate address, acreage or square footage for all parcels, units, or lots, and length
2224     and width of the blocks and lots intended for sale; and
2225          (d) every existing right-of-way and easement grant of record for an underground
2226     facility, as defined in Section 54-8a-2, and for any other utility facility.

2227          (2) (a) Subject to Subsections (3), (4), and (5), if the plat conforms to the county's
2228     ordinances and this part and has been approved by the culinary water authority, the sanitary
2229     sewer authority, and the local health department, as defined in Section 26A-1-102, if the local
2230     health department and the county consider the local health department's approval necessary, the
2231     county shall approve the plat.
2232          (b) Counties are encouraged to receive a recommendation from the fire authority before
2233     approving a plat.
2234          (c) A county may not require that a plat be approved or signed by a person or entity
2235     who:
2236          (i) is not an employee or agent of the county; or
2237          (ii) does not:
2238          (A) have a legal or equitable interest in the property within the proposed subdivision;
2239          (B) provide a utility or other service directly to a lot within the subdivision;
2240          (C) own an easement or right-of-way adjacent to the proposed subdivision who signs
2241     for the purpose of confirming the accuracy of the location of the easement or right-of-way in
2242     relation to the plat; or
2243          (D) provide culinary public water service whose source protection zone designated as
2244     provided in Section 19-4-113 is included, in whole or in part, within the proposed subdivision.
2245          (d) For a subdivision application that includes land located within a notification zone,
2246     as determined under Subsection (2)[(e)](f), the land use authority shall:
2247          (i) within 20 days after the day on which a complete subdivision application is filed,
2248     provide written notice of the application to the canal owner or associated canal operator contact
2249     described in:
2250          (A) Section 17-27a-211;
2251          (B) Subsection 73-5-7(2); or
2252          (C) Subsection (4)(c); and
2253          (ii) wait to approve or reject the subdivision application for at least 20 days after the
2254     day on which the land use authority mails the notice under Subsection (2)(d)(i) in order to
2255     receive input from the canal owner or associated canal operator, including input regarding:
2256          (A) access to the canal;
2257          (B) maintenance of the canal;

2258          (C) canal protection; and
2259          (D) canal safety.
2260          (e) When applicable, the subdivision applicant shall comply with Section 73-1-15.5.
2261          [(e)] (f) The land use authority shall provide the notice described in Subsection (2)(d)
2262     to a canal owner or associated canal operator if:
2263          (i) the canal's centerline is located within 100 feet of a proposed subdivision; and
2264          (ii) the centerline alignment is available to the land use authority:
2265          (A) from information provided by the canal company under Section 17-27a-211 using
2266     mapping-grade global positioning satellite units or digitized data from the most recent aerial
2267     photo available to the canal owner or canal operator;
2268          (B) using the state engineer's inventory of canals under Section 73-5-7; or
2269          (C) from information provided by a surveyor under Subsection (4)(c).
2270          (3) The county may withhold an otherwise valid plat approval until the owner of the
2271     land provides the legislative body with a tax clearance indicating that all taxes, interest, and
2272     penalties owing on the land have been paid.
2273          (4) (a) A [plat may not be submitted to a] county recorder [for recording] may not
2274     record a plat unless, subject to Subsection 17-27a-604(2):
2275          (i) prior to recordation, the county has approved and signed the plat;
2276          (ii) each owner of record of land described on the plat has signed the owner's
2277     dedication as shown on the plat; and
2278          [(ii)] (iii) the signature of each owner described in Subsection [(4)(a)(i)] (4)(a)(ii) is
2279     acknowledged as provided by law.
2280          (b) The surveyor making the plat shall certify that the surveyor:
2281          (i) holds a license in accordance with Title 58, Chapter 22, Professional Engineers and
2282     Professional Land Surveyors Licensing Act;
2283          (ii) has completed a survey of the property described on the plat in accordance with
2284     Section 17-23-17 and has verified all measurements; and
2285          (iii) has placed monuments as represented on the plat.
2286          (c) (i) To the extent possible, the surveyor shall consult with the owner or operator of
2287     an existing or proposed underground facility or utility facility within the proposed subdivision,
2288     or a representative designated by the owner or operator, to verify the accuracy of the surveyor's

2289     depiction of the:
2290          (A) boundary, course, dimensions, and intended use of the public rights-of-way, a
2291     public or private easement, or grants of record;
2292          (B) location of an existing underground facility and utility facility; and
2293          (C) physical restrictions governing the location of the underground facility and utility
2294     facility within the subdivision.
2295          (ii) The cooperation of an owner or operator under Subsection (4)(c)(i):
2296          (A) indicates only that the plat approximates the location of the existing underground
2297     and utility facilities but does not warrant or verify their precise location; and
2298          (B) does not affect a right that the owner or operator has under[: (I)] Title 54, Chapter
2299     8a, Damage to Underground Utility Facilities[; (II)], a recorded easement or right-of-way[;
2300     (III)], the law applicable to prescriptive rights[; or (IV)], or any other provision of law.
2301          (5) (a) [After] Except as provided in Subsection (4)(c), after the plat has been
2302     acknowledged, certified, and approved, the [owner of the land] individual seeking to record the
2303     plat shall, within the time period and manner designated by ordinance, record the plat in the
2304     county recorder's office in the county in which the lands platted and laid out are situated.
2305          (b) [An owner's] A failure to record a plat within the time period designated by
2306     ordinance renders the plat voidable.
2307          Section 39. Section 17-27a-604.5 is amended to read:
2308          17-27a-604.5. Subdivision plat recording or development activity before required
2309     infrastructure is completed -- Improvement completion assurance -- Improvement
2310     warranty.
2311          (1) A land use authority shall establish objective inspection standards for acceptance of
2312     a required landscaping or infrastructure improvement.
2313          (2) (a) Before an applicant conducts any development activity or records a plat, the
2314     applicant shall:
2315          (i) complete any required landscaping or infrastructure improvements; or
2316          (ii) post an improvement completion assurance for any required landscaping or
2317     infrastructure improvements.
2318          (b) If an applicant elects to post an improvement completion assurance, the applicant
2319     shall [ensure that the] provide completion assurance for:

2320          (i) [provides for] completion of 100% of the required landscaping or infrastructure
2321     improvements; or
2322          (ii) if the county has inspected and accepted a portion of the landscaping or
2323     infrastructure improvements, [provides for completion of] 100% of the incomplete or
2324     unaccepted landscaping or infrastructure improvements.
2325          (c) A county shall:
2326          (i) establish a minimum of two acceptable forms of completion assurance;
2327          [(i)] (ii) if an applicant elects to post an improvement completion assurance, allow the
2328     applicant to post an assurance that meets the conditions of this title, and any local ordinances;
2329          [(ii)] (iii) establish a system for the partial release of an improvement completion
2330     assurance as portions of required landscaping or infrastructure improvements are completed
2331     and accepted in accordance with local ordinance; and
2332          [(iii)] (iv) issue or deny a building permit in accordance with Section 17-27a-802 based
2333     on the installation of landscaping or infrastructure improvements.
2334          (d) A county may not require an applicant to post an improvement completion
2335     assurance for:
2336          (i) landscaping or an infrastructure improvement that the county has previously
2337     inspected and accepted[.];
2338          (ii) infrastructure improvements that are private and not essential or required to meet
2339     the building code, fire code, flood or storm water management provisions, street and access
2340     requirements, or other essential necessary public safety improvements adopted in a land use
2341     regulation; or
2342          (iii) in a municipality where ordinances require all infrastructure improvements within
2343     the area to be private, infrastructure improvements within a development that the municipality
2344     requires to be private.
2345          (3) At any time before a county accepts a landscaping or infrastructure improvement,
2346     and for the duration of each improvement warranty period, the land use authority may require
2347     the applicant to:
2348          (a) execute an improvement warranty for the improvement warranty period; and
2349          (b) post a cash deposit, surety bond, letter of credit, or other similar security, as
2350     required by the county, in the amount of up to 10% of the lesser of the:

2351          (i) county engineer's original estimated cost of completion; or
2352          (ii) applicant's reasonable proven cost of completion.
2353          (4) When a county accepts an improvement completion assurance for landscaping or
2354     infrastructure improvements for a development in accordance with Subsection (2)(c)[(i)](ii),
2355     the county may not deny an applicant a building permit if the development meets the
2356     requirements for the issuance of a building permit under the building code and fire code.
2357          (5) The provisions of this section do not supersede the terms of a valid development
2358     agreement, an adopted phasing plan, or the state construction code.
2359          Section 40. Section 17-27a-605 is amended to read:
2360          17-27a-605. Exemptions from plat requirement.
2361          (1) Notwithstanding Sections 17-27a-603 and 17-27a-604, [the land use authority] a
2362     county may establish a process to approve an administrative land use decision for the
2363     subdivision of unincorporated land or mountainous planning district land into 10 lots or less
2364     without a plat, by certifying in writing that:
2365          (a) the county has provided notice as required by ordinance; and
2366          (b) the proposed subdivision:
2367          (i) is not traversed by the mapped lines of a proposed street as shown in the general
2368     plan [and does not require the dedication of any land for street or other] unless the county has
2369     approved the location and dedication of any public street, county utility easement, any other
2370     easement, or any other land for public purposes as the county's ordinance requires;
2371          (ii) has been approved by the culinary water authority and the sanitary sewer authority;
2372          (iii) is located in a zoned area; and
2373          (iv) conforms to all applicable land use ordinances or has properly received a variance
2374     from the requirements of an otherwise conflicting and applicable land use ordinance.
2375          (2) (a) Subject to Subsection (1), a lot or parcel resulting from a division of agricultural
2376     land is exempt from the plat requirements of Section 17-27a-603 if:
2377          (i) the lot or parcel:
2378          (A) qualifies as land in agricultural use under Section 59-2-502; and
2379          (B) is not used and will not be used for any nonagricultural purpose; and
2380          (ii) the new owner of record completes, signs, and records with the county recorder a
2381     notice:

2382          (A) describing the parcel by legal description; and
2383          (B) stating that the lot or parcel is created for agricultural purposes as defined in
2384     Section 59-2-502 and will remain so until a future zoning change permits other uses.
2385          (b) If a lot or parcel exempted under Subsection (2)(a) is used for a nonagricultural
2386     purpose, the county shall require the lot or parcel to comply with the requirements of Section
2387     17-27a-603 and all applicable land use ordinance requirements.
2388          (3) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (4), a document recorded in the county
2389     recorder's office that divides property by a metes and bounds description does not create an
2390     approved subdivision allowed by this part unless the land use authority's certificate of written
2391     approval required by Subsection (1) is attached to the document.
2392          (b) The absence of the certificate or written approval required by Subsection (1) does
2393     not:
2394          (i) prohibit the county recorder from recording a document; or
2395          (ii) affect the validity of a recorded document.
2396          (c) A document which does not meet the requirements of Subsection (1) may be
2397     corrected by the recording of an affidavit to which the required certificate or written approval is
2398     attached [in accordance] and that complies with Section 57-3-106.
2399          (4) (a) As used in this Subsection (4):
2400          (i) "Divided land" means land that:
2401          (A) is described as the land to be divided in a notice under Subsection (4)(b)(ii); and
2402          (B) has been divided by a minor subdivision.
2403          (ii) "Land to be divided" means land that is proposed to be divided by a minor
2404     subdivision.
2405          (iii) "Minor subdivision" means a division of at least 100 contiguous acres of
2406     agricultural land in a county of the third, fourth, fifth, or sixth class to create one new lot that,
2407     after the division, is separate from the remainder of the original 100 or more contiguous acres
2408     of agricultural land.
2409          (iv) "Minor subdivision lot" means a lot created by a minor subdivision.
2410          (b) Notwithstanding Sections 17-27a-603 and 17-27a-604, an owner of at least 100
2411     contiguous acres of agricultural land may make a minor subdivision by submitting for
2412     recording in the office of the recorder of the county in which the land to be divided is located:

2413          (i) a recordable deed containing the legal description of the minor subdivision lot; and
2414          (ii) a notice:
2415          (A) indicating that the owner of the land to be divided is making a minor subdivision;
2416          (B) referring specifically to this section as the authority for making the minor
2417     subdivision; and
2418          (C) containing the legal description of:
2419          (I) the land to be divided; and
2420          (II) the minor subdivision lot.
2421          (c) A minor subdivision lot:
2422          (i) may not be less than one acre in size;
2423          (ii) may not be within 1,000 feet of another minor subdivision lot; and
2424          (iii) is not subject to the subdivision ordinance of the county in which the minor
2425     subdivision lot is located.
2426          (d) Land to be divided by a minor subdivision may not include divided land.
2427          (e) A county:
2428          (i) may not deny a building permit to an owner of a minor subdivision lot based on:
2429          (A) the lot's status as a minor subdivision lot; or
2430          (B) the absence of standards described in Subsection (4)(e)(ii); and
2431          (ii) may, in connection with the issuance of a building permit, subject a minor
2432     subdivision lot to reasonable health, safety, and access standards that the county has established
2433     and made public.
2434          (5) (a) Notwithstanding Sections 17-27a-603 and 17-27a-604, and subject to
2435     Subsection (1), the legislative body of a county may enact an ordinance allowing the
2436     subdivision of a parcel, without complying with the plat requirements of Section 17-27a-603,
2437     if:
2438          (i) the parcel contains an existing legal single family dwelling unit;
2439          (ii) the subdivision results in two parcels, one of which is agricultural land;
2440          (iii) the parcel of agricultural land:
2441          (A) qualifies as land in agricultural use under Section 59-2-502; and
2442          (B) is not used, and will not be used, for a nonagricultural purpose;
2443          (iv) both the parcel with an existing legal single family dwelling unit and the parcel of

2444     agricultural land meet the minimum area, width, frontage, and setback requirements of the
2445     applicable zoning designation in the applicable land use ordinance; and
2446          (v) the owner of record completes, signs, and records with the county recorder a notice:
2447          (A) describing the parcel of agricultural land by legal description; and
2448          (B) stating that the parcel of agricultural land is created as land in agricultural use, as
2449     defined in Section 59-2-502, and will remain as land in agricultural use until a future zoning
2450     change permits another use.
2451          (b) If a parcel of agricultural land divided from another parcel under Subsection (5)(a)
2452     is later used for a nonagricultural purpose, the exemption provided in Subsection (5)(a) no
2453     longer applies, and the county shall require the owner of the parcel to:
2454          (i) retroactively comply with the subdivision plat requirements of Section 17-27a-603;
2455     and
2456          (ii) comply with all applicable land use ordinance requirements.
2457          Section 41. Section 17-27a-607 is amended to read:
2458          17-27a-607. Dedication by plat of public streets and other public places.
2459          (1) A plat that is signed, dedicated, and acknowledged by each owner of record, and
2460     approved according to the procedures specified in this part, operates, when recorded, as a
2461     dedication of all public streets and other public places, and vests the fee of those parcels of land
2462     in the county for the public for the uses named or intended in the plat.
2463          (2) The dedication established by this section does not impose liability upon the county
2464     for public streets and other public places that are dedicated in this manner but are unimproved
2465     unless:
2466          (a) adequate financial assurance has been provided in accordance with this chapter; and
2467          (b) the county has accepted the dedication.
2468          Section 42. Section 17-27a-608 is amended to read:
2469          17-27a-608. Vacating or amending a subdivision plat.
2470          (1) (a) A fee owner of land, as shown on the last county assessment roll, in a
2471     subdivision that has been laid out and platted as provided in this part may file a written petition
2472     with the land use authority to have some or all of the plat vacated or amended.
2473          (b) If a petition is filed under Subsection (1)(a), the land use authority shall provide
2474     notice of the petition by mail, email, or other effective means to each affected entity that

2475     provides a service to an owner of record of the portion of the plat that is being vacated or
2476     amended at least 10 calendar days before the land use authority may approve the vacation or
2477     amendment of the plat.
2478          (c) If a petition is filed under Subsection (1)(a), the land use authority shall hold a
2479     public hearing within 45 days after the day on which the petition is filed if:
2480          (i) any owner within the plat notifies the county of the owner's objection in writing
2481     within 10 days of mailed notification; or
2482          (ii) a public hearing is required because all of the owners in the subdivision have not
2483     signed the revised plat.
2484          (2) Unless a local ordinance provides otherwise, the public hearing requirement of
2485     Subsection (1)(c) does not apply and a land use authority may consider at a public meeting an
2486     owner's petition to vacate or amend a subdivision plat if:
2487          (a) the petition seeks to:
2488          (i) join two or more of the petitioning fee owner's contiguous lots;
2489          (ii) subdivide one or more of the petitioning fee owner's lots, if the subdivision will not
2490     result in a violation of a land use ordinance or a development condition;
2491          (iii) adjust the lot lines of adjoining lots or parcels if the fee owners of each of the
2492     adjoining lots or parcels join the petition, regardless of whether the lots or parcels are located in
2493     the same subdivision;
2494          (iv) on a lot owned by the petitioning fee owner, adjust an internal lot restriction
2495     imposed by the local political subdivision; or
2496          (v) alter the plat in a manner that does not change existing boundaries or other
2497     attributes of lots within the subdivision that are not:
2498          (A) owned by the petitioner; or
2499          (B) designated as a common area; and
2500          (b) notice has been given to adjacent property owners in accordance with any
2501     applicable local ordinance.
2502          (3) Each request to vacate or amend a plat that contains a request to vacate or amend a
2503     public street[, right-of-way,] or county utility easement is also subject to Section 17-27a-609.5.
2504          (4) Each petition to vacate or amend an entire plat or a portion of a plat shall include:
2505          (a) the name and address of each owner of record of the land contained in:

2506          (i) the entire plat; or
2507          (ii) that portion of the plan described in the petition; and
2508          (b) the signature of each owner who consents to the petition.
2509          (5) (a) The owners of record of adjacent parcels that are described by either a metes
2510     and bounds description or by a recorded plat may exchange title to portions of those parcels if
2511     the exchange of title is approved by the land use authority in accordance with Subsection
2512     (5)(b).
2513          (b) The land use authority shall approve an exchange of title under Subsection (5)(a) if
2514     the exchange of title will not result in a violation of any land use ordinance.
2515          (c) If an exchange of title is approved under Subsection (5)(b):
2516          (i) a notice of approval shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder which:
2517          (A) is executed by each owner included in the exchange and by the land use authority;
2518          (B) contains an acknowledgment for each party executing the notice in accordance with
2519     the provisions of Title 57, Chapter 2a, Recognition of Acknowledgments Act; and
2520          (C) recites the descriptions of both the original parcels and the parcels created by the
2521     exchange of title; and
2522          (ii) a document of conveyance of title reflecting the approved change shall be recorded
2523     in the office of the county recorder.
2524          (d) A notice of approval recorded under this Subsection (5) does not act as a
2525     conveyance of title to real property and is not required to record a document conveying title to
2526     real property.
2527          (6) (a) The name of a recorded subdivision may be changed by recording an amended
2528     plat making that change, as provided in this section and subject to Subsection (6)(c).
2529          (b) The surveyor preparing the amended plat shall certify that the surveyor:
2530          (i) holds a license in accordance with Title 58, Chapter 22, Professional Engineers and
2531     Professional Land Surveyors Licensing Act;
2532          (ii) has completed a survey of the property described on the plat in accordance with
2533     Section 17-23-17 and has verified all measurements; and
2534          (iii) has placed monuments as represented on the plat.
2535          (c) An owner of land may not submit for recording an amended plat that gives the
2536     subdivision described in the amended plat the same name as a subdivision recorded in the

2537     county recorder's office.
2538          (d) Except as provided in Subsection (6)(a), the recording of a declaration or other
2539     document that purports to change the name of a recorded plat is void.
2540          Section 43. Section 17-27a-609 is amended to read:
2541          17-27a-609. Land use authority approval of vacation or amendment of plat --
2542     Recording the amended plat.
2543          (1) The land use authority may approve the vacation or amendment of a plat by signing
2544     an amended plat showing the vacation or amendment if the land use authority finds that:
2545          (a) there is good cause for the vacation or amendment; and
2546          (b) no public street[, right-of-way,] or county utility easement has been vacated or
2547     amended.
2548          (2) (a) The land use authority shall ensure that the amended plat showing the vacation
2549     or amendment is recorded in the office of the county recorder in which the land is located.
2550          (b) If the amended plat is approved and recorded in accordance with this section, the
2551     recorded plat shall vacate, supersede, and replace any contrary provision in a previously
2552     recorded plat of the same land.
2553          (3) (a) A legislative body may vacate a subdivision or a portion of a subdivision by
2554     recording in the county recorder's office an ordinance describing the subdivision or the portion
2555     being vacated.
2556          (b) The recorded vacating ordinance shall replace a previously recorded plat described
2557     in the vacating ordinance.
2558          (4) An amended plat may not be submitted to the county recorder for recording unless
2559     it is:
2560          (a) signed by the land use authority; and
2561          (b) signed, acknowledged, and dedicated by each owner of record of the portion of the
2562     plat that is amended.
2563          (5) A management committee may sign and dedicate an amended plat as provided in
2564     Title 57, Chapter 8, Condominium Ownership Act.
2565          (6) A plat may be corrected as provided in Section 57-3-106.
2566          Section 44. Section 17-27a-609.5 is amended to read:
2567          17-27a-609.5. Petition to vacate a public street.

2568          (1) In lieu of vacating some or all of a public street through a plat or amended plat in
2569     accordance with Sections 17-27a-603 through 17-27a-609, a legislative body may approve a
2570     petition to vacate a public street in accordance with this section.
2571          [(1)] (2) A petition to vacate some or all of a public street[, right-of-way,] or county
2572     utility easement shall include:
2573          (a) the name and address of each owner of record of land that is:
2574          (i) adjacent to the public street[, right-of-way,] or county utility easement between the
2575     two nearest public street intersections; or
2576          (ii) accessed exclusively by or within 300 feet of the public street[, right-of-way,] or
2577     county utility easement; [and]
2578          (b) proof of written notice to operators of utilities located within the bounds of the
2579     public street or county utility easement sought to be vacated; and
2580          [(b)] (c) the signature of each owner under Subsection [(1)] (2)(a) who consents to the
2581     vacation.
2582          [(2)] (3) If a petition is submitted containing a request to vacate some or all of a public
2583     street[, right-of-way,] or county utility easement, the legislative body shall hold a public
2584     hearing in accordance with Section 17-27a-208 and determine whether:
2585          (a) good cause exists for the vacation; and
2586          (b) the public interest or any person will be materially injured by the proposed
2587     vacation.
2588          [(3)] (4) The legislative body may adopt an ordinance granting a petition to vacate
2589     some or all of a public street[, right-of-way,] or county utility easement if the legislative body
2590     finds that:
2591          (a) good cause exists for the vacation; and
2592          (b) neither the public interest nor any person will be materially injured by the vacation.
2593          [(4)] (5) If the legislative body adopts an ordinance vacating some or all of a public
2594     street[, right-of-way,] or county utility easement, the legislative body shall ensure that one or
2595     both of the following is recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the land is
2596     located:
2597          (a) a plat reflecting the vacation; or
2598          (b) (i) an ordinance described in Subsection [(3)] (4); and

2599          (ii) a legal description of the public street to be vacated.
2600          [(5)] (6) The action of the legislative body vacating some or all of a public street[,
2601     right-of-way,] or county utility easement that has been dedicated to public use:
2602          (a) operates to the extent to which it is vacated, upon the effective date of the recorded
2603     plat or ordinance, as a revocation of the acceptance of and the relinquishment of the county's
2604     fee in the vacated street, right-of-way, or easement; and
2605          (b) may not be construed to impair:
2606          (i) any right-of-way or easement of any lot owner; or
2607          (ii) the [franchise] rights of any public utility.
2608          (7) (a) A county may submit a petition, in accordance with Subsection (2), and initiate
2609     and complete a process to vacate some or all of a public street.
2610          (b) If a county submits a petition and initiates a process under Subsection (7)(a):
2611          (i) the legislative body shall hold a public hearing;
2612          (ii) the petition and process may not apply to or affect a public utility easement, except
2613     to the extent:
2614          (A) the easement is not a protected utility easement as defined in Section 54-3-27;
2615          (B) the easement is included within the public street; and
2616          (C) the notice to vacate the public street also contains a notice to vacate the easement;
2617     and
2618          (iii) a recorded ordinance to vacate a public street has the same legal effect as vacating
2619     a public street through a recorded plat or amended plat.
2620          Section 45. Section 17-27a-707 is amended to read:
2621          17-27a-707. Scope of review of factual matters on appeal -- Appeal authority
2622     requirements.
2623          (1) A county may, by ordinance, designate the scope of review of factual matters for
2624     appeals of land use authority decisions.
2625          (2) If the county fails to designate a scope of review of factual matters, the appeal
2626     authority shall review the matter de novo, without deference to the land use authority's
2627     determination of factual matters.
2628          (3) If the scope of review of factual matters is on the record, the appeal authority shall
2629     determine whether the record on appeal includes substantial evidence for each essential finding

2630     of fact.
2631          (4) The appeal authority shall:
2632          (a) determine the correctness of the land use authority's interpretation and application
2633     of the plain meaning of the land use regulations; and
2634          (b) interpret and apply a land use regulation to favor a land use application unless the
2635     land use regulation plainly restricts the land use application.
2636          (5) (a) An appeal authority's land use decision is a quasi-judicial act[, even if the appeal
2637     authority is the].
2638          (b) A legislative body may act as an appeal authority unless both the legislative body
2639     and the appealing party agree to allow a third party to act as the appeal authority.
2640          (6) Only a decision in which a land use authority has applied a land use regulation to a
2641     particular land use application, person, or parcel may be appealed to an appeal authority.
2642          Section 46. Section 17-27a-801 is amended to read:
2643          17-27a-801. No district court review until administrative remedies exhausted --
2644     Time for filing -- Tolling of time -- Standards governing court review -- Record on review
2645     -- Staying of decision.
2646          (1) No person may challenge in district court a land use decision until that person has
2647     exhausted the person's administrative remedies as provided in Part 7, Appeal Authority and
2648     Variances, if applicable.
2649          (2) (a) Any person adversely affected by a final decision made in the exercise of or in
2650     violation of the provisions of this chapter may file a petition for review of the decision with the
2651     district court within 30 days after the decision is final.
2652          (b) (i) The time under Subsection (2)(a) to file a petition is tolled from the date a
2653     property owner files a request for arbitration of a constitutional taking issue with the property
2654     rights ombudsman under Section 13-43-204 until 30 days after:
2655          (A) the arbitrator issues a final award; or
2656          (B) the property rights ombudsman issues a written statement under Subsection
2657     13-43-204(3)(b) declining to arbitrate or to appoint an arbitrator.
2658          (ii) A tolling under Subsection (2)(b)(i) operates only as to the specific constitutional
2659     taking issue that is the subject of the request for arbitration filed with the property rights
2660     ombudsman by a property owner.

2661          (iii) A request for arbitration filed with the property rights ombudsman after the time
2662     under Subsection (2)(a) to file a petition has expired does not affect the time to file a petition.
2663          (3) (a) A court shall:
2664          (i) presume that a land use regulation properly enacted under the authority of this
2665     chapter is valid; and
2666          (ii) determine only whether:
2667          (A) the land use regulation is expressly preempted by, or was enacted contrary to, state
2668     or federal law; and
2669          (B) it is reasonably debatable that the land use regulation is consistent with this
2670     chapter.
2671          (b) A court shall:
2672          (i) presume that a final decision of a land use authority or an appeal authority is valid;
2673     and
2674          (ii) uphold the decision unless the decision is:
2675          (A) arbitrary and capricious; or
2676          (B) illegal.
2677          (c) (i) A decision is arbitrary and capricious if the decision is not supported by
2678     substantial evidence in the record.
2679          (ii) A decision is illegal if the decision is:
2680          (A) based on an incorrect interpretation of a land use regulation; or
2681          (B) contrary to law.
2682          (d) (i) A court may affirm or reverse the decision of a land use authority.
2683          (ii) If the court reverses a denial of a land use application, the court shall remand the
2684     matter to the land use authority with instructions to issue an approval consistent with the court's
2685     decision.
2686          (4) The provisions of Subsection (2)(a) apply from the date on which the county takes
2687     final action on a land use application for any adversely affected third party, if the county
2688     conformed with the notice provisions of Part 2, Notice, or for any person who had actual notice
2689     of the pending decision.
2690          (5) If the county has complied with Section 17-27a-205, a challenge to the enactment
2691     of a land use regulation or general plan may not be filed with the district court more than 30

2692     days after the enactment.
2693          (6) A challenge to a land use decision is barred unless the challenge is filed within 30
2694     days after the land use decision is final.
2695          (7) (a) The land use authority or appeal authority, as the case may be, shall transmit to
2696     the reviewing court the record of its proceedings, including its minutes, findings, orders and, if
2697     available, a true and correct transcript of its proceedings.
2698          (b) If the proceeding was recorded, a transcript of that recording is a true and correct
2699     transcript for purposes of this Subsection (7).
2700          (8) (a) (i) If there is a record, the district court's review is limited to the record provided
2701     by the land use authority or appeal authority, as the case may be.
2702          (ii) The court may not accept or consider any evidence outside the record of the land
2703     use authority or appeal authority, as the case may be, unless that evidence was offered to the
2704     land use authority or appeal authority, respectively, and the court determines that it was
2705     improperly excluded.
2706          (b) If there is no record, the court may call witnesses and take evidence.
2707          (9) (a) The filing of a petition does not stay the decision of the land use authority or
2708     appeal authority, as the case may be.
2709          (b) (i) Before filing a petition under this section or a request for mediation or
2710     arbitration of a constitutional taking issue under Section 13-43-204, the aggrieved party may
2711     petition the appeal authority to stay its decision.
2712          (ii) Upon receipt of a petition to stay, the appeal authority may order its decision stayed
2713     pending district court review if the appeal authority finds it to be in the best interest of the
2714     county.
2715          (iii) After a petition is filed under this section or a request for mediation or arbitration
2716     of a constitutional taking issue is filed under Section 13-43-204, the petitioner may seek an
2717     injunction staying the appeal authority's decision.
2718          (10) If the court determines that a party initiated or pursued a challenge to the decision
2719     on a land use application in bad faith, the court may award attorney fees.
2720          Section 47. Section 17-27a-802 is amended to read:
2721          17-27a-802. Enforcement.
2722          (1) (a) A county or any adversely affected owner of real estate within the county in

2723     which violations of this chapter or ordinances enacted under the authority of this chapter occur
2724     or are about to occur may, in addition to other remedies provided by law, institute:
2725          (i) injunctions, mandamus, abatement, or any other appropriate actions; or
2726          (ii) proceedings to prevent, enjoin, abate, or remove the unlawful building, use, or act.
2727          (b) A county need only establish the violation to obtain the injunction.
2728          (2) (a) A county may enforce the county's ordinance by withholding a building permit.
2729          (b) It is unlawful to erect, construct, reconstruct, alter, or change the use of any
2730     building or other structure within a county without approval of a building permit.
2731          (c) The county may not issue a building permit unless the plans of and for the proposed
2732     erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, or use fully conform to all regulations then in
2733     effect.
2734          (d) A county may not deny an applicant a building permit or certificate of occupancy
2735     because the applicant has not completed an infrastructure improvement:
2736          (i) that is not essential to meet the requirements for the issuance of a building permit or
2737     certificate of occupancy under the building code and fire code; and
2738          (ii) for which the county has accepted an improvement completion assurance for
2739     landscaping or infrastructure improvements for the development.
2740          Section 48. Section 57-1-13 is amended to read:
2741          57-1-13. Form of quitclaim deed -- Effect.
2742          (1) A conveyance of land may also be substantially in the following form:
2743     
"QUITCLAIM DEED

2744          ____ (here insert name), grantor, of ____ (insert place of residence), hereby quitclaims
2745     to ____ (insert name), grantee, of ____ (here insert place of residence), for the sum of ____
2746     dollars, the following described tract ____ of land in ____ County, Utah, to wit: (here describe
2747     the premises).
2748          Witness the hand of said grantor this __________(month\day\year).
2749          A quitclaim deed when executed as required by law shall have the effect of a
2750     conveyance of all right, title, interest, and estate of the grantor in and to the premises therein
2751     described and all rights, privileges, and appurtenances thereunto belonging, at the date of the
2752     conveyance."
2753          (2) [For a] A boundary line agreement operating as a quitclaim deed [as] shall meet the

2754     requirements described in Section 57-1-45[, the boundary line agreement shall include, in
2755     addition to a legal description of the agreed upon boundary line:].
2756          [(a) the signature of each grantor;]
2757          [(b) a sufficient acknowledgment for each grantor's signature; and]
2758          [(c) the address of each grantee for assessment purposes.]
2759          Section 49. Section 57-1-45 is amended to read:
2760          57-1-45. Boundary line agreements.
2761          (1) If properly executed and acknowledged as required under this chapter, and when
2762     recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the property is located, an
2763     agreement between adjoining property owners [designating] of land that designates the
2764     boundary line between [their properties, when recorded in the office of the recorder of the
2765     county in which the property is located, shall act] the adjoining properties acts as a quitclaim
2766     deed [and] to convey all of each party's right, title, interest, and estate in property outside the
2767     agreed boundary line that had been the subject of the boundary line agreement or dispute that
2768     led to the boundary line agreement.
2769          (2) [A] Adjoining property owners executing a boundary line agreement described in
2770     Subsection (1) shall [include]:
2771          (a) ensure that the agreement includes:
2772          [(a)] (i) a legal description of the agreed upon boundary line;
2773          [(b)] (ii) the name and signature of each grantor that is party to the agreement;
2774          [(c)] (iii) a sufficient acknowledgment for each grantor's signature; [and]
2775          [(d)] (iv) the address of each grantee for assessment purposes[.];
2776          (v) the parcel or lot each grantor owns before the boundary line is changed;
2777          (vi) a statement citing the file number of a record of a survey map, as defined in
2778     Sections 10-9a-103 and 17-27a-103, that the parties prepare and file, in accordance with
2779     Section 17-23-17, in conjunction with the boundary line agreement; and
2780          (vii) the date of the agreement if the date is not included in the acknowledgment in a
2781     form substantially similar to a quitclaim deed as described in Section 57-1-13; and
2782          (b) prepare an amended plat in accordance with Title 10, Chapter 9a, Part 6,
2783     Subdivisions, or Title 17, Chapter 27a, Part 6, Subdivisions.
2784          (3) A boundary line agreement described in Subsection (1) that complies with

2785     Subsection (2) presumptively:
2786          (a) has no detrimental effect on any easement on the property that is recorded before
2787     the date on which the agreement is executed unless the owner of the property benefitting from
2788     the easement specifically modifies the easement within the boundary line agreement or a
2789     separate recorded easement modification or relinquishment document; and
2790          (b) relocates the parties' common boundary line for an exchange of consideration.
2791          (4) Notwithstanding Title 10, Chapter 9a, Part 6, Subdivisions, Title 17, Chapter 27a,
2792     Part 6, Subdivisions, or the local entity's ordinances or policies, a boundary line agreement is
2793     not subject to:
2794          (a) any public notice, public hearing, or preliminary platting requirement;
2795          (b) the local entity's planning commission review or recommendation; or
2796          (c) an engineering review or approval of the local entity.
2797          Section 50. Section 63I-2-217 is amended to read:
2798          63I-2-217. Repeal dates -- Title 17.
2799          (1) Subsection 17-27a-102(1)(b), the language that states "or a designated mountainous
2800     planning district" is repealed June 1, 2020.
2801          (2) (a) Subsection [17-27a-103(15)(b)] 17-27a-103(16)(b), regarding general plan
2802     guidelines for a mountainous planning district, is repealed June 1, 2020.
2803          (b) Subsection [17-27a-103(37)] 17-27a-103(39), regarding the definition of a
2804     "mountainous planning district," is repealed June 1, 2020.
2805          (3) Subsection 17-27a-210(2)(a), the language that states "or the mountainous planning
2806     district area" is repealed June 1, 2020.
2807          (4) (a) Subsection 17-27a-301(1)(b)(iii) is repealed June 1, 2020.
2808          (b) Subsection 17-27a-301(1)(c) is repealed June 1, 2020.
2809          (c) Subsection 17-27a-301(2)(a), the language that states "described in Subsection
2810     (1)(a) or (c)" is repealed June 1, 2020.
2811          (5) Subsection 17-27a-302(1), the language that states ", or mountainous planning
2812     district" and "or the mountainous planning district," is repealed June 1, 2020.
2813          (6) Subsection 17-27a-305(1)(a), the language that states "a mountainous planning
2814     district or" and ", as applicable" is repealed June 1, 2020.
2815          (7) (a) Subsection 17-27a-401(1)(b)(ii) is repealed June 1, 2020.

2816          (b) Subsection 17-27a-401(6) is repealed June 1, 2020.
2817          (8) (a) Subsection 17-27a-403(1)(b)(ii) is repealed June 1, 2020.
2818          (b) Subsection 17-27a-403(1)(c)(iii) is repealed June 1, 2020.
2819          (c) Subsection (2)(a)(iii), the language that states "or the mountainous planning
2820     district" is repealed June 1, 2020.
2821          (d) Subsection 17-27a-403(2)(c)(i), the language that states "or mountainous planning
2822     district" is repealed June 1, 2020.
2823          (9) Subsection 17-27a-502(1)(d)(i)(B) is repealed June 1, 2020.
2824          (10) Subsection 17-27a-505.5(2)(a)(iii) is repealed June 1, 2020.
2825          (11) Subsection 17-27a-602(1)(b), the language that states "or, in the case of a
2826     mountainous planning district, the mountainous planning district" is repealed June 1, 2020.
2827          (12) Subsection 17-27a-604(1)(b)(i)(B) is repealed June 1, 2020.
2828          (13) Subsection 17-27a-605(1), the language that states "or mountainous planning
2829     district land" is repealed June 1, 2020.
2830          (14) Title 17, Chapter 27a, Part 9, Mountainous Planning District, is repealed June 1,
2831     2020.
2832          (15) On June 1, 2020, when making the changes in this section, the Office of
2833     Legislative Research and General Counsel shall:
2834          (a) in addition to its authority under Subsection 36-12-12(3), make corrections
2835     necessary to ensure that sections and subsections identified in this section are complete
2836     sentences and accurately reflect the office's understanding of the Legislature's intent; and
2837          (b) identify the text of the affected sections and subsections based upon the section and
2838     subsection numbers used in Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 448.
2839          (16) On June 1, 2020:
2840          (a) Section 17-52a-104 is repealed;
2841          (b) in Subsection 17-52a-301(3)(a), the language that states "or under a provision
2842     described in Subsection 17-52a-104(2)," is repealed;
2843          (c) Subsection 17-52a-301(3)(a)(vi) is repealed;
2844          (d) in Subsection 17-52a-501(1), the language that states "or, for a county under a
2845     pending process described in Section 17-52a-104, under Section 17-52-204 as that section was
2846     in effect on March 14, 2018," is repealed; and

2847          (e) in Subsection 17-52a-501(3)(a), the language that states "or, for a county under a
2848     pending process described in Section 17-52a-104, the attorney's report that is described in
2849     Section 17-52-204 as that section was in effect on March 14, 2018 and that contains a
2850     statement described in Subsection 17-52-204(5) as that subsection was in effect on March 14,
2851     2018," is repealed.
2852          (17) On January 1, 2028, Subsection 17-52a-102(3) is repealed.