2-1-050 Land Use Authority

A. Established as the Land Use Authority. A Planning Commission, consisting of seven (7) members, is hereby established to exercise the powers and duties specified herein. The County Commission may appoint two (2) alternate Planning Commission members. In the event of the absence of any regular members at any meeting, the alternate member(s) shall serve with full rights and authority at said meeting. The appointment, term, vacancy, and removal of an alternate member shall be the same as for a regular Planning Commission member. Planning Commission Members shall: a. Be appointed by the Box Elder County Commission b. Be residents of Box Elder County c. Own real property within Box Elder County d. Attend at least eight (8) Planning Commission meetings each year e. Serve without compensation, except for reasonable expenses incurred in performing their duties as members of the Commission B. Appointment and Terms of Office. 1. Planning Commission members shall be appointed by the County Commission. a. The terms of Planning Commission members shall be staggered. Each member of the Planning Commission shall serve for a term of three (3) years and until a successor is appointed, provided that members may be appointed for terms shorter than three (3) years when necessary to provide staggered terms. b. Planning Commission members may be reappointed for successive terms. c. The County Commission may remove any member of the Planning Commission at any time with or without cause. d. A vacancy occurring on the Planning Commission by reason of death, resignation, removal, disqualification or any other reason shall be promptly filled by a replacement appointed in the same manner as the original appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term of the replaced member. 2. Members of the Planning Commission shall be deemed “volunteers” for purposes of County ordinances, rules, regulations and policies concerning personnel; provided, however, they shall be included in the definition of “employee” for purposes of the Utah Governmental Immunity Act, Utah Code Ann. §63G-7-101, et seq., as amended. C. Organization and Procedure. The Planning Commission shall be organized and exercise its powers and duties as follows: 1. Members of the Planning Commission shall select one (1) of its members as chair to oversee the proceedings and activities of the Planning Commission. a. The chairperson shall serve for a term of one (1) year. b. Members of the Planning Commission shall select one (1) of its members as vice-chair to act in the absence of the chair. The chair and vice-chair may be re-elected for successive terms. 2. The Planning Commission may adopt policies and procedures, consistent with the provisions of this Code and applicable law, to govern the conduct of its meetings, the processing of applications, and for any other purposes considered necessary for the functioning of the Planning Commission. All such policies and procedures shall be submitted to the County Commission for review and approval. 3. The Planning Commission shall meet on a regular day(s) each month, as determined by the Planning Commission, and at such other times as the Planning Commission may determine. All meetings shall be properly noticed and held in accordance with the Open Meetings Law set forth in Utah Code Ann. §52-4-1, et seq., as amended. 4. No official business shall be conducted by the Planning Commission unless a quorum of its members is present. Four (4) members of the Planning Commission shall constitute a quorum. The minimum number of yes votes required for the Planning Commission to take any action shall be the majority of members present, unless otherwise prescribed by law. 5. Decisions of the Planning Commission shall take effect on the date of the meeting or hearing where the decision is made, unless a different date is designated in the Commission's rules, or at the time the decision is made. 6. The Planning Commission shall keep written minutes and a recording shall be kept of all open meetings. Such minutes and recording shall include: the date, time, and place of the meeting; the names of members present and absent; the substance of all matters proposed, discussed, or decided; a record, by individual member, of votes taken; the name of each person who provided testimony and the substance in brief of their testimony; and any other information that any member requests be entered into the minutes or recording. a. The Planning Commission shall transmit reports of its official acts and recommendations to the County Commission. Any member of the Commission also may make a concurring or dissenting report or recommendation to the County Commission. b. The minutes of all meetings of the Planning Commission shall be prepared and filed in the office of the County Recorder. All such records shall be available for public review and access in accordance with the Government Records and Access Management Act, Utah Code Ann., §63G-2-101, et seq., as amended. D. Powers and Duties. The Planning Commission shall have all the powers and duties, explicit or implied, given planning commissions by Utah State law (Each of such powers and duties shall be exercised pursuant to the procedural and other provisions of this Code). With respect to unincorporated area of the county, the Planning Commission powers and duties are: 1. Prepare and recommend a general plan and amendments to the general plan as provided in Section 2-2-070 of this Code; 2. Prepare and recommend land use ordinances, zoning maps, official maps, and amendments as provided in Section 2-2-080 of this Code; 3. Prepare and recommend subdivision regulations 4. Administer applicable chapters of this Code; 5. Hear and act on a land use applications 6. Establish application processes that: a. may include a designation of routine land use matters that, upon application and proper notice, will receive informal streamlined review and action if the application is uncontested, and b. shall protect the right of each: 1) applicant and third party to require formal consideration of any application by the Planning Commission, 2) applicant, adversely affected party, or county officer or employee to appeal a land use authority’s decision to a separate appeal authority, and 3) participant to be heard in each public hearing on a contested application. 7. Recommend approval or denial of subdivision; 8. Hear and decide the approval or denial of conditional use permits, as provided in Section 2-2-100 of this Code; 9. Hear and decide any other matter that the County Commission designates; 10. Exercise any other powers that are necessary to enable the Planning Commission to perform its function or that are delegated to it by the County Commission. E. Examinations and Surveys. The Planning Commission and its authorized agents may enter upon any land at reasonable times to make examinations and surveys as necessary to enable it to perform its function to promote County planning and development. F. Appeal. Any person adversely affected by a final decision of the Planning Commission made in the exercise of the provisions of this Code may appeal that decision to the Hearing Officer.