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8
17-79-101
17-79-621
0
County Land Use Authority Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Kristen Chevrier
Senate Sponsor:
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill requires a county to accept and process a plan review application for a
single-family dwelling on a qualifying parcel that is not part of a subdivision.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
defines terms;
amends the purpose of a county's general land use authority to include protecting property
rights;
describes the circumstances under which a county is required to accept and process a plan
review application for a single-family dwelling on a qualifying parcel; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
17-79-101
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session,
Chapter 14
ENACTS:
17-79-621
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
17-79-101
is amended to read:
17-79-101
. Purposes -- General land use authority -- Limitations.
(1)
(a)
The purposes of this chapter are to:
(i)
provide for the health, safety, and welfare;
(ii)
promote the prosperity;
(iii)
improve the morals, peace, good order, comfort, convenience, and aesthetics of
each county and each county's present and future inhabitants and businesses;
(iv)
protect the tax base;
(v)
secure economy in governmental expenditures;
(vi)
foster the state's agricultural and other industries;
(vii)
protect both urban and nonurban development;
(viii)
protect and ensure access to sunlight for solar energy devices;
(ix)
provide fundamental fairness in land use regulation;
(x)
facilitate orderly growth, allow growth in a variety of housing types, and
contribute toward housing affordability;
and
(xi)
protect property rights; and
(xii)
protect property values.
(b)
Subject to Subsection
(4)
and Section
11-41-103
, to accomplish the purposes of this
chapter, a county may enact all ordinances
,
and
resolutions,
and rules
adopt all
policies,
and may enter into other forms of land use controls and development
agreements that the county considers necessary or appropriate for the use and
development of land within the unincorporated area of the county or a designated
mountainous planning district, including ordinances, resolutions,
rules
policies
,
restrictive covenants, easements, and development agreements governing:
(i)
uses;
(ii)
density;
(iii)
open spaces;
(iv)
structures;
(v)
buildings;
(vi)
energy-efficiency;
(vii)
light and air;
(viii)
air quality;
(ix)
transportation and public or alternative transportation;
(x)
infrastructure;
(xi)
street and building orientation and width requirements;
(xii)
public facilities;
(xiii)
fundamental fairness in land use regulation; and
(xiv)
considerations of surrounding land uses to balance the foregoing purposes with
a landowner's private property interests and associated statutory and constitutional
protections.
(2)
Each county shall comply with the mandatory provisions of this part before any
agreement or contract to provide goods, services, or municipal-type services to any
storage facility or transfer facility for high-level nuclear waste, or greater than class C
radioactive waste, may be executed or implemented.
(3)
(a)
Any ordinance
,
or
resolution
a county enacts
, or
rule enacted by a county
a
policy that a county adopts
in accordance with the county's authority under this
chapter shall comply with the state's exclusive jurisdiction to regulate oil and gas
activity, as described in Section
40-6-2.5
.
(b)
A county may enact an ordinance
,
or
resolution, or
rule
adopt a policy
that
regulates surface activity incident to an oil and gas activity if the county demonstrates
that the regulation:
(i)
is necessary for the purposes of this chapter;
(ii)
does not effectively or unduly limit, ban, or prohibit an oil and gas activity; and
(iii)
does not interfere with the state's exclusive jurisdiction to regulate oil and gas
activity, as described in Section
40-6-2.5
.
(4)
(a)
This Subsection
(4)
applies to development agreements entered into on or after
May 5, 2021.
(b)
A provision in a county development agreement is unenforceable if the provision
requires an individual or an entity, as a condition for issuing building permits or
otherwise regulating development activities within an unincorporated area of the
county, to initiate a process for a municipality to annex the unincorporated area in
accordance with Title
10, Chapter 2, Part 8
, Annexation.
(c)
Subsection
(4)(b)
does not affect or impair the enforceability of any other provision
in the development agreement.
Section 2. Section
17-79-621
is enacted to read:
17-79-621
. Qualifying parcel application and approval for single-family dwelling
building permit.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Plan review" means the same as that term is defined in S
ection
17-79-810
.
(b)
"Qualifying parcel" means a parcel of land in a county that:
(i)
was created by a written instrument, other than a subdivision plat, before the
county adopted a land use ordinance regulating the parcel; or
(ii)
is similar to a lot or parcel that:
(A)
has the same zoning designation; and
(B)
(I)
conforms to applicable development standards for a single-family
residential lot;
(II)
at some point in the past was approved, recognized, or treated as a lot or
parcel for which a single-family dwelling was a conforming use; or
(III)
contains a single-family dwelling that the county recognizes as a
conforming use.
(2)
Subject to Subsection
(3)
and Section
17-79-810
, a county shall accept and process a
plan review application for a single-family dwelling on a qualifying parcel that is made
by the qualifying parcel's owner of record, if:
(a)
the proposed building meets the minimum setback requirements of the zoning
designation where the qualifying parcel is located;
(b)
applicable utility providers review and approve the plan review application;
(c)
to the extent required by county ordinance, the local health department reviews and
approves the plan review application; and
(d)
to the extent required by county ordinance, the owner of the qualifying parcel
dedicates a portion of the qualifying parcel for street frontage.
(3)
The owner of a parcel has the burden, under Subsection
(2)
, of establishing by
substantial evidence that the parcel is a qualifying parcel.
(4)
A county accepting and processing a plan review or approval of a building permit under
Subsection
(2)
does not:
(a)
require the county to accept or maintain a street or other right-of-way;
(b)
require the county, a special district, or a utility provider to extend or provide a
utility to a qualifying parcel; or
(c)
limit the county's authority to enforce the provisions of this chapter or other law
against a person who divides a parcel without required county approval.
Section 3.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-11-26 8:53 AM