17-27a-701 - Appeal authority required -- Condition precedent to judicial review -- Appeal authority duties. - Utah Statutes

17-27a-701. Appeal authority required -- Condition precedent to judicial review --Appeal authority duties.
(1) Each county adopting a land use ordinance shall, by ordinance, establish one or moreappeal authorities to hear and decide:
(a) requests for variances from the terms of the land use ordinances; and
(b) appeals from decisions applying the land use ordinances.
(2) As a condition precedent to judicial review, each adversely affected person shalltimely and specifically challenge a land use authority's decision, in accordance with localordinance.
(3) An appeal authority:
(a) shall:
(i) act in a quasi-judicial manner; and
(ii) serve as the final arbiter of issues involving the interpretation or application of landuse ordinances; and
(b) may not entertain an appeal of a matter in which the appeal authority, or anyparticipating member, had first acted as the land use authority.
(4) By ordinance, a county may:
(a) designate a separate appeal authority to hear requests for variances than the appealauthority it designates to hear appeals;
(b) designate one or more separate appeal authorities to hear distinct types of appeals ofland use authority decisions;
(c) require an adversely affected party to present to an appeal authority every theory ofrelief that it can raise in district court;
(d) not require an adversely affected party to pursue duplicate or successive appealsbefore the same or separate appeal authorities as a condition of the adversely affected party's dutyto exhaust administrative remedies; and
(e) provide that specified types of land use decisions may be appealed directly to thedistrict court.
(5) If the county establishes or, prior to the effective date of this chapter, has establisheda multiperson board, body, or panel to act as an appeal authority, at a minimum the board, body,or panel shall:
(a) notify each of its members of any meeting or hearing of the board, body, or panel;
(b) provide each of its members with the same information and access to municipalresources as any other member;
(c) convene only if a quorum of its members is present; and
(d) act only upon the vote of a majority of its convened members.

Enacted by Chapter 254, 2005 General Session