Parowan planning commission backs public hearing on shifting Board of Adjustment to single-member appeal authority

Parowan Planning and Zoning Commission members voted Feb. 5 to send a proposed rewrite of the city’s Board of Adjustment rules to a public hearing Feb. 19, 2025, after staff presented changes that would rename the body the “appeal authority” and convert it from a five-member board to a single appointed official.

Dan (staff member) told the commission he revised Chapter 14, Section 15—formerly titled “Board of Adjustment”—to reflect state guidance and the city’s preference for an appeal authority model. “Parowan City appeal authority shall consist of 1 member and shall serve for an undefined term,” Dan said, reading the draft. He said the proposal would have the mayor appoint the appeal authority “with advice and consent of the city council,” require selection based on “technical qualifications in the area of municipal land use,” and allow removal by council at will.

The changes remove multiple board-specific provisions, Dan said, including term lengths, quorum and multi-member voting rules, and officer positions. He said the draft also narrows meeting language so the single appeal authority “may determine” meeting times and retains the authority to administer oaths and compel witnesses.

Commissioners asked how the new single-member authority would interact with existing review pathways and judicial review. Dan said the rewrite reflects state municipal land-use provisions and training from the Utah Land Use Institute: an appeal authority handles appeals of administrative land-use decisions and variance requests before a party may seek district court review. He noted the commission’s code currently sets a 15-day appeal window (the state minimum is 10 days) and emphasized that the appeal authority acts in a quasi-judicial role, focused on whether the city followed its code rather than on policy merits.

Several commissioners expressed concern about concentrating decision-making in a single person. One commissioner asked whether a single appointee would effectively “trump” the city council and other land-use bodies; Dan and other members replied that the council retains legislative authority and can amend ordinances, but that administrative appeals, once routed to the appeal authority, proceed as quasi-judicial matters and may be taken to district court only after administrative remedies are exhausted.

The commission agreed the proposed rules for an individual appeal authority should be subject to the city council’s approval and left existing procedural and state-mandated safeguards in place. Chair (Mayor, name not specified) accepted a motion to set the public hearing; the motion passed by voice vote.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to table minutes from Jan. 15, 2025 until the next meeting: passed (voice vote, recorded three “Aye” responses on the record). - Motion to table agenda item 5 to the next meeting (two weeks): passed (voice vote). - Motion to send the appeal authority code rewrite to public hearing set for Feb. 19, 2025: passed (voice vote; Chair asked “All in favor? Aye.”).

The commission closed the meeting after brief member and staff reports. The appeal-authority draft will return for public hearing and formal recommendation to the council on Feb. 19, 2025.