Planning commission recommends removing recorded final site-plan requirement for conditional use permits

The Eastern Summit County Planning Commission voted unanimously to send a positive recommendation to the Summit County Council to remove the requirement in section 11-4-6 of the Eastern Summit County Development Code that final site plans for conditional use permits be separately recorded.

Planner Jennifer explained staff has only recently recognized the recording requirement remained in code and that, as written, the requirement has not been consistently met in Eastern Summit County. "Even though this requirement for all conditional use permits to have a final site plan...that's been in the code for a long time, staff has not noticed it," she said. Jennifer said internal paper and digital files contain the site plans approved with conditional use permits, and staff can provide summaries or links to meeting minutes and staff reports; however, requiring a recorded, capitalized final site plan has added cost and time for applicants.

Jennifer told the commission that preparing and recording a separately capitalized final site plan typically requires additional title reports, reprints and file preparation, and that "it's added at least 2 months to a construction timeline for any applicant of a conditional use." Commissioners said their priority is public access to approvals and transparency. One commissioner asked whether removing the two-step recording requirement would reduce public notice; staff replied that public hearings for the conditional use and the final site plan have been held together at the same meeting and the public still has the same opportunity to comment.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to recommend that the Summit County Council remove the final site-plan recording requirement from section 11-4-6; another commissioner seconded the motion and the commission approved it by voice vote.

Ending: The commission's recommendation will go to Summit County Council for consideration; if council approves the change, staff said it expects changes to applicant timelines and that it will provide guidance to applicants and the public on where to find records and approved plans.