Planning commission asks staff to study folding final site plan recording into CUP process

At a meeting of the Eastern Summit County Planning Commission, commissioners asked planning staff to study an alternative to a staff proposal that would remove final site plan requirements from the Eastern Summit County development code and eliminate a separate final-site-plan public hearing.

The proposal before the commission would delete Section 11.4.6 of the county development code, which requires a separately recorded final site plan following conditional use permit approval. Jennifer, planning staff, told commissioners the CUP application already requires a site plan showing structures, grading and setbacks and that the final-site-plan requirement had become redundant except for signature blocks and recorder's office recordation and associated fees.

Commissioners said they were concerned about public transparency and ease of access if final site plans were no longer recorded at the Summit County Recorder's Office. "I'd rather find it in the public record than go through the expense and hassle of a GRAMA request," Commissioner Rich said. Marion, a commissioner participating by Zoom, noted she was "in favor" of asking staff to pursue an alternative that preserved recordation and public access.

Jennifer said the conditional-use site plan currently must be prepared by a licensed surveyor or engineer and that site plans would remain part of the public record as exhibits to staff reports and in county files, retrievable by staff search or a Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) request. She also told the commission that the Snyderville Basin code had removed a similar separate final-site-plan step without reported problems during the two years she had worked at the county.

Commissioners raised specific concerns about public access used by title companies and neighbors to identify property boundaries, easements and screening requirements. "I like having things out there in the recorder's office where a title person would find it without having to search the planning department records," one commissioner said.

After discussion, a commissioner moved that staff examine options to merge the standards and the recordation requirement of the final site plan into the CUP application so the public would retain recorded access without requiring two separate public hearings. The motion was seconded and the commission voted in favor; no opposition was recorded. Marion explicitly voiced her support before the vote. The chair said, "So, that motion's approved."

The commission directed staff to return with recommendations, including whether recorder's-office procedures or alternative code language could preserve public recordation while eliminating duplicate hearings and fees. Jennifer said staff would research practices elsewhere and consult the recorder's office about streamlined recordation options.

In other business the commission approved minutes and received director items including a notice that an annexation petition for Cedar Crest (about 300 acres) had been filed with Colville City; staff said details were not yet available and they would report back to the commission.

The commission adjourned following the scheduled agenda items.