The Planning Commission reviewed Utah's annual training requirement for planning commissioners at its Dec. 4 work meeting. Staff said the state requires each commissioner to complete four hours of land-use training each year and that one of those hours must cover the Land Use Development and Management Act (LUDMA), codified at Title 10, Chapter 9a of the Utah Code.

Planning staff told commissioners they plan to provide two of the required hours at commission meetings during 2025 and will circulate links to approved online trainings for the remaining hours. Commissioners can substitute one of the hours if they attend 12 Planning Commission meetings in a year; staff will track attendance and outside training hours and asked commissioners to email completed course information for recordkeeping.

Staff said they have contacted the Ombudsman’s Office and other approved providers and expect to invite guest speakers; the League of Cities and Towns’ Land Use Academy of Utah (LUOA) was also mentioned as a resource of recorded sessions and training materials.

Lucy Anderson, chair of the Planning Commission, thanked commissioners for their attention to compliance and staff for planning accessible training options. Staff asked commissioners to suggest topics they would like covered and said they will distribute the training schedule early in 2025.