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County adopts update to Natural Hazards Overlay, adds landslide mapping references
Summary
The commission approved amendments to the Natural Hazards Overlay (section 5‑12), adopting additional mapping resources and requiring hazard assessments for large developments; commissioners emphasized map adoption is a reference step and parcel inclusion requires further public process. Vote 2‑0.
The Utah County Commission voted to amend the county land‑use ordinance to update the Natural Hazards Overlay (NHO). Brandon Larson, community development staff, said the change is primarily a cleanup of section 5‑12 and adds mapping resources — staff recommended incorporating plates from the Hardy and Elliot landslide maps as a reference to help identify potential landslide‑prone areas.
Larson said the ordinance change does not itself prevent development but would require natural‑hazard assessments for developments mapped into the overlay and that small expansions could be exempted if the county engineer finds the scale does not create additional risk. "It was really just a a new definition of known hazard area," Larson said in presenting the proposal, adding the change is intended to make administration more precise and to require assessments for large‑scale projects.
County Attorney Robert Moore emphasized the overlay is an overlay zone that sits over existing zoning and noted the county has geotechnical review available by contract. Staff repeatedly told commissioners that adopting the new maps would not automatically place land in the overlay without an additional public process and site‑specific review: "We adopt the map and then use that to consider specific amendments," Larson said.
One commissioner pressed staff about large polygons and how the county would narrow mapped areas; staff responded that site‑specific assessments and a dispute process exist and that property owners could present geologic data for a narrower determination. Following discussion the commission moved to adopt the ordinance amendment; the motion carried by voice vote, 2‑0.
