After SB 15, county to craft local policy on ag-protection renewals; commissioners weigh notice and complaint thresholds

The County Attorney's Office briefed commissioners on a recent state legislative change and proposed a local response to streamline reviews of agricultural-protection areas.

Robert Moore explained that Senate Bill 15 amended state statute to change the 20-year review requirement for existing ag-protection areas from a mandatory review ('shall') to a discretionary review ('may'). He proposed amending Utah County Code (title/code section) so the county commission would perform an initial review of renewals and decide whether to continue, modify or terminate protections. If the commission recommended modification or termination, staff would proceed through the full notice-and-review process required for substantive changes.

Commissioners and staff discussed how members of the public would learn a protection area was up for review, whether to add minimum notice steps (for example, agenda notice or newspaper/public-notice website postings), and whether complaint counts should trigger a fuller process. Staff noted that ag-protection-area creation records are recorded on property and available to the public, and said departmental records of complaints could be assembled for commission review. Commissioners asked staff to return with clearer notice language and potential levels of notification tied to complaint volume.