Hanksville council seeks clearer SOPs and permit notifications amid code rewrite

At a Hanksville workshop, town officials focused on process improvements in the proposed building and land‑use code, agreeing to adopt a title‑by‑title voting approach and to strengthen written procedures for plan review and appeals.

What the workshop found: Staff and planning and zoning members outlined the two‑stage plan review process: submitted plans are examined by the building inspector for code compliance and referred to the planning and zoning committee; no permit is issued until both the inspector and planning and zoning have approved the plans. Participants said the current draft lacks clear operating procedures (SOPs) for application windows, public notices, chairman selection and appeals, and recommended the council adopt more explicit administrative steps in the code or in companion SOP documents.

Checks and balances: Planning and zoning members emphasized their administrative role — assessing feasibility under existing ordinances — while council retained legislative authority and final appeals. Members asked staff to ensure an appeals provision is visible in the code and requested the ability to revoke an approved permit if council finds it inconsistent with zoning after approval; staff advised that appeals language and revocation steps must be written carefully in ordinance language.

Organization and vote method: The council agreed to vote the draft title‑by‑title (grouping related chapters) rather than as one omnibus ordinance. Members said the title approach will allow targeted votes on controversial sections (for example ADUs or short‑term rentals) without holding up unrelated material.

Next steps: Staff will prepare a title‑by‑title packet for the next meeting, draft SOP language for plan review and appeals, and implement the requested permit‑notification email within two days of planning‑and‑zoning approvals. The meeting adjourned after the council confirmed the process changes.