Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Training topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Trainer Gary Crane walks Morgan planning body through land‑use basics, litigation risks and recordkeeping
Summary
Attorney and presenter Gary Crane led a training for Morgan planning commissioners explaining differences between legislative and administrative land‑use actions, the importance of clear records for administrative decisions, and how vested rights and bonding can affect developers and neighbors.
Gary Crane, who led a two‑hour land‑use training for Morgan planning commissioners and council members on Dec. 9, summarized how courts treat zoning and administrative decisions differently and why careful recordkeeping matters. "The legislature says you need 4 hours of training a year," Crane told the assembled members, saying the session would count toward that requirement.
Crane used recent litigation over an LDS temple in Wasatch County as a case study to show how administrative disputes can delay projects and raise costs. He said plaintiffs lost in lower court but that injunctions can halt construction while appeals proceed; the presentation noted such delays can produce significant costs. On mitigation, Crane described options including bonds or agreements by developers to accept responsibility for later removal if a suit succeeds.
Why it matters: municipal decisionmakers decide routine administrative matters such as site plans and conditional‑use approvals but must ground those rulings in "substantial evidence" on the record; by contrast, the courts generally give broader deference to legislative acts such as rezones and master‑plan changes. Crane advised commissioners to state their reasons on the record at the time of motions to reduce legal exposure.
Key takeaways from Crane's session included guidance on vested‑rights rules (an applicant's completed filing freezes some code standards), when to table items for more information, the limits of what a body may exact from a developer without triggering a takings claim, and the role of development agreements and plats to record negotiated concessions. He also signaled a follow‑up training on conflicts of interest.
Crane urged commissioners to regularly update local ordinances to prevent foreseeable conflicts and reduce litigation risk: "If you don't look at your ordinance ... you ought to continually be looking at that," he said. The training closed with an offer by Crane to answer follow‑up questions by staff and commissioners.
