Legislative briefing flags land-use, water-exaction and e-bike changes that could affect Midway
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Summary
City legislative liaison Katie summarized recent bills including Senate Bill 284 (land use), HB 439 (water exactions plan), SHIP funding for infrastructure, WUI code updates and new e-bike rules, and outlined which provisions apply to Midway now and which will take effect if county/class thresholds change.
Katie presented a comprehensive legislative update to the Midway City Council on April 7, highlighting several measures that city staff and elected officials will need to track and, in some cases, act on.
Katie said Senate Bill 284 consolidated earlier land-use measures and will add new responsibilities—mandatory annual training for planning commissioners (including ethics training), a requirement to publish land-use regulations, fee schedules and application checklists on municipal websites, and a mechanism that can allow a city council to act on an application if a planning commission delay exceeds 45 days. Many provisions will apply only after county population or class thresholds are reached; Katie emphasized which items do and do not currently apply to Midway.
On water exactions, Katie described language (originating in HB 439) that will require municipalities to adopt a written plan for imposing water exactions that conforms to rules set by the state engineer by Jan. 1, 2028; the change responds to audit findings about inconsistent exaction calculations. She said SHIP (House Bill 492) created a $100 million revolving loan fund for infrastructure and that staff will request additional detail on loan terms and intended repayment structures.
Katie also summarized WUI (wildland-urban interface) code updates adopting the 2024 international WUI code (House Bill 41) and noted the legislature restricted cities from imposing requirements on lower-risk areas that would block new development. On e-bikes, Katie said the law changes allowed broader youth use with certification, new helmet rules and gave cities discretion to restrict high-powered devices within their jurisdiction.
Council members asked follow-ups about what code updates Midway must adopt and when, what publishing requirements mean for current staff workloads, and how water-exaction plans should be calculated and documented. Katie offered to return with specific implementation steps and timelines for items that will require Midway code changes or administrative action.
The briefing was informational; no ordinances or formal actions were taken during the meeting.