Garden City council splits over standard of review for planning appeals, keeps public hearing open

The Garden City Council spent more than two hours Monday debating how the city should handle appeals and requests for reconsideration of Planning & Zoning decisions, ultimately voting to keep the public hearing on proposed ordinance 1051-26 open and continue deliberations to May 11.

The ordinance would clarify who has standing to appeal design-review and P&Z decisions, how notice and neighborhood meetings are handled, and what standard of review the council should apply when asked to overturn a lower-decision maker. City legal counsel Mr. Watams told the council that "the Idaho Supreme Court has been really clear that the code has to specify what the standard of review is and then whatever that is the council has to follow it." He recommended the council decide whether appeals should be limited to a record-based review or allow a broader "free review."

Why it matters: The standard of review determines…