American Fork work session reviews major municipal code rewrite, proposes DRC for administrative land-use approvals

Mayor Bradley J. Frost convened a June 16 work session focused on a citywide municipal code rewrite that staff described as a working draft and not an action item. Patrick O’Brien, Development Services Director, said the draft compares proposed verbiage with current code and consolidates previously separate ordinances — including Sensitive Lands and transit-oriented development rules — into a roughly 530-page document intended for easier public review.

Consultant Cherylyn Egner told the Council the draft responds to recent state-legislative changes by proposing that administrative land-use approvals be handled by a Development Review Committee (DRC) with the Planning Commission serving as the appeal authority. "Under current law, the City Council can no longer serve as either the approving authority or appeal authority for administrative Land Use decisions such as site plans, conditional use permits, subdivision plats, and similar applications," Egner said. O’Brien added the change is intended to keep decisions administrative and reduce instances where elected officials are asked to approve projects that do not comply with adopted regulations.

Council members pressed staff on several specifics, including whether assigning approvals to the Planning Commission could speed the process and how residents would retain a measure of accountability because the Council appoints planning commissioners. Egner said outsourcing appeals to an independent hearing authority would add cost and that the DRC→PC approach creates a clearer internal appeal path. Council requested additional time to review the full draft—staff anticipates Planning Commission review in early August and requested about 30 days for individual Council member review before placing the draft on a formal action agenda.