When it comes to land use decisions, even though local elected and appointed officials would never admit that they want to, they can’t just wing it. Approving or denying the various applications which come before them, land use applications in particular, requires the following and adherence to the strict set of rules and regulations which have been enacted to keep everyone honest.
First there are minimum requirements set forth by the State in state statutes, then each local political subdivision has the ability to implement additional rules and regulations they feel is necessary to conduct business appropriate within their borders. For local elected and appointed officials, equate these various requirements as a game of “Permit-opoly” – in order to develop, or build where you want, or utilize land for certain purposes you and fellow players (i.e., developers) must follow the rules.
To win this game, local elected and appointed officials must do a number of things to keep players on a level playing field. Some of the key ways to do this involve affording players due process, basing decisions on substantial evidence, and avoiding the appearance of impropriety by recording outcomes of votes and relevant discussion through things such as detailed meeting minutes. Otherwise, you, the local elected or appointed official, risk your decisions being categorized as arbitrary or capricious (a fancy way of saying “random”).
As with all games, even “Permit-opoly” can’t be won by all players 100% of the time. In these instances, it’s critical as an elected or appointed official to make sure you have a “good cause” when denying applications– like preserving the neighborhood’s character or resolving existing issues. However you substantiate your “good cause” whatever you do, don’t use reasons which could be categorized as “public clamor” as your reason, or you might get slapped with a lawsuit and have to go directly to jail.
Don’t forget, perhaps one of the best tactics to use to level the playing field, and ensure your stay out of jail in the first place is to be proactive and amend your regulations accordingly before any undesirable applications come through. That way, you can preserve Boardwalk and prevent problems before they happen.
In closing, keep your reasoning reasonable, and you’ll be a land use decision-making champ.
Need Advice Or Want To Learn More?
Check out our online training modules here! Note: civiclinQ is able to provide free access to more than 45 different land use training module topics courtesy of funding provided by the Utah Office of the Property Rights Ombudsman from the 1% surcharge on all building permits in the State of Utah.
