Only one new bill showed up at the end of week one of the legislative session – HB265 – Sentinel Landscape Amendments.  The bill would prohibit municipalities from annexing land within 5,000 feet of a U.S. military or Utah National Guard facility, unless the military agrees to have the land annexed.  It also gives the military authority to specify what land uses can be allowed in that annexed area.  Pretty strong stuff, but I get where it’s coming from, given how much growth has been occuring around Camp Williams (where the term “sentinel” comes from), Hill Air Force Base and Tooele Army Depot.  The bill also uses the term “master zoning plan,” which is not a term used elsewhere in state code, nor for which there is a definition provided.

Also, SB43- Public Notice Requirements was substituted and passed by the Senate on Friday.  For land use (LUDMA), the bill requires a Class A public notice for general plan adoption and amendments, and a Class C public notice for land use regulation adoption or amendments.  The substitute bill struck out the definition of the classes of notices, but they are now contained in the text of the bill, starting at line 9435 (yes, that’s right, line nine thousand four hundred thirty-five!  And there’s a lot more lines after that!). And because of the way bills are drafted, it’s kind of hard to keep track of all the “ands” and “ors”, so you can figure out which things you must do, and which things are optional.  We’ll see if we can diagram this out so it’s easier to understand.