Utah

MUNICIPAL — Utah Code § 10-9a-102. Purposes -- General land use authority. (1) The purposes of this chapter are to provide for the health, safety, and welfare, and promote the prosperity, improve the morals, peace and good order, comfort, convenience, and aesthetics of each municipality and its present and future inhabitants and businesses, to protect the tax base, to secure economy in governmental expenditures, to foster the state's agricultural and other industries, to protect both urban and nonurban development, to protect and ensure access to sunlight for solar energy devices, to provide fundamental fairness in land use regulation, and to protect property values. (2) To accomplish the purposes of this chapter, municipalities may enact all ordinances, resolutions, and rules and may enter into other forms of land use controls and development agreements that they consider necessary or appropriate for the use and development of land within the municipality, including ordinances, resolutions, rules, restrictive covenants, easements, and development agreements governing uses, density, open spaces, structures, buildings, energy efficiency, light and air, air quality, transportation and public or alternative transportation, infrastructure, street and building orientation and width requirements, public facilities, fundamental fairness in land use regulation, considerations of surrounding land uses and the balance of the foregoing purposes with a landowner's private property interests, height and location of vegetation, trees, and landscaping, unless expressly prohibited by law. MUNICIPAL — Utah Code § 10-9a-501. Enactment of land use regulation, land use decision, or development agreement. (1) Only a legislative body, as the body authorized to weigh policy considerations, may enact a land use regulation. (2)(a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), a legislative body may enact a land use regulation only by ordinance. (b) A legislative body may, by ordinance or resolution, enact a land use regulation that imposes a fee. (3) A legislative body shall ensure that a land use regulation is consistent with the purposes set forth in this chapter. (4)(a) A legislative body shall adopt a land use regulation to: (i) create or amend a zoning district under Subsection 10-9a-503(1)(a); and (ii) designate general uses allowed in each zoning district. (b) A land use authority may establish or modify other restrictions or requirements other than those described in Subsection (4)(a), including the configuration or modification of uses or density, through a land use decision that applies criteria or policy elements that a land use regulation establishes or describes. COUNTY — Utah Code § 17-27a-501. Enactment of land use regulation. (1) Only a legislative body, as the body authorized to weigh policy considerations, may enact a land use regulation. (2)(a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), a legislative body may enact a land use regulation only by ordinance. (b) A legislative body may, by ordinance or resolution, enact a land use regulation that imposes a fee. (3) A land use regulation shall be consistent with the purposes set forth in this chapter. (4)(a) A legislative body shall adopt a land use regulation to: (i) create or amend a zoning district under Subsection 17-27a-503(1)(a); and (ii) designate general uses allowed in each zoning district. (b) A land use authority may establish or modify other restrictions or requirements other than those described in Subsection (4)(a), including the configuration or modification of uses or density, through a land use decision that applies criteria or policy elements that a land use regulation establishes or describes. (The County act's parallel grant of power is at Utah Code § 17-27a-102, "Purposes -- General land use authority," which mirrors § 10-9a-102 but vests the authority in counties.)