A land use authority is a person, group, or agency designated by the municipality to execute land-use regulations. Every municipality has one or more land use authorities. Land use authorities commonly include the Planning Commission, the City/Town Council, or other elected officials.
A development agreement is a contract between a local county or municipality and a private party (land owners or developer) that helps both parties work together throughout the development process for a specific development project. Land owners and developers like development agreements because they provide regulatory and political assurances during the development process that make projects more viable. These assurances pertain to development phasing, rules and regulations pertaining to the development of a specific property, critical infrastructure responsibilities and coordination, and more. Local counties and municipalities like development agreements because they are a way to incentivize development, promote economic growth, and ensure that proposed development is in compliance with adopted rules and regulations and the overall vision of the community.
Whereas the focus of zoning pertains to the use of land, subdivisions concern the division of land. A subdivision is defined in Utah State Code as “any land that is divided, resubdivided, or proposed to be divided into two or more lots or other division of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, for offer, sale, lease, or development either on the installment plan or upon any and all other plans, terms, and conditions. It includes the division or development of land, whether by deed, metes and bounds description, devise and testacy, map, plat, or other recorded instrument, regardless of whether the division includes all or a portion of a parcel or lot; and divisions of land for residential and nonresidential uses, including land to be used for commercial, agricultural, and industrial purposes” (§10-9a-103(65)(a)).
