By Myrna Trauntvein
TN Correspondent
Juab County Commissioners agreed to hold a Public Hearing for Application of Agricultural Protection Area (APA). This public hearing will be held on May 3 at 10 a.m. in the Juab County Commission Chambers, 160 N Main, Nephi. The commission will hold the public hearing to discuss and hear public comment on a proposal to create an agriculture protection area, the recommendations of the advisory committee and planning commission, and any requests for modification of the proposal and any objections to the proposal. "APAs help protect farmers against nuisance lawsuits, unreasonable restrictions from state and local agencies on farm structures and practices, changes in zoning designations, and roads cutting through their farms," said Ryan Peters, Juab County Attorney. Utah Code in the "Protection of Land in a Protection Area" states that Farmland Assessment Act benefits are not affected. According to the code: "Creation of an agriculture protection area may not impair the ability of land within the area to obtain the benefits of Title 59, Chapter 2, Part 5, Farmland Assessment Act. (2) The eligibility of land for the benefits of Title 59, Chapter 2, Part 5, Farmland Assessment Act, shall be determined exclusively by the provisions of that act, notwithstanding the land's location within an agriculture protection area." Amended by Chapter 297, 2011 General Session The state code reads: "A political subdivision within which an agriculture protection area, industrial protection area, or critical infrastructure materials protection area is created or with a mining protection area within its boundary shall encourage the continuity, development, and viability of agriculture use, industrial use, critical infrastructure materials operations, or mining use, within the relevant protection area by not enacting a local law, ordinance, or regulation that, unless the law, ordinance, or regulation bears a direct relationship to public health or safety, would unreasonably restrict: "(a) in the case of an agriculture protection area, a farm structure or farm practice; (b) in the case of an industrial protection area, an industrial use of the land within the area; (c) in the case of a critical infrastructure materials protection area, critical infrastructure materials operations; or (d) in the case of a mining protection area, a mining use within the protection area. "(2) A political subdivision may not change the zoning designation of or a zoning regulation affecting land within an agriculture protection area unless the political subdivision receives written approval for the change from all the landowners within the agriculture protection area affected by the change. "(3) Except as provided by Section 19-4-113, a political subdivision may not change the zoning designation of or a zoning regulation affecting land within an industrial protection area unless the political subdivision receives written approval for the change from all the landowners within the industrial protection area affected by the change. "(4) A political subdivision may not change the zoning designation of or a zoning regulation affecting land within a critical infrastructure materials protection area unless the political subdivision receives written approval for the change from each critical infrastructure materials operator within the relevant area. "(5) A political subdivision may not change the zoning designation of or a zoning regulation affecting land within a mining protection area unless the political subdivision receives written approval for the change from each mine operator within the area. "(6) A county, city, or town may not: (a) adopt, enact, or amend an existing land use regulation, ordinance, or regulation that would prohibit, restrict, regulate, or otherwise limit critical infrastructure materials operations, including vested critical infrastructure materials operations as defined in Section 10-9a-901 or 17-27a-1001; or (b) initiate proceedings to amend the county's, city's, or town's land use ordinances as described in Subsection 10-9a-509(1)(a)(ii) or 17-27a-508(1)(a)(ii)." |
