17-79-708. Exemptions from plat requirement.
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Effective 11/6/2025
17-79-708. Exemptions from plat requirement.
(1)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a plat is not required if:
(a)a county establishes a process to approve an administrative land use decision for the subdivision of unincorporated land or mountainous planning district land into 10 or fewer parcels without a plat; and
(b)the county provides in writing that:
(i)the county has provided a certificate or written approval as required by ordinance; and
(ii)the proposed subdivision:
(A)is not traversed by the mapped lines of a proposed street as shown in the general plan unless the county has approved the location and dedication of any public street, county utility easement, any other easement, or any other land for public purposes as the county's ordinance requires;
(B)has been approved by the culinary water authority and the sanitary sewer authority;
(C)is located in a zoned area; and
(D)conforms to all applicable land use ordinances or has properly received a variance from the requirements of an otherwise conflicting and applicable land use ordinance.
(a)Subject to Subsection
(1), a parcel resulting from a division of agricultural land is exempt from the plat requirements of Section 17-79-703 if:
(i)the parcel:
(A)qualifies as land in agricultural use under Section 59-2-502 ; and
(B)is not used and will not be used for any nonagricultural purpose; and
(ii)the new owner of record completes, signs, and records with the county recorder a notice:
(A)describing the parcel by legal description; and
(B)stating that the parcel is created for agricultural purposes as defined in Section 59-2-502 and will remain so until a future zoning change permits other uses.
(b)If a parcel exempted under Subsection (2)(a) is used for a nonagricultural purpose, the county shall require the parcel to comply with the requirements of Section 17-79-703 and all applicable land use ordinance requirements.
(a)Except as provided in Subsection
(4), a document recorded in the county recorder's office that divides property by a metes and bounds description does not create an approved subdivision allowed by this part unless the land use authority's certificate of written approval required by Subsection
(1)is attached to the document.
(b)The absence of the certificate or written approval required by Subsection
(1)does not:
(i)prohibit the county recorder from recording a document; or
(ii)affect the validity of a recorded document.
(c)A document which does not meet the requirements of Subsection
(1)may be corrected by the recording of an affidavit to which the required certificate or written approval is attached and that complies with Section 57-3-106 .
(a)As used in this Subsection
(4):
(i)"Divided land" means land that has been divided by a minor subdivision.
(ii)"Land to be divided" means land that is proposed to be divided by a minor subdivision.
(iii)"Minor subdivision" means a division of at least 50 contiguous acres of agricultural land in a county of the third, fourth, fifth, or sixth class to create one new parcel that, after the division, is separate from the remainder of the original 50 or more contiguous acres of agricultural land.
(iv)"Minor subdivision parcel" means a parcel created by a minor subdivision.
(b)Notwithstanding Sections 17-79-703 and 17-79-704 , an owner of at least 50 contiguous acres of agricultural land may make a minor subdivision by submitting for recording in the office of the recorder of the county in which the land to be divided is located:
(i)a recordable deed containing the legal description of the minor subdivision parcel; and
(ii)a notice:
(A)indicating that the owner of the land to be divided is making a minor subdivision;
(B)referring specifically to this section as the authority for making the minor subdivision; and
(C)containing the legal description of:
(I)the land to be divided; and
(II)the proposed minor subdivision parcel.
(c)A minor subdivision parcel:
(i)may not be less than one acre in size;
(ii)may not be within 500 feet of another minor subdivision parcel within the divided land;
(iii)is not subject to the subdivision ordinance of the county in which the minor subdivision parcel is located; and
(iv)is not required to be owned by the same person that owns the divided land.
(d)A minor subdivision is effective the day on which it is recorded.
(e)A county:
(i)may not deny a building permit to an owner of a minor subdivision parcel based on:
(A)the parcel's status as a minor subdivision parcel; or
(B)the absence of standards described in Subsection (4)(e)(ii) ; and
(ii)may, in connection with the issuance of a building permit, subject a minor subdivision parcel to reasonable health, safety, and access standards that the county has established and made public.
(a)Notwithstanding Sections 17-79-703 and 17-79-704 , and subject to Subsection
(1), the legislative body of a county may enact an ordinance allowing the subdivision of a parcel, without complying with the plat requirements of Section 17-79-703 , if:
(i)the parcel contains an existing legal single family dwelling unit;
(ii)the subdivision results in two parcels, one of which is agricultural land;
(iii)the parcel of agricultural land:
(A)qualifies as land in agricultural use under Section 59-2-502 ; and
(B)is not used, and will not be used, for a nonagricultural purpose;
(iv)both the parcel with an existing legal single family dwelling unit and the parcel of agricultural land meet the minimum area, width, frontage, and setback requirements of the applicable zoning designation in the applicable land use ordinance; and
(v)the owner of record completes, signs, and records with the county recorder a notice:
(A)describing the parcel of agricultural land by legal description; and
(B)stating that the parcel of agricultural land is created as land in agricultural use, as defined in Section 59-2-502 , and will remain as land in agricultural use until a future zoning change permits another use.
(b)If a parcel of agricultural land divided from another parcel under Subsection (5)(a) is later used for a nonagricultural purpose, the exemption provided in Subsection (5)(a) no longer applies, and the county shall require the owner of the parcel to:
(i)retroactively comply with the subdivision plat requirements of Section 17-79-703 ; and
(ii)comply with all applicable land use ordinance requirements.
(a)The boundaries of any subdivision exempted from the plat requirement under this section shall be graphically illustrated on a record of survey map that includes:
(i)a legal description of the parcel to be divided;
(ii)a legal description of each parcel created by the subdivision; and
(iii)a citation to the specific provision of this section for which an exemption to the plat requirement is authorized.
(b)The record of survey map described in Subsection (6)(a) shall be filed with the county surveyor in accordance with Section 17-73-504 .
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 14 , 2025 Special Session 1