(1) A county may, by ordinance, designate the scope of review of factual matters for appeals of land use authority decisions. (2) If the county fails to designate a scope of review of factual matters, the appeal authority shall review the factual matters de novo, without deference to the land use authority's determination of the factual matters. (3) If the scope of review of factual matters is on the record, the appeal authority shall determine whether the record on appeal includes substantial evidence for each essential finding of fact. (4) The appeal authority shall: (a) determine the correctness of the land use authority's interpretation and application of the plain meaning of the land use regulations; and (b) interpret and apply a land use regulation to favor a land use application unless the land use regulation plainly restricts the land use application. (5) (a) An appeal authority's land use decision is a quasi-judicial act. (b) Except as provided in Subsection (5)(c), a legislative body may not act as an appeal authority unless both the legislative body and the appealing party agree to allow a third party to act as the appeal authority. (c) Beginning on July 1, 2026, the legislative body of a county described in Subsection 17-79-302(5)(a)(i) may not act as an appeal authority unless: (i) a land use ordinance designated the legislative body as the appeal authority when the appellant filed the appeal; and (ii) the appellant filed the appeal on or before June 30, 2026. (6) Only a decision in which a land use authority has applied a land use regulation to a particular land use application, person, or parcel may be appealed to an appeal authority.
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