Commission delays housing proposal vote that has Salt Lake City residents split

SALT LAKE CITY — Members of the Salt Lake City Planning Commission punted on voting over a proposal to amend zoning that would allow more housing options in most of the city's residential neighborhoods over a scheduling technicality on Wednesday.

However, that didn't mean they didn't receive an earful from groups and residents who either support or oppose how it could change the city's neighborhoods.

The commission is tasked with giving a recommendation to either support or reject the city's proposed "expanding housing options" plan, which seeks to offer more housing structure options within residential zones to expand the city's housing supply.

It didn't because of a noticed error, setting up a vote at its next meeting later this month.

What Salt Lake City is proposing

The city believes that the proposal could help reduce the city's climbing housing costs, said Andy Hulka, senior planner for Salt Lake City.

The median sale price for a single-family home in Salt Lake City rose to $565,000 by the first quarter of this year, up nearly 8% from the same time last year, according to a report that the University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute released earlier Wednesday.

That was the seventh-highest among Utah cities with at least 40,000 residents, while the report also warned that 91% of renters statewide are priced out of homeownership.

Salt Lake City's proposal makes adjustments to building sizes and types allowed within six primary residential zones: R-1, R-2, SR-1 and SR-1A, and two subsections of these. There are approximately 33,000 properties that it would apply to, covering more than a third of the city's land, and accounting for three-fourths of all residentially-zoned land in the city.

It would allow landowners to build small single-family dwellings, along with duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and four-unit townhomes, on smaller lots by increasing maximum heights by a few feet. Heights would remain at 30 feet or less in all cases, Hulka said.

"The proposed increases are intended to be modest," he said on Tuesday, noting that the increases aim to make it easier for homeowners to build two-story structures that are sometimes difficult with the existing zoning standards. "Our intent was to make minor tweaks to help allow more property rights, more buildings, but nothing too significant that would have a major impact on things like privacy."

Any small lot dwellings would require one off-street parking space per dwelling unit, matching existing affordable housing incentives. The change would not address corporate ownership, which Hulka said may not be "administratively feasible" due to legalities.

City planners add that it wouldn't eliminate single-family zoning, nor would it prohibit the construction of new large single-family homes within any of the districts. Any historic overlay protections would remain in place.

It's modeled after similar zoning adjustments in growing cities like Durham, North Carolina, Portland, Oregon, and Houston, which created options to improve housing stock that ultimately reduced median housing costs.

A city divided

However, not everyone's sold on it. Wednesday's meeting drew enough people that the city was forced to set up an overflow, even if the commission's nonvote offered an anticlimactic ending.

Those opposed to or skeptical about it said they worried that it could affect the character of existing neighborhoods, while creating needs to upgrade infrastructure to match increased density. That includes parking, water and other key utilities.

They're not sure if it will deliver on what it seeks to do, warning that a one-size-fits-all could have unintended consequences. Prices have still gone up in mixed-use neighborhoods in other parts of the city not included in the proposal, resident Joan Sharp asserted.

"If density was the solution for affordability, New York would be cheap," said resident Lynn Schwartz.

Some said they see the need, but also want provisions that ensure companies don't purchase homes and turn them into rentals. That's been an issue they say they've seen in recent years.

The room was somewhat evenly split, though. Most who spoke in favor said they want more options so they and their families can remain in the city, which they say has become increasingly difficult because of costs.

Representatives of a few housing groups gathered before the meeting to express their desire for the new zoning, which they said won't fix the situation, but can be another option to improve it.

A mix of housing types like what's proposed already exists in the Avenues and many other older neighborhoods, said Turner Bitton, founder of Wasatch Advocates for Livable Communities. His group estimated that what's proposed could add upwards of 5,000 units based on available land options in the selected areas.

"We're essentially going back to the future to get good ideas and bring them back for a future in Salt Lake City that's livable and affordable," he said before the meeting.

It could be an "important step forward" in creating a more affordable and inclusive city, but the city and state must also continue to invest in multiple solutions to reduce barriers to adding new starter homes, said Zoe Newmann, project manager of the Utah Housing Coalition.

The planning commission is expected to hold another hearing on Sept. 23 before it makes a recommendation.

City Council plans for debate

Many of Wednesday's talking points reflect what city planners reported hearing before taking it to the planning commission. It's ultimately up to the Salt Lake City Council to either adopt or reject the proposal after the commission's recommendation.

Both sides of the argument hit the City Council well before Wednesday's meeting because the proposal began making waves on social media, especially over the past week.

There's no timeline for it to pick up the discussion, but its members agreed on Tuesday to send residents mailers that will inform them about the planning commission's decision and all the details about the proposal, hoping to gather feedback from homeowners and renters alike.

"It's important we take the time to get this right and that residents know," she said. "We have time to make this right."

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