SALT LAKE CITY — Before the Utah Legislature's 2023 general session began, Republican leaders promised action this year to address the affordable housing crisis, fueled by the state'sSure enough, there's been no shortage of bills grappling with housing issues this year, taking on everything from first-time homebuyer assistance to policy changes meant to break down regulatory barriers for housing development.
There have been some cases of upset local officials — take what happened with Summit County — a state lawmaker accused the county of violating state law for not adopting a housing and transit reinvestment zone at Kimball Junction. Also, the Utah League of Cities and Towns opposed a late-filed bill that would allow developers to create their own districts to finance infrastructure projects.
As of Wednesday, the three bills were still waiting for final votes, though they're expected to advance to Gov. Spencer Cox by Friday at midnight. While it remains to be seen how much of an impact the new funding and policy changes will have on Utah's affordability crisis, housing advocates are expressing gratitude that lawmakers are putting their money where their mouth is and prioritizing the issue in a way they haven't before.
"Housing definitely has been in the limelight," she said. "It's been exciting to see people starting to really understand the importance of people being stable in their housing."It's no secret that legislative leaders have ties to the housing development community. For example, both Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, and House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, have worked in real estate.
Fillmore said "neither I nor the Legislature has the power to just will that to happen. But we can craft good policies that strike a right balance that protect property rights, that protect the public's right to have a say."
Look at Herriman, the real estate legislature is in league with real estate members of the city council and it’s a big screw you to Herriman. It’s like that all over.
How can you legislate against supply and demand? 🤷🏻♂️
Law makers need to stay FAR AWAY from the housing market.
They’ll just keep allowing developers to whore out Park City and Southern Utah. Maybe try Colorado or Idaho
High density housing in Utah is $250-$275/sq.ft. None of the proposed legislation would make housing affordable. The 🐄 left the barn a while ago when huge corporations were allowed to borrow money at 0 interest and buy residential properties. Now they control rent with no [1]