As we’ve noted in several blog posts going back to last year, Gov. Spencer Cox has been a fierce advocate for housing affordability and increasing the production of starter homes.  Tuesday, speaking to the Southern Utah Homebuilders Association, he doubled, nay, tripled, down on his commitment and in a way fired a shot across the bow of local governments around the state to take action.

Cox called on Utahns and their elected leaders to overcome NIMBY attitudes and get serious about rising to the challenge of solving the state’s housing crisis. While the governor stressed the carrot aspects of the new legislation, he raised the specter of employing the stick if cities and residents don’t do their part voluntarily.

If Utahns and their elected leaders do not step up to the challenge, he warned, the state would have no choice but to step in to “change zoning laws” and “take a more active approach” to avert an even worse crisis.

“I hope we never have to go there,” Cox said. “But we are very serious about this.”

The St. George News noted in a story about the speech:

Local mayors and council members have been critical about what they allege is the governor and the state legislature taking authority on residential zoning decisions away from the cities in the name of promoting affordable housing. But Cox told the homebuilders he cut some state red tape for cities to allow for smaller housing zones and smaller residential lots that are needed to allow more people to own a home and he expects local actions within the next year.

“City councils and planning commissions still have to approve smaller lots. We didn’t force that because they promised us they would do it if we would give them some of these things,” Cox said. “We’re going to be paying very close attention over the next year. Is everybody playing ball? Is this going to work?”

Let’s hope that everyone allows the incentive-based bills passed by the legislature this last session to get some traction and see if they work, before the more drastic, top-down approaches are taken.

Speaking to St. George News after the address, Cox confirmed that what he said in his speech was akin to an ultimatum to cities, though he added it was in the form of collaboration rather than a threat.

Hmmm.  As we’ve also noted in previous posts, such top-down mandates often runs into resistance.  This is evidenced again by a couple of communities in Massachusetts that outright refused to implement zoning measures mandated by state legislation.  The town of Milton was referred to in the April 22 post.  Another town has followed suit –

Marshfield has, for now, rejected the state’s new law requiring denser development near public transit.

Town Meeting members on Monday rejected a rezoning effort that would have brought the South Shore community into compliance with the MBTA Communities Act.

The MBTA Communities Act is the state’s attempt to increase housing stock by focusing density and multi-family homes near public transportation. Several communities have chafed at the requirements, saying it forces too much development and strips the communities of their traditional role in setting zoning. That sentiment was on display Monday night during Marshfield Town Meeting, according to Galvin.

“They didn’t appreciate being forced to adopt this bylaw,” he said. “And I think a certain segment of the people that spoke last night wanted to send a message that they thought this was wrong.”

Sounds like some of the things I’ve been hearing from a few citizens and local electeds (see April 22 blog post).  In the meantime, the needed affordable housing doesn’t get built.

Some other interesting things are happening in other states, like a reversal of roles in the Texas legislature, and the use of incentives(!) to encourage affordable housing in Ohio.  More on those in a coming post.