In the legislative update panels we’ve been doing since the end of the legislative session, one of the “themes” of the session that became apparent was that legislators seem to be growing weary of the housing and related land use issues. That was evidenced by the fact that several of the consensus land use bills had more votes against them than ever before. Chris Gamvroulas of Ivory Development gave this example – the nonbinding joint resolution HCR6 expressing support of the nonbinding State Housing Strategic Plan, got 26 no votes in the House! That never happens for a resolution like this! Why? Chris said its just because they’re tired of hearing about and having to deal with this issue, they’re done!
Well, they may be tired of it (truth be told, I think a lot of players in the land use arena are tired of it, too), but I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon.
Evidence of that? Here’s a story https://www.sltrib.com/news/2026/03/21/salt-lake-tribunes-cache-valley/ about a recent poll of Cache County residents asking what they think are the most important current issues are. 79% said they were very or somewhat concerned about the lack of affordable housing in Cache Valley.
The same can be said of land use and planning related topics as well. The top for issues of concern enumerated by the poll were, in order:
- Traffic and Transportation
- Preserving Open Space
- Water Conservation
- Affordable Housing
The survey asked an open-ended question, What is something you love about Cache Valley that you hope to see protected or enhanced in the next five years?
Respondents said they want to see more efficient roads, slowed growth and better transportation. They hoped local businesses, small-town vibes, open space and public access to nature would still be around in five years.
One resident said about news coverage of the Cache Valley,
…that we (should) shun “fluffy feelgood” stories and focus on the harsher, expensive realities many young people face as they try to have kids and buy homes.
Like I said, housing and land use is a topic that’s not going away anytime soon, even if we are “tired” of it.