Next I want to post a bit about the recently released third installment of Utah Foundation’s report on missing middle housing.  This part of the report talks about what kind of housing is being built in Utah now, how it’s changed, and what styles of housing people say they prefer or can live with.  You can read the entire third part of the report here.

While the style of housing being built throughout Utah has changed pretty considerably the last few years (no doubt in response to changed conditions after the financial crisis triggered by housing, and by rapidly escalating housing costs), people still say they mainly prefer new home construction to be single-family detached housing (or stuff that looks very much like it).  This has got to be driven in large measure because, according to the study, some 74% of the survey respondents themselves live in single-family detached housing.  And in most places around the state, this style still constitutes the majority of new housing construction, though it is decreasing in dominance.

What I find rather interesting is that the study finds that:

Most survey respondents (60%) support more affordable housing options in their neighborhoods, with 38% strongly favoring more options. About 18% of respondents oppose more affordable housing options, while 22% are neutral. To address affordability issues, about 46% of survey respondents would accept middle housing in their neighborhoods…

While this is what people say in a survey, they sure don’t show up to the Planning Commission and City Council meetings to express that when different new housing developments are being considered!  Or even when the Moderate Income Housing Plan is being updated by the local officials.  Maybe instead of public hearings, more of our planning and land use decisions should be based on objective surveys of the community, but how to accomplish that in a reasonable timeframe and cost?