Friday saw some interesting and significant action on bills we are following.

Rep. Ray Ward’s two bills, which have been outside the process of the LUTF and CHA and are rather controversial, were heard in committee Friday.  The bills,  HB88 and HB90, would have been some pretty clear preemptions of local land use authority, more along the line of what has been happening in some other states, rather than the more collaborative approach that has been happening here.  The first bill would have made external ADUs legal by right in all residential zones throughout first and second class counties.  The second bill would have established a legal minimum residential lot size of 6,000 sq ft in all first and second class counties.

The committee members made some interesting comments about the bills, and then ultimately voted to move on to the next agenda item without taking action on those bills.  This usually means that the bill is done for, that it is dead at that point (though it is possible to bring such bills back on a future agenda, but that rarely happens).  League representatives Cameron Diehl and Draper Mayor Troy Walker, current President of the League, argued that the bills would preempt local land use authority, that communities are doing plenty to get more housing built, each in their own way, and that the best way to accomplish these things has been through a collaborative approach.

Two press accounts of the hearing are interesting reads, one in the DesNews and one in the Building Salt Lake newsletter.  Comments from legislative committee members included,

… that communities need to overcome NIMBYism, the “not-in-my-backyard” response to housing solutions, suggesting that if that doesn’t happen over the next year state mandates may be necessary.

Another comment reflected the oft-expressed notion that so much stuff has been passed by the legislature in the last couple of years to try and address housing, and there just hasn’t been enough time yet to see if it will work, and that perhaps now isn’t the time to make more dramatic changes.

Another bill was also considered in committee, SB211, which would exempt public schools from zoning requirements for setbacks, height, bulk, massing, off-site parking, curb cuts, traffic circulation and construction staging.  The committee approved a substitute version of the bill that would apply this exemption only in cities of the first class, which as of the 2022 population estimates are Salt Lake City, West Valley City, West Jordan, Provo, and St. George.  I still would like to know what the backstory is for this bill.  One of our readers suggested it had to do with a proposed new school building in Draper, but this amended version of the bill doesn’t touch Draper.  So, not sure where the issue is.  The bill is now on the Senate floor for a vote.

Also, a new bill was unveiled Friday.  HB435 – Building Code Amendments would apply only to counties, and would exempt “high tunnels” from land use and building code regulations.  If I remember right, there used to be such an exemption in state code before.

And finally, a substitute for SB195 – Transportation Amendments, has been put forward, not yet adopted, which will make several changes in local land use processes.  You can see a comparison of the substitute with the original bill here https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/introduced/CP%20SB0195%20To%20SB0195S01.pdf

Here’s a description of the local planning changes, thanks to Miranda Jones Cox at WFRC:

• Requires cities to amend their general plans to identify priority transportation connections (lines 90-115, 2845-2847)
  • Municipalities shall update the transportation and traffic circulation element of their general plan before July 1, 2027, to identify priority connections that remedy physical impediments such as water conveyances with the goal to enhance vehicle, transit, bicycle or pedestrian access to significant economic, recreational or other priority destinations. The cities would also have to develop cost estimates, identify potential funding sources, including state, local, federal, and private funding, and identify impediments to constructing the connections.
  • These priority connections would be considered in UDOT’s project prioritization of new active transportation projects and with the County of the First Class Infrastructure Bank. 
  • Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are required to consult with the affected municipalities and report to the Transportation Interim Committee by November 1 of 2025, 2026, and 2027 on the status of the general plan modifications, a regional grid network study, impediments to constructing the connections, and potential funding sources to make the improvements. 
  • WFRC has prepared this Street Connectivity story map that shows areas of high and low connectivity, among other related resources.

Clarifies Station Area Planning (SAP) reporting requirements (lines 362-375). Requires a municipality to provide a report to the relevant MPO in five-year increments after SAP certification on the status of advancing the station area plan objectives, and identify potential actions over the next five years that would advance the station area plan objectives. (MPO approval of the update is not required.)