We are halfway through the legislative session, so this is probably a good time to give a rundown of what’s happening with all the bills we are following on land use issues. So here goes.
First, there is a new bill out this morning, but it is a very targeted bill, aiming very specifically at one county and property owner. The bill is HB446 – Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone Modifications. It is related to last year’s HB462, which in one provision required a certain county (Summit) to create a Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone by the end of the year. It hasn’t happened, and now this bill is specifically aimed at that, giving specific development rights to some (a) property owner(s). Wow.
Related to that, this year’s housing bill has a substitute out, HB364S1 – Housing Affordability Amendments, which mainly makes some changes to how the low-income housing tax credits can be used and applied, but it also has a provision again aimed at Summit County, related to certain things that it is required to include in its Moderate Income Housing Plan.
So far this session, there are a handful of what I would call significant land use bills. Let’s run those down first.
HB364 – Housing Affordability Amendments – talked about this above, the substitute bill was adopted in committee today and then passed out favorably by the committee.
HB406 – LUDMA Modifications – this is one of the Land Use Task Force bills. The bill is on the House floor, awaiting a 2nd Reading and vote. It is expected there will be a significant substitute bill which will change a number of the provisions, most particularly an entire set of provisions about subdivision improvements standards, and about bonding for landscaping. Also, the provisions for moratoriums is likely to change.
SB174 – Local Land Use and Development Revisions – the other Land Use Task Force bill. The bill is awaiting a vote on the Senate 2nd Reading calendar. A substitute bill is expected for this one as well, with some significant modifications to the proposed subdivision approval process from the original bill.
HB265 – Sentinel Landscape Amendments – the bill has passed in the House and has been assigned to a committee in the Senate, awaiting a hearing there. This bill would require local planning around military facilities and review of land use applications around those facilities by a state agency.
HB206 – Airport Land Use Amendments – the bill has passed in the House, and is awaiting a 2nd Calendar vote in the Senate. The bill would require each jurisdiction that has a recognized airport within its jurisdiction to adopt land use regulations to protect the airport and uses near airports by December 31, 2024.
HB291 – Short Term Rental Amendments – this bill was assigned to a House committee at the end of January, and is not moving very fast, likely because this is a rather controversial topic and there is still a lot of ongoing discussion about this.
SB84 – HTRZ Amendments – a number of changes to the provisions for the Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zones.
The Other Bills
So here’s the rest of the bills we’re following that are less significant and their status.
HB32 – Outdoor Recreation Amendments – was assigned to committee at the start of the legislative session, nothing has happened since
HB39 – State Resource Management Plan Amendments – passed the House, on the Senate 2nd Reading calendar
HB169 – Urban Farming Assessment Act Amendments – passed in both House and Senate, awaiting Governor’s signature
HB196 – Eminent Domain Revisions – only recently assigned to a House committee, not moving very fast
HB224 – Outdoor Recreation Initiative – passed in both House and Senate, awaiting Governor’s signature
HB233 – County Land Use Amendments – nothing has happened, this bill is going nowhere
HB276 – Water Supply Amendments – was held in committee, the word is this bill is going nowhere this session
HB277 – Homeowners Association Revisions – just recently assigned to committee, not moving very fast
HB408 – Mobile Business Licensing Amendments – passed out favorably by committee today, awaiting 2nd Reading vote in the House
SB20 – Military Installation Development Authority Amendments – passed by both House and Senate, awaiting Governor’s signature
SB27 – Transportation Revisions – passed by Senate, introduced into House
SB43 – Public Notice Requirements – passed by House, awaiting a final vote in the Senate. It’s been hung up there for some time, likely due to some issues with some provisions in the bill
SB76 – Water Amendments – passed by the Senate, passed out favorably by House committee, headed to the House floor for votes
SB113 – Local Agricultural Amendments – passed by the Senate, assigned to committee in the House
SB158 – Water Exactions Amendments – not considered by Senate committee, it appears this bill is not going anywhere
SB166 – Education Entity Amendments – passed favorably by Senate committee, circled on Senate 2nd Reading calendar
SB181 – Campaign Sign Amendments – bill was substituted and then passed out favorably in committee, is awaiting a 2nd Reading vote in Senate
SB199 – Local Land Use Amendments – assigned to Senate committee, awaiting a hearing