In April, Cache County Executive David Zook organized a countywide Housing Task Force to address the housing affordability crisis in the Cache valley.  https://cachevalleydaily.com/news/archive/2022/04/21/county-executive-zook-kicks-off-the-first-meeting-of-housing-task-force/#.YrmuKC9MGf0

The task force was led by former Providence mayor John Drew and Cache County Economic Development Director Shawn Milne, and included public and private sector players such as business people, realtors, builders/developers, local and state elected officials, and educators.

Last Thursday, at the Cache Valley Summit, the task force reported its findings.  https://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/archive/2022/06/24/david-zook-reveals-recommendations-of-house-crisis-task-force/#.YrmyUS9MGf0

As noted by Zook,

“I had hoped they’d find a magic bullet. But no such luck.”

The recommendations included many of the things found by other places in addressing this critical issue.

“We need to change the minds of the people of Cache Valley about growth,” according to Paul Davis, a business outreach/special projects coordinator for the Bear River Association of Governments.

The report first presented the facts around the problem, summing it up by saying,

“We have an extreme shortage of available homes across most socio-economic levels.  Most residents here could not afford to purchase the home they live in, given today’s market prices and household income.”

So, how to solve it?  Not easily.

The members of the task force concluded that we do not have a free market for housing.

“Members of the public push the idea that any density higher than (that) in their neighborhood will depress property values. More than half a dozen studies refute that notion and several point out statistically significant increases in property values.”

But, the task force report continues, the threat of ballot referendums reversing zoning decisions make for timid council members and uncertainty for landowners.

Interestingly, I’m hearing this concern more and more in recent months, about the shadow that the threat of a referendum casts over local land use debates.  Even Governor Cox mentioned it last month in his monthly news conference when he talked about growth and housing.

The conclusions of the task force thus emphasized this, among some other recommendations:

The panel’s top three recommendations are things that are readily doable.

At state level, lawmakers need to limit zoning decisions by voter referendum. Zoning reforms also need to take place at county and city levels.

They also suggested that the county and cities need to coordinate their planning for growth.

Finally, the task force recommended a public education campaign with an emphasis on reaching younger people who are close to or at home-ownership life-stages.

Seems like the public education campaign should be aimed at existing single-family homeowners, would be my thought.

I think we’ll see more initiatives like this coming soon around the state, coming soon to a neighborhood near you!