One more bill of interest that was released yesterday – HB289 – Property Rights Ombudsman Amendments. The bill has mainly to do with ombudsman advisory opinions and if the issue is then still taken to court, if the court rules the same way as the ombudsman opinion, legal costs can be recovered by the prevailing party. Language to that effect has always been in the code, but this bill strengthens and redefines it.
The more interesting stuff is the couple of news stories that have come out in the last few days about some of our bills of interest.
First are a couple of stories about the bill modifying the provisions for Scenic Byways, most notably the makeup of the Scenic Byways Committee. SB28 – SCENIC BYWAY PROGRAM AMENDMENTS
The bill would make it a non-permanent body, to meet only upon the call of the chair, and modifies the membership of the committee. Most controversial is the addition of a representative of the outdoor advertising industry to the committee. Here’s the stories about those who are not pleased with the proposed changes:
Bill would give billboard companies too much power – Park Record
The group that manages Utah’s scenic byways may soon have a new member: someone from the billboard industry. – Salt Lake Trib
The other news story of interest is from KSL News – Smaller households to dominate Utah’s future. Can walkable neighborhoods accommodate them? It’s a pretty good piece, talking a lot about neighborhoods, housing and walkability. It does go on to talk about what may happen in the legislative session, much of which isn’t new to us. But there was an interesting reveal – the legislator who is working on the rumored bill to establish minimum base densities for all communities in the state. It’s Rep. Ray Ward of Bountiful, who also did a lot with the legalizing of Internal Accessory Dwelling Units over the last couple of years.
Housing in Utah is one of the most expensive among Republican states, Ward said, that’s why fewer restrictions would help the free market work.
“To me, it’s really time for us to stop choking off building of housing, in particular smaller housing on smaller lots,” he said. “We just need to let that happen.”
This year, Ward is working on a bill that would require cities to allow up to eight single-family homes per acre in residential zones.
“The city still can forbid a duplex or fourplex or triplex,” he said. “But if it’s a home where it’s one family and one home that lives there, then they would have to allow smaller lots.”
Additionally, the bill states that if a builder is willing to sell those kinds of homes to someone who is willing to occupy them for at least five years at a lower-than-average price, the builders wouldn’t face other zoning restrictions, including leaving the majority of the lot’s ground open, or leaving a certain amount of space between property lines.
This really sounds a lot like the efforts at zoning reform that have been instigated in other states around the country. This is also a concept that was being discussed by the CHA and the UEOC, but had not gotten enough discussion and agreement between the relevant actors. The UEOC included these ideas in a list of proposals that were not ready for legislative action, but that should continue to be discussed and negotiated. It looks like Rep. Ward doesn’t want to wait and is going to force the issue. This could be a bill that will take a lot of time and energy, unexpectedly, this session. Watch this closely.
Okay, that’s it for now. The session begins today, and with the number and variety of land-use related bills, I think we’ll all be busy!