Gov. Cox gave his State of the State speech last night to a joint session of the state legislature and, as usual, talked about many things.  Part of his speech in particular caught my attention, as he talked about “The Wave.”  What?  What wave?  At the risk of beating a metaphor into the ground, if you’ve been reading previous posts here, you know that I’ve been saying that the nationwide “wave” of zoning reform in many states and communities is sort of headed for Utah.  And the governor’s speech reinforced that thought for me last night.  Here’s the section of the speech I’m referring to:

While water is the greatest limiting factor to our growth, there are several other pressing issues

we must address including air quality, transportation, housing affordability and other

infrastructure needs. Our goal should never be to grow for growth’s sake. We must prioritize a

quality of life that all Utahns can enjoy.

To Utah’s newest residents — and as the fastest-growing state in America there are many of you

— welcome to our beautiful state. We are happy you have chosen to call this your new home.

We have so much to learn from you.

…

Legislators, this session I ask for your support of new bills spearheaded by Reps. Joel Ferry,

Steve Waldrip, Joel Briscoe and Sen. Jake Anderegg to remove government regulations that

needlessly increase Utah’s housing prices.

We can increase supply without decreasing quality of life. This one will not be easy. But we

cannot let our state become California.

For the first time ever, people on the Wasatch Front are experiencing something that those of us

from rural Utah have felt for far too long: the terrible realization that our kids and grandkids

might not be able to live near us. In rural Utah that happens because of a lack of jobs. Along the

Wasatch Front, it’s due to the unsustainable increase in housing prices.

We have to get this right. We must act now.