Recently I wrote about the announcement of a partnership between National APA and the National League of Cities on the issue of housing affordability.  Called the Housing Supply Accelerator, it is intended to be “a national campaign to advance and incentivize local approaches to land use, zoning and housing development and preservation.”

How will this campaign achieve those goals?  The joint APA/League statement says “the campaign will focus on improving efforts locally to address housing needs and housing production goals, including local government and private-sector capacity, identifying critical solutions, and encouraging systemic changes that enable local elected officials and developers to work together.”

Within just the last few days, the HSA steering committee was announced.  The committee will be co-chaired by the Presidents of National APA and the National League, and includes 21 members, including planning directors and mayors from around the country.  And, interestingly enough, there is a Utah representative among them!  Clearfield City Mayor Mark Shepherd is one of the appointees by the National League of Cities.

Now just what is the HSA going to be doing?  That is a good question.  The HSA press statement says, “This solutions-oriented campaign will provide model practices, ordinances and actionable resources to help local communities address their unique housing challenges. These efforts will be designed for immediate implementation by local leaders, planners and others working to combat the housing crisis.”

It will be interesting to see what comes of this, how useful it will be, and what role our own fair Utah mayor will play in the process.  Clearfield City is arguably a community in our great state that has done a lot in recent months to grow the supply of housing, much of it something other than single-family homes.  The city even drew praise from Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, along with Ogden and South Jordan, at the beginning of the 2023 legislative session.

As for Clearfield, Wilson — singling out the shortage of affordable housing as one of several issues that will get lawmakers’ focus during the 2023 session — referenced construction of 1,700 new homes in the city in the last three years. “Mayor Shepherd, we applaud the work you have done and we thank you for serving as a strong example and an effective case study as we address this issue,” Wilson said.

Clearfield officials welcomed Wilson’s remarks but offered a larger number. Developers and city officials have “built, planned or approved 4,000 units” since 2018, reads a Clearfield press release, “the most in Davis County.”

Clearfield City Manager JJ Allen said efforts to spur growth, which include planned development around Clearfield Station, the city’s FrontRunner stop, have been “very intentional.” Adoption by city officials of a new form-based code in 2018 have helped spur expansion.

The 4,000 housing units include 3,200 apartments or condominiums, 500-plus townhomes and 250 single-family homes.

Substantial plans were also announced as far back as 2021 for development around the Clearfield Frontrunner station.  Mayor Shepherd should be well-situated to be a significant member of the HSA steering committee.