I’ve posted several times previously about the “wave” of zoning reform sweeping the country, warning that Utah may well be engulfed by that very wave, maybe in stages but surely altogether.  The wave continues to roll, as legislative action moves forward in New York, and now even right next door in Arizona.  The effectiveness of such measures may be rather less than hoped for, though, as we’ve also noted in studies and stories cited in previous posts, like yesterday’s post citing a UCLA paper that warns if reform isn’t substantial in scale, it likely won’t be effective (go big or go home, in other words). This truism may be reflected in a story about Salt Lake City’s slow uptake of ADUs.

However, we have our own little Dutch boy putting his finger in the hole in the dike to stem the wave here in Utah in Rep. Steve Waldrip (if you’ve met Rep. Waldrip, you know my characterization of him as “little” is sardonic – he’s a tall man!).  Rep. Waldrip, as I’ve accused him of before, is well on his way to becoming an honorary planner.  He is truly a policy wonk and has taught himself a lot about planning issues and policy approaches.  This is not really surprising, as he has been a Planning Commissioner (Weber County) and is currently co-chair of the Commission on Housing Affordability.  He talks cogently about things like regional fair share of affordable housing and the principles of smart growth (tying state infrastructure funding to conformance with growth policies).  He is carrying all of the major planning bills we’re awaiting (well, not sure about the station area plans bill), making himself the go-to guy at the legislature for land use stuff.

At yesterday’s League Legislative Policy Committee meeting, Rep. Waldrip talked generally about the bills he’s working on in cooperation with the League and others.  His main message was that he is not interested in having the state dictate zoning policy to local governments, rather he wants it to be a cooperative venture where state and local officials can work together to craft approaches that will address the main concerns (like housing affordability) and do it in such a way that there will be a better chance of implementation and success.  So kudos to him for his interest and his substantial efforts, and maybe breaking the wave before it gets to Utah.  Cam Diehl, the League’s executive director, noted in the meeting yesterday that he’s spent more time talking legislation with Rep. Waldrip this session than with any other legislators.  So it looks like Cam is becoming a planner wonk as well (I can vouch for this, having talked with Cam on planning issues several times over the past couple of years and I can say he really is getting into this stuff).

Funny what strong growth can do among our political caste!  Here’s hoping we get to see the bills soon!