Just a quick follow-up to last week’s post about the Utah Housing Summit. The headline speaker at the Summit, Edward J. Pinto of the American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center, had an opinion piece in the DesNews at the end of the week, wherein he restated the major points he made in his speech.
Most notably, he talked again about “light-touch density,” which actually may be a better name than missing middle housing (though I think I like “gentle density” even better):
As Utah policymakers consider reforms, one stands out for its promise — borne out by the evidence — to significantly address the costs of housing without requiring a dime in taxpayer subsidies: promoting light-touch density (LTD) housing.
Pinto goes on to point out the extraordinary circumstance Utah finds itself in:
As reported by the Housing Center, in 2023 it was harder for blue-collar workers to buy an entry-level home in Utah than in any other state, including California. In its recent Utah Housing Market Update, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute’s “projections indicate Utah will grow from 3.5 to 4 million residents between 2024-2033, an average annual growth rate of 1.5%.” This would be nearly double the recent level of new-home construction permits.
In light of the rapidly approaching legislative session, Pinto makes the following recommendations:
Where to start? First, the Utah Legislature should allow small lot development by-right — not requiring discretionary approval from cities — by setting lot size minimums for single-family homes at 5,000 square feet and for townhomes at 1,000 square feet. Second, lawmakers should avoid poison pills like unrealistically low floor area ratios, unrealistically high parking requirements and affordable housing mandates.
Pinto then accuses Utah cities and towns of the kind of reluctance to act generally seen in many communities elsewhere in the country:
… municipalities have largely failed to act, notwithstanding having had decades to address this burgeoning crisis.
Don’t think I agree so much with that statement, at least for Utah. Sure, more could be done, but when you consider the increased rate of homebuilding recently around the state (though it has slowed somewhat lately), and the number of entitled home lots sitting there waiting for construction, it’s kind of disingenuous to say municipalities have failed to act. Certainly, however, more is needed.
So, coming up in the next couple of weeks, directions the legislature may be headed on this issue. We’ll monitor and let you know.