In Utah’s richest county, Summit County councilmembers sometimes express frustration at their options to make housing affordable and attainable.
“How do we get affordable housing without all the other development, right? Is the only way to do that is for the county to build affordable housing? Or is there any other critical path to get there?” Council Chair Tonja Hanson said during the March 12 policy discussion.
Inclusionary zoning vs. development agreements
In western Summit County, developers are required to make 20% of their residential units affordable, meaning reserved for people making less than 80% of the county’s median income. Or they can bypass the requirement by paying a fee, which county planners think is set too low.
But the Utah Legislature made the county’s policy, called “inclusionary zoning,” illegal in 2022.
The county’s policy is grandfathered into the law, but its requirements and fee aren’t allowed to change. Park City is in the same boat.
Since then, county councilmembers’ primary path toward affordable housing has been negotiating development agreements, as they did with Dakota Pacific Real Estate.
The topic came up during the council’s housing policy discussion March 12. During the debate, Deputy Civil Attorney Dave Thomas said there’s a third option.
An all-affordable zone?
“One of the things that you learn through the Dakota Pacific process is that affordable housing is not a money loser. Affordable housing you can make a profit on, and there are various companies that do that as their model,” Thomas said. “You could form a zone district that is simply an affordable housing zone district.”
Assuming there’s profit to be had, landowners may be incentivized to apply for the affordable housing zone.
“Because they're rezoning it to it, the prohibitions on inclusory [inclusionary] zoning don't come into play,” Thomas said.
An all-affordable zone may cut against previous council goals to integrate affordable housing into neighborhoods, though.
Former Councilmember Doug Clyde, for example, criticized an affordable townhomes project on an overgrown Pinebrook tennis court because he worried neighbors might look down upon the lower-income residents.
The developer of the forthcoming EngineHouse building in Park City has said passersby won’t be able to tell which of its 123 units are affordable or market rate. And that was required to get federal funding for the project.
Meanwhile, in Canyons Village, Summit County has approved an all-affordable project: the Slopeside Village dorms for ski resort and other business’ employees.
A fourth policy tool
State lawmakers adopted a fourth affordable housing option this legislative session.
House Bill 37 brings back inclusionary zoning — but only as a voluntary option for builders. It lets cities and counties allow developers to build more density only if the extra housing is affordable.
The bill is awaiting Gov. Spencer Cox’s signature.
Summit County councilmembers are awaiting a draft affordable housing plan from planning and economic development staff.
They set a goal March 12 to approve 1,500 affordable housing units within the next decade, but haven’t decided when, where or how to make it happen.
Summit County and Park City Municipal are financial supporters of KPCW. For a full list, click here.
