It should go without saying, but housing is among Salt Lake City’s highest priorities heading into the 2025 Utah Legislative Session, according to city staff.
Angela Price, Salt Lake City’s legislative affairs director, told the city council Tuesday what kind of legislation they could expect during the impending session, which starts later this month. Price said that creating and facilitating more housing is among the top priorities for Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
In previous years, a number of housing policy changes made at the Utah Capitol didn’t really impact Salt Lake City, Price said. But this year, Cox’s push to create more housing units could have a greater impact on the capital city.
“We’re excited this year that there’s a lot of conversation happening around what’s being called legacy cities, which we would fall under,” Price said Tuesday.
She said the state will likely be looking at how to enable more condo development and how to leverage infill development throughout Salt Lake City. Empowering energy efficient building design and creating deeply affordable housing are also aspects the city is hoping the legislature will consider.
Price said that members of the state legislature are also looking at a number of options to expand housing availability, including creating a density overlay zone to encourage more dense development. One example of this type of housing-friendly legislation is H.B. 88, which, if passed, would allow internal or external ADUs to be a permitted use in a residential zone of an urban municipality.
However, she said one concern from the city is that new state housing policy could cancel out the city’s existing zoning, so any bills will be closely monitored.
The city is a member of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, which historically has resisted efforts of the Legislature to make pro-housing policy because it pre-empts local land-use control.
Though there are reasons for housing advocates to be optimistic, first time homebuyers might not be as cheery. Councilmember Dan Dugan asked if there could be any changes in the state’s first time homebuyer program, which offers up to $20,000 in an interest-free loan for homes under $450,000. However, it’s only applicable to new-build homes or homes that have never been lived in — which can be a big hurdle for homebuyers in Salt Lake City.
Kate Bradshaw, a lobbyist for the city who was also presenting to the council, told Dugan the program would be unlikely to change this year. She said Utah Senate President Stuart Adams “feels very strongly” about only providing assistance to buy new homes, and added Cox has a similar stance.
The 2025 Utah Legislature General Session will begin Jan. 21 and last for 45 days until March 7.
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