February 2024 | Vol. 11 Iss. 2
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UTAH’S MOST BUILT OUT CITY, TAYLORSVILLE, FEELING THE SQUEEZE FINDING WAYS TO HOUSE MORE PEOPLE By Carl Fauver | c.fauver@mycityjournals.com
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tah Gov. Spencer J. Cox found several opportunities to interject humor into his annual “State of the State Address,” on Jan. 18. But he also found moments to be deadly serious. “I believe the single greatest threat to our future prosperity is the price of housing – period,” Cox said. “Housing attainability is a crisis in Utah.” He then went on to explain how his office plans to deal with the challenge over the next half-decade. “I have proposed the ‘Utah First Homes Program,’ with the audacious goal to build 35,000 starter homes in the next five years,” Cox added. “My focus is on affordable, attainable, single-family, owner-occupied, detached housing.” That goal likely has a lot of Utahns excited – including members of the Taylorsville Planning Commission. However, because our city in the heart of the Salt Lake Valley is already so built out, several commission members are already openly wondering what will happen next. Nine-year Planning Commission member Lynette Wendel is concerned about what state lawmakers have done already. “The State Legislature keeps taking authority from local planning commissions,” Wendel said. “The state is The seven-member Taylorsville Planning commission includes (L-R): Don Russell, David Wright, Cindy Wilkey, Don Quigley, Mark McElreath, Lyeliminating public hearing requirements in some cases. nette Wendel and Gordon Willardson. (Courtesy Don Quigley) But public comment is essential to the process. We anticipate more changes will come out of this year’s legislaconcerned the state’s effort to fast-track reduces the number of public hearings and educational organization.” It claims tive session. We want to make sure our citizens continue more Utah housing is creating challenges. required for certain projects. Now, when SB 174 “streamlines the process for propto have a chance to speak out – to ask for the character of “I’ve served on the Planning Com- we have a public hearing, we have to be erty owners who wish to subdivide their their community to be preserved.” mission since January 2022 and was vice ultra-prepared and ultra-thoughtful, be- land and build homes. When a property While Wendel is one of the longest-serving memchair last year,” she said. “Utah Senate cause we only get one shot at it.” owner wants to subdivide their land, the bers of the Taylorsville Planning Commission, newly Bill 174 is pro development. It attempts The Utah-based Libertas Institute elected Chair Cindy Wilkey is the newest. She too is Continued page 9 to shorten timelines for developers and describes itself as a “nonprofit think tank