After stumbling during its first public hearing last week, a somewhat watered-down yurt deregulation bill passed through a legislative committee Monday and is headed to the House floor for further consideration.
HB297, proposed by Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove, exempts from the state construction code, fire code and water-quality provisions remote yurts built on unincorporated county land that isn’t zoned for residential, commercial, industrial or agricultural use.
The amended bill narrowed where these remote structures can be built and prohibits electrical and plumbing components.
The bill also requires that remote yurts be built at least 300 feet from any water source and specifies how waste is to be removed from the area to avoid contaminating watershed areas.
Lynn Pace, speaking on behalf of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, voiced the collective concerns of cities about the water quality issue saying there needs to be a regulatory body overseeing that waste is properly disposed.
However, remote yurt builders do have to register with the health department so that officials know where these yurts are operating.
According to Pace, the League wants the health department oversee that yurts are disposing of waste properly arguing that the bill’s provisions were not enough.
Rep. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, disagreed with Pace saying his request is unreasonable because the same argument could be applied to other tentlike structures.
The committee passed Brammer’s proposal 13-1, with House Minority Leader Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, casting the lone dissenting vote.
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible