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Yurt deregulation bill passes House amid puns, jokes

(Jan Roundy | Courtesy Escalante Yurts)

The House passed a yurt deregulation bill with a margin that ended up not even being close Thursday after a pun-filled debate. It now heads to the Senate for consideration

The banter over HB297 took about 15 minutes, but seemed much longer amid the groaners. It passed 57-12.

“A little bit of yurt don’t hurt,” Rep. Craig Hall, R-West Valley City, tweeted with the hashtag #ThingsHeardOnTheHouseFloor.


Proposed by Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove, HB297 would exempt 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.

The Utah League of Cities and Towns has voiced concerns of cities about water quality issues.