Voices: Utah’s zoning rules are creating a housing shortage. A new analysis shows how it can be fixed.

Last fall, Gov. Spencer Cox put statewide zoning reform on the table at an Ivory Innovations summit convening leaders across the real estate sector. Utah desperately needs new strategies to unlock more housing. The state continues growing at a steady pace; the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute predicts 274,000 more people by 2033. And with a housing shortage of 61,000 units, Utah remains the ninth most expensive housing market in the country.

The governor is right to focus on zoning, which controls construction across the state. But if he and other elected officials are serious about reform, they need to start with a clear picture of how zoning actually works. That’s what the Utah Zoning Atlas finally provides.

Launched in December, the Utah Zoning Atlas is the first comprehensive analysis of zoning rules statewide. It synthesizes information from more than 45,000 pages of local zoning code from across the state’s 259 zoning jurisdictions into a single, publicly-accessible map. Until now, these rules were scattered across municipal websites and town halls, written in dense legal language and nearly impossible to compare side-by-side.

In deciphering codes, our team has revealed systematic limitations on housing — limitations that may have crept in years ago, and remained in place without anyone noticing. I don’t think anyone writes zoning rules with the hope of creating a housing shortage. But that’s exactly what this patchwork of rules seems to be doing.

Consider, for instance, the number of units allowed in new residential developments. Multifamily housing is the type of housing that tends to be most affordable — and builders can construct it at scale. Unfortunately, Utah zoning codes prohibit it nearly everywhere. Statewide, just 3% of land allows multi-family housing. Across the Salt Lake City metro region (28 jurisdictions, including West Valley City and West Jordan), only 5% of residential land allows multifamily housing by right. One bright spot, Salt Lake City, has moved the needle with its recent zoning reforms, now permitting multi-family, affordable housing developments by right anywhere residential development is allowed.

By contrast, 99% of residential land statewide allows single-family housing by right. Single-family housing is even more expensive when it needs to be on a large lot. Across Utah, roughly 70% of single-family land requires lots of about an acre or more. Even in the Salt Lake City metro area, a quarter of single-family land carries those large-lot requirements. These rules don’t just shape neighborhood character. They determine whether housing can be modest and attainable, or scarce by design. They can also determine whether the state’s primary mode of development is sprawl, resulting in paving over prized natural landscapes that attract tourism and propel economic growth.

Zoning also doesn’t take into account changing demographics. In 1970, 48% of Utahn adults were married with kids; today only 27% are, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. At the same time, Utahns are aging and living longer, requiring more flexible housing options that allow for multi-generational living or even a caretaker. That’s why the Utah Zoning findings on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which are small units built on the same lot as a larger, single-family home, are so puzzling. Not only are ADUs good for seniors and young people, but they can also enable property owners to supplement their income with a rental unit.

Unfortunately, ADUs are all very hard to build in Utah. The Zoning Atlas shows that just 10% of single-family-zoned land allows ADUs by right and without occupancy restrictions. In 75% of single-family-zoned land, they’re allowed but limited to family members, employees, the elderly, or non-renters. Even large cities like Salt Lake City, Provo and St. George limit who can live in most ADUs.

Parking mandates are another outdated zoning policy deterring housing construction. Ninety-two percent of residential land in Utah requires parking for new housing, which makes apartments, in particular, harder to build. Not every development needs the amount of parking that zoning codes require. And the most onerous mandates almost certainly deter development.

Our project allows Utahns to take stock of the status quo. It explains why Utah can have strong demand for housing and motivated builders, and still fall tens of thousands of homes short.

Legalizing multi-family housing, lifting onerous lot-size and parking mandates, and unleashing ADUs are all strategies that have been used successfully by other states. Political momentum to implement these strategies can be buoyed by evidence. The Utah Zoning Atlas shows why reform is needed, and gives Utahns the data to get reform right.

Sara Bronin is the founder of the National Zoning Atlas, a George Washington University law professor and the author of “Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World.”

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