Housing is a huge issue in Utah today.
We are facing a lack of affordable housing that the state of Utah is attempting to help address by creating a path to enable preliminary municipalities to be formed. This pathway was legislated in the 2024 session and is coming to fruition today.
In rural Kane County an applicant is attempting to gain approval to form a municipality called Willow. A public hearing is scheduled on this application for Jan. 7 in Kanab. This project will put a “Phoenix-style suburb” into a rural community and forever change the character of the area.
The Willow preliminary municipal site plan proposed by Philo Development / Kanab 600 LLC. (Photo by Matt Fisher)
The sad part of all of this is that the state requirement is that only 10% of this housing has to be affordable housing. There are much better ways to achieve affordable housing, and each community’s needs and opportunities are different.
The state of Utah should enact legislation and policies that promote, encourage and enable local communities to find innovative solutions to create more affordable housing. Utah should not overreach and strip away local planning and zoning authority.
The Legislature should eliminate, or vastly overhaul this Utah code (10-2a-502) and it should be a priority in the 2026 session. For a state government that screams “federal overreach” a lot, it should reflect on its own actions as well, and walk the walk.
Matthew Fisher, Kanab
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