OGDEN, Utah — With the rising cost of housing and the push to make buying homes attainable, Ogden City is looking at easing restrictions and coming up with creative solutions for families.
Ogden is updating its unified development code.
One aspect of the modernized plan is raising the number of people in a home who don't have to be related to 10 — an increase from the state minimum of three. Including children, the total number of people in a home can go to 10 people, provided the home is deemed safe for that capacity.
"It could allow for a different makeup of the household. It could be three smaller families, for example, or it could be individuals,” explained Mike McBride with Ogden City. “There are still very clear limits on the number of people that can live in a dwelling, and contractually."
McBride said this is to assure neighbors that there will be protections for them, too.
WATCH: Ogden planners push for simpler, modern development code amid growth concerns
Poe Wagner and his partner, Harry, said they live on 25th Street and are struggling with rising costs.
"We can’t afford a house. Even an apartment is so out of feasibility,” Wagner said. "We're in our 20s. We want to start having a family someday soon, we want to like, grow and get out of living in a basement forever. It’s tough.”
Wagner said he thinks changing the number of unrelated people who can live together could help students at Weber State University.
"Students who are already expecting to live in situations where they are going to be around strangers and making new friends, and a very temporary spot in life,” Wagner said.
But he doesn’t think it is a permanent housing solution.
"It’s really just a matter of: we want our own space, we want the lives we thought we were going to have growing up, like being able to buy a home and have a forever job. It’s just not looking that way,” he added.
McBride said less than three percent of land in Ogden is developable, so they are looking for ways to keep up with the growing city. For example, the code for the first time allows accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, on some properties that fit the requirements.
"It could be a multigenerational family, or could be somebody else that you have decided to rent out to or maybe even own that property,” McBride said. “It’s just creating opportunities for folks that might not be ready to enter home ownership in what we would consider a traditional way.
After almost two years of public input, the code is now with the planning commission for consideration, and it goes to city council next. Wagner hopes the city and state can do more to help the dream of owning a home become a reality for so many.
"Right now, it’s just about getting by. It’s just like making sure we can have food on the table, roof over our heads, and that’s kind of what we're stuck with at the moment,” Wagner said.
